Royal Caribbean's CEO Michael Bayley took an unusual approach to customer research this week, boarding Wonder of the Seas alongside nearly his entire senior leadership team to hear directly from passengers. Rather than relying solely on post-cruise surveys and focus groups, the executives spent several days on the ship having conversations, joining dinners, and running onboard focus groups with guests.
Wonder of the Seas — one of the largest cruise ships in the world, carrying roughly 5,734 passengers — was sailing a 4-night Bahamas itinerary, a route that's particularly popular with first-time cruisers. Bayley described the mission simply on social media: "On Wonder for a few days listening to our guests about what they love, like and dislike and suggestions for the future."
The executive team included Chief Product Innovation Officer Jay Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer Kara Wallace, SVP Food & Beverage Linken D'Souza, SVP Hotel Operations Keith Lane, VP Entertainment Christy Coachman, SVP Sales & Trade Relations Vicki Freed, and VP Revenue Brian Rosenthal. Freed offered additional detail during a webinar she held live from the ship, explaining that executives split into small groups and dined with randomly selected passengers at venues like Chops Grille — gathering the kind of candid, real-world impressions that don't always surface in formal survey data.
The timing aligns with some notably strong performance metrics for Royal Caribbean. During the company's most recent quarterly earnings call, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty highlighted net promoter scores averaging in the "low to mid 70s" for Caribbean sailings — a range he described as "unicorn territory" in the travel industry. High NPS scores reflect how willing passengers are to recommend the experience to friends and family, which the company views as a key driver of continued demand.
This story was originally reported by Royal Caribbean Blog.
