Sink or Swim: Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited Made Efforts to Adapt to the Paradigm Shift of Information Technology and Its Function Within the Ever-Growing Cruise Line Industry
Sink or swim: Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited made efforts to adapt to the paradigm shift of Information Technology and its function within the ever-growing cruise line industry
Jesse Brothers
Abstract Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL) was founded in 1969. They currently operate under the brands of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Pullmantor. Predominantly known as the second largest cruise ship company behind Carnival Cruises, RCCL still has a firm hold on cruise ship market share. According to their website, RoyalCaribbean.com, RCCL brought in net revenues of over $607 million in 2011, which is up from $515 and $152 million in 2010 and 2009, respectively. They used their fleet consisting of 39 ships to make approximately 92,000 berths last year… but things were not always looking so optimistic for Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited.
Problem Statement Things were looking up for RCCL and their hiring of high level IT personnel have led to advancements in the company’s IT infrastructure and future technology endeavors. But ultimately, the company had three strategic goals of (1) Enhancing Guest Experience (2) Reduce Costs and (3) Increase Revenues to try to set themselves apart within the cruise industry as they tried to make the leap into the “digital” age. But given the events of 9/11 and its impact on the industry, how would RCCL optimize its IT spending especially if it is still working on an “analog” budget?
Background Dating back to the 90’s, RCCL has always been the proverbial second fiddle to Carnival Cruises. RCCL’s Chairman and CEO, Richard Fain, noticed that the primary reason for Carnival’s success was their ability to drive down marginal costs per ship by “standardizing its fleets down to details as small as bedspreads and barstools” (McFarland, 2003).
Jesse Brothers
Abstract Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited (RCCL) was founded in 1969. They currently operate under the brands of Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Pullmantor. Predominantly known as the second largest cruise ship company behind Carnival Cruises, RCCL still has a firm hold on cruise ship market share. According to their website, RoyalCaribbean.com, RCCL brought in net revenues of over $607 million in 2011, which is up from $515 and $152 million in 2010 and 2009, respectively. They used their fleet consisting of 39 ships to make approximately 92,000 berths last year… but things were not always looking so optimistic for Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited.
Problem Statement Things were looking up for RCCL and their hiring of high level IT personnel have led to advancements in the company’s IT infrastructure and future technology endeavors. But ultimately, the company had three strategic goals of (1) Enhancing Guest Experience (2) Reduce Costs and (3) Increase Revenues to try to set themselves apart within the cruise industry as they tried to make the leap into the “digital” age. But given the events of 9/11 and its impact on the industry, how would RCCL optimize its IT spending especially if it is still working on an “analog” budget?
Background Dating back to the 90’s, RCCL has always been the proverbial second fiddle to Carnival Cruises. RCCL’s Chairman and CEO, Richard Fain, noticed that the primary reason for Carnival’s success was their ability to drive down marginal costs per ship by “standardizing its fleets down to details as small as bedspreads and barstools” (McFarland, 2003).
References: Hughes, L. (2001, January 01). Royal Caribbean cruises and Micro-strategies [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Past-News/Case-Study-Royal-Caribbean-Cruises-and-Microstrategies/ McFarlan, Warren F. Massoni, Valerie. (2003). Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. [Case Study]. Boston: Harvard Business Publishing. “CTO’s on the Move” Thomas Murphy – Chief Information Officer – AmerisourceBergen. Retrieved 2 July 2012 from http://blog.ctosonthemove.com/thomas-murphy-chief-information-officer-amerisourcebergen/