I bet whatever you think of when you are asked to imagine a holiday aboard a cruise ship, it’s not queues. When you spend your day-to-day life queuing for bread and milk, to get a doctor’s appointment or to book a cinema ticket, a holiday requires an escape from that reality.
True, cruises aren’t everyone’s idea of the perfect holiday, but for those passengers that love them, they are the ultimate holiday of convenience. Without lifting a finger you are transported around the world, your food is prepared and your diary of entertainment is set out well in advance.
Recently a member of the Preoday team started to research their maiden voyage. Reading various online reviews, they were surprised at what they found. In amongst a glowing review of one ship they saw this:
Queuing is the biggest problem on this ship, whether it be for dining room breakfasts and lunches, Ice Show tickets, Ice shows or the ‘sales’ day cigarette promotions.
….On many occasions this queue regularly extended up the stairs outside the Alhambra Theatre between decks 3 and 4. On the odd nights when ‘second sitting’ passengers had an early show staff were on hand with barriers to ensure a safe exit.
That was a bit of a surprise. Further digging found similar comments and numerous articles published by various cruising lines suggesting how to minimise onboard queues.
Ah.
Most of the advice given seemed to go against the concept of convenience: Pay for a suite, pay for a loyalty programme, get up before everyone else, eat at times staggered from everyone else. Hardly inspiring as far as advice goes.
Nowhere in amongst the information we found online did we see any ships touting the use of pre-ordering mobile apps or technology. To us this seems a bit of a no-brainer. Using an app similar to those employed by on-shore restaurants and theatres, the on-board equivalents could realise exactly the same benefits. And no, customers wouldn’t need to download a different app for every on-board outlet, a simple ship aggregator platform could feature every store and site, making it ultra-convenient for customers to place their orders in advance.
Our team-mate is still looking for the perfect cruise, but we can guarantee that a feature like this, which takes the convenience of a cruise and give is (apparently) a much-needed boost, would be a game-changer for them.
What do you think? Let us know on hello@preoday.com
It’s not as catchy as: ‘When is a door not a door?’ (answer, when it’s a jar) but it speaks to the idea that in-car collection, and the technologies that support it, are flexible enough to bend to the needs of a business and its guests.
Delivery can be daunting to the uninitiated, and it might be tempting to sign up with a third-party ordering aggregator that offers the service, such as UberEats, but other options could suit your business and brand better. Here we present three different ‘levels’ of delivery, starting with the most basic – and cheapest method: doing it yourself.
