Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings - Assignment Example

Carnival Corporation & PLC is the largest cruise ship line globally; however, it has been struggling in the market. Their competitors have been rising steadily and their revenue fluctuating hence calling for analysis. Carnival Corporation lacks a vision for its future market share, which is one of its main problems. Carnival Corp had to form strategies to improve its revenue. First, they collaborated with NBC Universal, an entertainment company that would provide an affordable form of entertainment in the cruises and increases revenue (Baldwin 3).

On the other hand, cruise services offered by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings last from one day to about three weeks (Baldwin 6). In order to increase its revenue and attract more customers, the cruise line has to offer a longer duration of its cruises. The cruises should have options of one to three months in order to cub competitors who are also in the game. The stock prices of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings are too high, hence limiting shareholders (Baldwin 8). The shares should be affordable in order to attract more customers. The company should also improve its services in order to attract better investors and to make them buy the stock without considering share prices (Baldwin 20).

According to customer reviews carried out on cruise ships, Carnival Corporation PLC had the most reviews. However, these reviews indicated that they are not the best when it comes to customer satisfaction (Baldwin 12). Comparing the cruises Royal, Carnival, and Norwegian, the customer review was 78%, 73%, and 70% respectively (Baldwin 12). This shows that Carnival does not offer the best customer service in the cruise ship industry. The customers’ reviews of NCLH are the poorest compared to their rivals. This means the cruise line should offer better customer service and be more polite in order to maintain loyal customers and attract new customers (Baldwin 4).

The cabin crew members should be polite and can listen to the customers. Also, meals offered on cruises should be improved to enable customers to notice them immediately. Entertainment on board is important and should be a variety for the people to choose from (Baldwin 10).  Employee satisfaction could improve their services to the customers a great deal. At all times, employees deserve to be treated with respect and paid their dues well to enable them to deliver the organizational goals (Griffin 300). A happy employee means a happy customer and a happy customer equals loyalty and thus the growth of the company. Moreover, NCLH could improve its liquidity ratio, which means they have a better ability to pay back short-term debts. This could help them borrow widely to allow them to expand the company by purchasing more cruises, thus better profits for the company (Baldwin 8).

Carnival Corporation was not ranked when it came to the best company to work for. Their competitors were also not ranked which led to statistics being carried out. Carnival had to have a plan for improving their employee work plan as it was mostly viewed as mediocre (Baldwin, 13). The employees’ jobs had no flexibility and one had to travel the world with the cruises. Norwegian also had bad reviews when it came to employee satisfaction. It also lacked loyalty returns to its customers. The customers should be presented with a gift pack of the cruise products as a sign of appreciation. This will make customers come back whenever they want to cruise and invite other people due to the better services offered (Baldwin 10). NCHL could also start offering economy-class cruises, which would cater to the needs of customers who cannot afford expensive luxury cruises (Griffin 300). They should also get more involved in social media forms of marketing to make more people learn about the brand (Baldwin 13).

Assumptions

Carnival Corporation PLC made an assumption that since more employers are offering benefits to their employees, the employees go on vacations and purchase luxury goods more often (Baldwin, 14). This assumption cannot be proved because life has generally become expensive and the little benefits employees get, are used in day-to-day living. Norwegian also made an assumption that the company will continue making profits, even if they do not change their way of operation and the kind of service they provide. In order to continue making more profits, the company should improve its services to keep up with competitors (Baldwin 22). This can be done by consulting customers on what they would prefer and the kind of service that would make them happy.

The second assumption made by both companies is that the economic trends, GDP, unemployment, and rate of personal savings would affect the business (Baldwin 12). This is highly unlikely because the services offered on the cruises are highly luxurious and people who enjoy the services are rarely from the middle or lower class. Most of their customers are wealthy and don’t feel the economic pinch as much as the other people do Both companies have the idea of freestyle cruises and since it has received tremendous applause from people they assume it will do well and attract more customers. This can only happen if the freestyle cruising happens in an organized manner that won’t fail (Baldwin 20).

Since Carnival Corporation & PLC operates in many different regions, they had an assumption that international events will help improve their revenue (Baldwin, 17). The events are truly important but this doesn’t guarantee the customers will love the kind of entertainment being offered.