Royal Caribbean takes top place in cruise site survey

Royal Caribbean International has taken first place for overall effectiveness in a survey of cruise booking sites.

Royal Caribbean International has taken first place for overall effectiveness in a survey of cruise booking sites.

The line topped a field which also included sister brand Celebrity Cruises, Carnival, CruisesOnly, Expedia, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Orbitz; Princess and Travelocity.

In addition to overall site effectiveness, Royal Caribbean took first place in both the brand impact and performance index in the 2014 Keynote competitive rankings for the cruise sector.

Survey respondents perceived Royal Caribbean as exciting, fun, having good service, and being trustworthy, which led to it having the top brand impact score.

In the performance index, its overall technical performance – especially on desktop – also put it in the top spot.

Royal Caribbean significantly outperformed all but Carnival and Princess in the overall rankings.

The study also looked at the mobile technology and social networking habits of respondents to determine which sites are building the best multi-channel digital relationship, across web, mobile and social.

The rankings provide an objective barometer to compare industry leaders and help illustrate how user experience and a site’s performance have a direct link to business outcomes.

Keynote analytics vice-president Ben Rushlo said: “The cruise site industry is a classic example of where the digital experience makes a profound difference.

“The competition is intense and the amount of content to be delivered is vast.

“Keynote Competitive Rankings measure performance, usability and overall brand effectiveness, across the top ten leaders in an industry.

“The study includes an exhaustive list of the rankings across key performance, user experience, brand and conversion indices.

“Subscribers to the reports also get access to detailed metrics per site showing exactly what factors led to their aggregate rank as well as showcasing the most current online best practices, and pitfalls to avoid, based on the competition.”