Lost on board - enhancing user experience on cruise ships through wayfinding improvements

Abstract

Cruise ship vacations have become one of the most popular forms of leisure travel. Cruise ships are themselves being designed as a tourist attraction to the extent that some cruise companies have more recently even begun advertising their ships as a travel destination, and not the ports that will be visited. Moreover, cruise ships provide passengers with feelings of control and liberation that they may not normally experience in their everyday lives. However, despite the experiences offered and the popularity engendered by cruise vacations, passengers still encounter significant problems while on board — they are readily prone to losing their way.

This thesis aims to enhance user experiences on cruise ships by identifying the reasons for wayfinding difficulties and the consequences of passenger disorientation. Based on literature review, field studies and User Experience Target method, I focus on the feeling of control as the user experience target and generated design proposals. The concept presents wayfinding improvements in the hallways of the cruise ship cabin areas. The design proposals were evaluated by users and experts from marine industry. This Master thesis was completed for the Triad 2013 project, a part of the Cruise and Ferry Experience program (Aalto University), funded by the FIMECC I&N program.