More than kin - the multigenerational and family market

In the not-so-distant past, it was safe to assume two things about one's fellow cruise ship passengers. One was that they were likely to be aged over 50. The other that they would be relatively - if not extremely - financially well off.

Over the last ten to 15 years, however, this has all changed. Last year, more than half of Carnival's bookings were for multiple cabins, primarily occupied by multigenerational families, according to the line's chief marketing officer, Jim Berra. And in total across the industry, an incredible 1.6 million children now cruise each year out of a total 20.3 million passengers, according to the American Association of Port Authorities.

Nowadays, the archetypal passenger could just as easily be a mother in her mid-40s ushering two young children into the swimming pool as a well-dressed pensioner sipping a cocktail at the bar.

This boom in multigenerational family cruising has been widely commented upon - it was even recognised by CLIA as a top trend in its 2014 state-of-the-industry report. Yet, while statistics supporting the idea are easy to come by, there has been little engagement with the issue at a more fundamental level: what, exactly, is driving the shift towards more family-oriented cruise experiences? And, just as importantly, does the necessary market repositioning and investment in on-board entertainment make economic sense for operators?

When considering these questions, it is important to bear in mind just how quickly the industry has expanded over the past two decades. In 1994, the North American cruise sector had a capacity of 103,296 lower berths, according to CLIA's records. By 2009, that figure had almost tripled to 294,788. Today, the global figure is 467,629 - more than four times as many. That means a lot of new ships, and new ships need new passengers.

Supply and demand

Kirk Neal is a divisional vice-president at Carnival Cruises who has, over the course of his 27-year career in the sector, witnessed first hand the gradual shift towards the multigenerational family market.

Starting as a junior purser, he moved on to become the then-youngest hotel director in the cruise vertical before taking up business development and, eventually, his current role. For him, it was largely the industry's hunger for a fresh clientele that drove cruise lines to chase the multigenerational family market.

"When our founder created Carnival Cruise Lines, we really wanted to bring cruising to the average person, because back in its day, cruising was thought of as a luxury vacation that only a few could afford," he says.

"As you try to grow, you want new customers. And as more cruise lines came into the picture and products became more affordable, more families started to take cruising holidays. From Carnival's perspective, it was a case of 'we built them [family-friendly cruises], and they came'.

"Once that started to happen, you begin to realise the economic benefits this market has: families are good for the bottom line. They're also good for spreading news about cruising."

From this realisation, it was only a matter of time before the sector sought to fill its continually expanding fleet with the new - potentially highly lucrative - family market.

But while this economics-based explanation certainly holds water, Neal also hints at a less tangible reason for the industry's shifting demographic focus: generational psychology. According to him, "The baby-boomer generation has been a group that includes their kids in a lot of the activities that they do."

This is in contrast to the traditional cruise customer of the so-called 'silent generation' - those born in the 1930s and during the Second World War - who arguably had a less inclusive attitude when it came to mixing children and holiday activities. The change in the cruise industry's demographic focus was therefore simply a way of adapting to this new family-oriented psychographic.

However, while few within the industry would argue against trying to attract such a valuable market, adjusting cruise holidays to suit the needs of multigenerational families has proven challenging. Children, parents and the elderly must all be catered for - with activities bringing families together while at the same time allowing everyone enough space to breathe. Adults travelling as couples, in groups or alone, also require attention. Ensuring the needs of so many different interest groups are met is no easy feat.

All aboard

Disney Cruise Line is perhaps the strongest indicator of the family market's rapid growth and the tough requirements it places on operators.

Founded in 1996, about the time the baby boomers were starting to look for parent-child-oriented holidays, it built cruise ships that, for the first time, were specifically designed to attract this emerging demographic.

"When we went into the industry, family cruising wasn't really a focus point - attention was only really given to cruising in general," recalls Jim Urry, Disney's vice-president of entertainment and port adventures, who has worked at the firm for 15 years.

"But our ships were built with the idea of having kids on board, and for families to have immersive and separate experiences. When we brought Dream and Fantasy out [in 2011 and 2012 respectively] we really took those ideas to the next level: we had the first water-coaster at sea, but it wasn't just for kids. It was something they could do with their parents. Or the parents could even just do it themselves."

In many ways, Disney's ships reflect the underlying focus on all-round family friendliness to be found at its world-famous theme parks; parents can enjoy anything from the four-deck-high AquaDuck ride to a Broadway-quality musical with their children. But when the time inevitably comes, they can leave their offspring in a kids club and find plenty of adult-based activities. Indeed, it is not unheard of for grown-ups without children to choose to cruise with Disney, so high is the adult entertainment standard.

According to Urry, the overall result of Disney's multipronged approach to on-board entertainment is a guilt-free family experience: parents can trust Disney to wow their children, leaving them free to wallow in the pool or dance the night away in a club.

Cruise control

While this approach appears to work for Disney's four vessels, Carnival's 24-strong fleet has a more complex strategy when it comes to attracting the multigenerational market. Though it has also gone to great lengths to offer on-board entertainment for all age groups - its $500-million Fun Ship 2.0 upgrade programme covers new dining, bar, lounge and entertainment experiences - the firm has also been manoeuvring itself to offer the right sort of deals to the greatest number of families, taking economic and geographical factors into account.

"When you look at multigenerational, you're typically going to have income levels that span the different categories, so being able to offer a range of cruise lengths and departure ports is very important to us as a company," Neal explains.

"One of our strategies over the past ten years or so has been to focus on the local cruise market and the home-port strategy for North America. Right now, about 50% of the population is within a five-hour drive of one of our home ports.

"That's very significant for budget-conscious families - it means they might not have to add an air fare onto the cost of their vacation. It gives cruising a vacation value that's really hard to match."

Despite such a strong value proposition, Neal does admit that attracting the family market is often easier said than done. "There's still a perception that cruising's expensive," he says.

"There's also a misperception that cruising's just for older people - families sometimes ask the question 'What are we going to do?'

"It's still a challenge, and we continue to work at it. I certainly think that our Fun Ship branding - just getting that word into the equation and making sure everyone is able to have fun - is really important."

The product of quality

Nevertheless, Neal remains largely confident in the future viability of the multigenerational market. He points out that as ships get larger, more amenities will make them increasingly attractive to families, and that the growing cruise industries in Australia and China look promising.

"The psychographics are also important," he adds. "My children are cruising, and not only will they continue to do so, but they also love being with their aunts, uncles and grandparents, far more so than my generation."

Urry is similarly optimistic, commenting that he is "sure the family market is going to continue to grow at the pace it is today."

And there seems little reason to doubt the continued expansion of the family sector: the number of passengers cruising each year is still increasing. CLIA estimates there will be 21.7 million this year, up from 21.3 million in 2013, and within that figure, multigenerational passengers are on the rise.

As long as cruise companies continue to cater for families with high-quality on-board entertainment and effective marketing strategies, the future of this burgeoning sector looks extremely bright.