RCI Family Experience Innovation

Challenge

With families marked as a priority for future growth, Royal Caribbean asked us to design and activate a category-leading proposition and end-to-end offer that unites whole families in standout, culturally flexible experiences—onboard and ashore.

Approach

Insight

Research: Global qualitative and quantitative study to map family needs, motivations and friction points across the full guest journey
Audit: Assessed the existing family offer from booking through arrival, F&B, entertainment and post-cruise
Co-creation: Worked with families worldwide to refine narratives, mechanics and delivery, testing stretch ideas in-real-life
Operational integration: Partnered with RCI teams to ensure concepts were feasible across ship classes, itineraries and service models

Synthesis & Strategy

Strategic positioning: Framed families as a growth priority and defined a clear family-first brand promise
Audience propositions: Developed distinct, evidence-based propositions for children, teens and whole families that sit under one end-to-end offer while allowing cultural adaptation
Three-tier design model: Modular system of signature family moments, targeted programming by age, and scalable activations for different ships and ports
Prioritisation: Converted insights into a ranked roadmap using impact, feasibility and distinctiveness criteria
Experience architecture & delivery: Mapped the guest journey to place activities, tech touchpoints and crew interventions where they add the most value; produced guidelines and training assets for consistent global rollout

Key Deliverables

Best-in-class family proposition and end-to-end offer
Integration of novel technologies into the family experience
Development of global IPs for on-board activation
Full redesign of children’s club: physical plans plus 100+ immersive activities
Partnership strategy and brokerage by audience/region
Crew training: in-person sessions, videos and operational playbooks

Impact

A ready-to-scale family offer that positioned Royal Caribbean as the market leader for family cruising. Delivering differentiated, culturally flexible experiences that boost satisfaction, repeat bookings and commercial opportunities while remaining operationally robust.