This thesis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of human resource management (HRM) within cruise ship organizations. The cruise ship industry is one of the fastest developing sectors within the tourism industry. Therefore, it should come as little surprise that the demand for seafaring human resources has also grown. Assuming that effective management of crew members is key to the effective operation of cruise ships, the specifics and challenges for HRM in this particular organisational context are identified and analysed as well as the realities of the roles and relations of the shipboard HR function examined. The present study is original in its theoretical approach, as it brings two approaches together which obviously are not linked. Ulrich’s model talks about roles and the study used aspects of this framework in terms of the position of HRM. Goffman’s concept of total institutions was also consulted in order to frame internal business-specific conditions and social relations. The combination of both approaches allows for the examination of HR roles and professional relations in a much more detailed and contextualised manner. The cruise industry is acknowledged as being under-researched, and this is all the more true for research on HRM in this specific sector. Therefore, the nature of the research in this study is empirical and framed within an explorative approach. The analysis is based on a single case study within one cruise ship owner company, in which 23 semi-structured interviews were performed; there is also the use of ethnographic field notes recorded during a three-month assignment on one of the company’s cruise ships. The thesis contributes to the existing literature in three ways. Firstly, the research analyses shoreside HR and how it is coping with various business-specific challenges, i.e. high growth rates, a high demand for new cruise ship employees, high turnover rates of crew members and a distinctive context of ethnic and national diversity. The analysis reveals that the HRM approach of the cruise shipowner company could be characterised as generally reactive and short-term in focus, a pure strategic orientation is absent. Secondly, the thesis examines the content of shipboard HR work. The study reveals that the main focus of the shipboard HR function is on tactical HR work, especially training and development, employee relations, and advisory role in relation to shipboard leaders. The shipboard HR role includes HR activities that are not usually provided by HR business partners, such as the facilitation of training. This and the intense liaison between the shipboard HR function and its shoreside HR partners make shipboard HR work somewhat unique. Whereas a huge amount of transactional HR work does not necessarily add value to the business, strategic HR work is practically non-existent on cruise ships. Finally, the thesis examines the realities of HR roles and relations on board cruise ships. The analysis demonstrated that HRM on board cruise ships can currently be summarised as reactive and short-term in focus, and the strategic partner role is practically non-existent. It is more a series of functions with different stakeholders contributing to it in a variety of ways and with overlap in terms of task executions. This shared nature of HR adds complexity to the HRM approach. Furthermore, strong influential links from shoreside HR were identified, which undermines the ability of the shipboard HR function to become a stronger partner of the business. Nevertheless, the analysis revealed the potential in this specific sector for enhancements and for the further development of HRM on cruise ships.

This thesis provides a means to estimate the physical and performance characteristics of a preliminary cruise ship design. The techniques utilized to estimate these characteristics are showcased in the user-friendly interface known as the Cruise Ship Analysis Tool (CSAT). Using the CSAT, the implications that design feature decisions in the preliminary design stage have on a cruise ship’s profitability is analyzed. Then, the most profitable design feature assemblage among a finite number of varying design feature combinations is estimated and compared among cruise ship designs with different passenger carrying capacities. Profitability is analyzed using the measure of merit (MOM) known as net present value (NPV). If a preliminary cruise ship design has a positive NPV at a reliable rate of return and ship operating life, the design is considered to be a profitable investment if implemented. The greater the NPV, the more profitable the investment is considered to be.

Bränsle är en av det största kostnaden för sjöfart och ny teknik tas fram för att spara bränsle. Men det finns potential att tillverka bränsle på kryssningsfartyg. En av de största utgifterna för att tillverka biogas iland är uppvärmning av substratet, denna kostnad kan elimineras på fartyg genom att använda spillvärme från motorer och ångsystem.   Detta arbete undersöker möjligheten att producera biogas av toalett- och matavfall som dagligen skapas på kryssningsfartyg, vilka komponenter som behövs samt beräkningar av utrymme de skulle ta och hur stor mängd gas som kan tänkas produceras. Rapporten utfördes genom att undersöka hur biogas produceras i land, vilka är de vanligaste teknikerna som används idag och om de är teknisk möjliga att ha på kryssningsfartyg. För att räkna ut gaspotential samt volym för tankar och reaktor har data samlat in från fyra kryssningsfartyg, data för toalettavfall har tagit från land. Resultatet av beräkningarna blev att potential att tillverka biogas finns men att mängden gas inte kan motivera kostnaden för att installera en biogasanläggning på ett kryssningsfartyg. / Fuel is one of the biggest costs in shipping today, and new technologies are being developed to save fuel. But there is potential to make fuel today aboard cruise ships. One of the biggest expenses in making biogas on land is the heating of the substrate, this cost can be eliminated on ships by using waste heat from engines and steam systems. This report explores the possibility of producing biogas by using toilet and food waste that is created daily aboard cruise ships. What components are needed, calculations of the space they would take and how much gas could be produced. The report was conducted by examining how biogas is produced on land, what are the most common technologies used today? And if they are technically possible aboard a cruise ship? To calculate gas potential, tank and reactor volume. Data has been collected from four cruise ships. The results show that it is possible to create biogas. But that the amount of gas could not justify the cost of building a biogas plant aboard cruise ships.

This master‘s thesis puts forth a new design of a cruise ship. The goal of this work was to combine modern functional and technological elements with an innovative visual appearance while using high quality materials. Emphasis was given to the simplicity, comfort, and especially safety of the vessel control and convenience for the passengers.

The decision has been made: The new cruise-ship quay in Visby will soon be an essential part of the Swedish island Gotland. This can be a great deal not only in regard to Gotland’s Vision 2025 and its citizens but also for Gotland as a tourist destination and its sustainable tourism development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore which sustainable considerations and goal settings Gotland’s municipality emphasised in the decision process of construction a new cruise-ship quay in Visby. Besides, we intended to raise awareness of discussing the cruise project from a sustainable tourism development perspective. This study explored the decision process through an overarching sustainability lens with the help of the triple bottom line (TBL) concept. The analysis was based on a triangulation of protocols and reports, meetings and semi-structured interviews with different key actors. This study contributes to the existing tourism literature by adopt the TBL concept on a political setting. The empirical contribution was to better understand and explain the results normally used by organisations from a broader, more holistic sustainable tourism development perspective. An overall conclusion from our study is that the planning and decision process for building a cruise quay in Visby has left residents not involved in the industry with split reactions. The case study reveals that public participation and public information throughout the decision process is essential to the public legitimacy.

A unique characteristic of Earth is that it is the only planet in the solar system where water is known to exist. Seventy one percent of the earth is comprised of water with the largest body of water being the ocean. Everyone is very dependent on this water source and therefore, it becomes important, if not vital, to protect the ocean from unnecessary pollutants. Unfortunately, as the presence of manmade vessels in the ocean has increased it has become very difficult and costly to protect the ocean and prevent it from becoming polluted. One particular industry that has been heavily criticized for their disposal of waste into the ocean is the cruise ship industry. Although, there are many vessels that dispose of waste into the ocean this is an industry that has been surrounded by a lot of controversy regarding this issue. This may be attributed to the vast number of cruise vessels traveling in the ocean, making this industry a very visible one to the public. This thesis will examine the effect of the cruise ship industry on the ocean and if current laws are regulating this industry in a sufficient manner. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze these regulations in order to determine whether the government must place more stringent regulations on the cruise ship industry. It will examine the growth of the cruise ship industry in relation to the implementation of new guidelines to keep up with this growth. It will also analyze the current enforcement of these regulations to determine if the cruise ship industry is complying with current laws. This thesis will explain whether the government is doing all it can to protect the ocean or if the government needs to take a more active role in implementing new regulations.

Although the cruise industry and ROPAX ships have achieved steady growth with increased capacity, innovative service provisions and constantly being prepared for events of emergencies, they were not prepared for the sudden COVID-19 pandemic, and the travel restrictions and No Sail order put a halt to their services. Organisational resilience has received a growing interest in the world since its capabilities can support organisations to anticipate, cope and adapt to internal or external changes due to a crisis or unexpected event. This exploratory scenario study seeks to examine the cruise ships organisational resilience and service attributes in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.The empirical findings have been collected by using qualitative semi-structured interviews with four key managers and decision makers within the industry. The findings were themed to find qualitative variations and then analysed in relation to the presented literature through the adaptive change cycle. The adaptive change cycle has been used to explain the drastic and partially chaotic crisis and recovery of cruise services.

[pt] Esta tese de doutorado investiga aspectos relacionados à participação em cruzeiros marítimos por consumidores emergentes, pertencentes à chamada nova classe média brasileira . O arcabouço teórico do estudo está vinculado à corrente teórica denominada CCT – Consumer Culture Theory, ancorando-se particularmente no modelo conceitual proposto por McCracken (1986) sobre a transferência de significados do mundo culturalmente constituído para o consumidor e nas metáforas de consumo propostas por Holt (1995). Partiu-se do entendimento de que o consumo é essencialmente simbólico, uma vez que o consumidor atribui a bens e serviços significados que vão além do aspecto meramente utilitário. Buscou-se identificar a natureza dos significados atribuídos a cruzeiros marítimos por consumidores emergentes, assim como elementos do processo pelo qual se dá a transferência de significados do mundo culturalmente constituído para o consumidor. Adotou-se, assim, uma abordagem interpretativa, em que o que está em jogo não são os aspectos objetivos do consumo, mas a subjetividade inerente à percepção do consumidor em relação ao fenômeno pesquisado. A pesquisa desenvolveu-se por meio de combinação sistemática entre teoria e campo, seguindo a abordagem abdutiva proposta por Dubois e Gadde (2002). O estudo caracteriza-se ainda como pesquisa multimétodos, sendo constituído por três trabalhos empíricos que buscam entender o fenômeno investigado a partir de diferentes perspectivas. Os três estudos empíricos que compõem esta tese de doutorado são: (i) análise de conteúdo de anúncios de empresas que oferecem cruzeiros marítimos; (ii) grupos de foco com consumidores emergentes que ainda não haviam participado de um cruzeiro; e (iii) observação participante em cruzeiros marítimos posicionados para este segmento de consumidores. Por meio desses três estudos, buscou-se identificar a natureza simbólica dos cruzeiros marítimos para consumidores emergentes, tanto no que se refere à associação dos cruzeiros marítimos a significados atrelados ao produto por meio da propaganda das empresas organizadoras de cruzeiros, como aqueles que lhe são atribuídos pelos próprios consumidores. No primeiro estudo foram analisados 60 anúncios de empresas que oferecem cruzeiros marítimos, veiculados no semestre que antecedeu a temporada de cruzeiros 2011/2012, utilizando análise de conteúdo quantitativa e qualitativa. No segundo estudo, foram realizados quatro grupos de foco, com o propósito de entender o conteúdo simbólico presente no imaginário desse grupo, já que os consumidores que dele participaram não haviam tido ainda a experiência de consumo, embora tivessem a intenção de fazê-lo. Por fim, a observação participante foi realizada em dois cruzeiros. A primeira observação participante foi encoberta, ou seja, a pesquisadora conviveu com os participantes do cruzeiro sem revelar sua identidade, o que levou à realização de entrevistas em profundidade após o término do cruzeiro; a segunda foi aberta, tendo a pesquisadora revelado seu propósito durante o cruzeiro e realizado as entrevistas em profundidade ao longo do mesmo. Os métodos utilizados permitiram identificar tanto os significados veiculados pela propaganda das empresas ofertantes de cruzeiros marítimos, como aqueles que os consumidores associam ao consumo desse tipo de lazer. Verificou-se que a propaganda não surge como elemento principal no processo de transferência de significado para esses consumidores, sendo a difusão boca a boca mais importante, em função de sua credibilidade, além das imagens presentes no imaginário coletivo. Além de confirmar as metáforas de consumo propostas por Holt, o estudo identificou novas metáforas, em particular a de consumo como realização , em que os consumidores emergentes utilizam o consumo de cruzeiros como forma de evidenciar, para si mesmos e para os demais, sua ascensão social. / [en] This thesis investigates aspects related to participation in maritime cruises for emerging consumers belonging to the so called new Brazilian middle class. The theoretical framework of the study is linked to the theoretical trend called CCT - Consumer Culture Theory, anchoring particularly in the conceptual model proposed by McCracken (1986) on the transfer of meaning from the culturally constituted world to the consumer and the consumer metaphors proposed by Holt (1995). It started with the understanding that consumption is essentially symbolic, since consumers assign meanings to goods and services that go beyond the purely utilitarian aspect. It sought to identify the nature of the meanings assigned to cruises by emerging consumers, as well as elements of the process by which meanings are transferred from the culturally constituted world to the consumer. Thus, an interpretive approach was adopted, in which what is at stake is not the objective aspects of consumption, but the subjectivity inherent to the consumer s perception regarding the researched phenomenon. The research was developed through a systematic combination between theory and field, following the abductive approach proposed by Dubois and Gadde (2002). The three empirical studies that comprise this thesis are: (i) content analysis of advertisements from companies offering cruises; (ii) focus groups with emerging consumers who had not yet participated in a cruise; and (iii) participant observation in a cruise targeted at this consumer segment. Through these three studies, it sought to identify the symbolic nature of cruises to emerging consumers with regard to the association of such cruises to the meanings attached to products through the advertising of cruise organizer companies, as well as those meanings attributed to the cruise by the consumers themselves. In the first study 60 ads published by cruise companies were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. These ads were published in the semester preceding the 2011/2012 cruise season. In the second study, four focus groups were conducted, with the purpose of understanding the symbolic content present in the imagination of this group, as consumers participating had not yet experienced of this type of consumption, although they intended to do so. Finally, the participant observation was carried out in two cruises. The first participant observation was covert, meaning that the researcher experienced the cruise with the participants without revealing her identity, which led to the realization of in-depth interviews after the cruise; the second participant observation was overt, the researcher revealed her purpose during the cruise, and in-depth interviews were conducted during the trip. The methods allowed for the identification of both the meanings conveyed by the advertisement of companies that offer cruises, and those that consumers associate to the consumption of this type of leisure. Results indicate that advertisements do not appear as the main element in the process of meaning transference for these consumers; word of mouth is the more important and credible information dissemination path, as well as the images present in the collective imagination. Besides confirming the metaphors of consumption proposed by Holt, the study identified new metaphors, in particular that of consumption as achievement, where emerging consumers use consumption of maritime cruises as a way to demonstrate to themselves and to others, their social advancement.

This study establishes an initial understanding of the state of cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Two specific objectives were fulfilled; a) to develop an understanding of the goals and operational procedures of current cruise ship operators, and b) to provide insight into the policies that may be necessary for Parks Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service to enhance management in parks and protected areas. <br /><br /> Cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic is a relatively new industry. At present, there is a lack of inclusive government guidelines for the Canadian cruise tourism industry. The steady increase of cruise tourism traffic in the region since 1984 suggests the potential for environmental and social impacts to this fragile polar region. There is a need for the creation of guidelines to direct this tourism activity. <br /><br /> A literature review identified the current state of the cruise line industry in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, Antarctic and Alaskan waters. The policy requirements pertaining to cruise tourism in parks and protected areas were identified including the current management strategies for tourism employed in Northern Canadian parks and protected areas. <br /><br /> Content analysis of current cruise tourism literature themes, which were used to create and conduct interviews that explored these themes. From these findings, data was used to create a policy formation framework that will assist in the planning and management of cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. <br /><br /> The results indicated that cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic is percevied as a safe and economically viable industry. The research found a high degree of coherence between the literature and the opinion of the stakeholders in regards to key issues that need to be addressed. Such issues include the need for greater academic research on this topic; the need for policies and guidelines to aid in the management of parks and protected areas in polar regions; a need for unity and cohesion in the Arctic Cruise Tourism Industry and finally, greater government awareness and assistance given to the cruise tourism industry in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. There was also a high degree of enthusiasm from the stakeholders for inter-group and interagency cooperation. This enthusiasm bodes well for the future of cruise tourism policy creation in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. <br /><br /> This thesis proposes a structure for the way forward.

This study establishes an initial understanding of the state of cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Two specific objectives were fulfilled; a) to develop an understanding of the goals and operational procedures of current cruise ship operators, and b) to provide insight into the policies that may be necessary for Parks Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service to enhance management in parks and protected areas. <br /><br /> Cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic is a relatively new industry. At present, there is a lack of inclusive government guidelines for the Canadian cruise tourism industry. The steady increase of cruise tourism traffic in the region since 1984 suggests the potential for environmental and social impacts to this fragile polar region. There is a need for the creation of guidelines to direct this tourism activity. <br /><br /> A literature review identified the current state of the cruise line industry in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, Antarctic and Alaskan waters. The policy requirements pertaining to cruise tourism in parks and protected areas were identified including the current management strategies for tourism employed in Northern Canadian parks and protected areas. <br /><br /> Content analysis of current cruise tourism literature themes, which were used to create and conduct interviews that explored these themes. From these findings, data was used to create a policy formation framework that will assist in the planning and management of cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. <br /><br /> The results indicated that cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic is percevied as a safe and economically viable industry. The research found a high degree of coherence between the literature and the opinion of the stakeholders in regards to key issues that need to be addressed. Such issues include the need for greater academic research on this topic; the need for policies and guidelines to aid in the management of parks and protected areas in polar regions; a need for unity and cohesion in the Arctic Cruise Tourism Industry and finally, greater government awareness and assistance given to the cruise tourism industry in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. There was also a high degree of enthusiasm from the stakeholders for inter-group and interagency cooperation. This enthusiasm bodes well for the future of cruise tourism policy creation in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. <br /><br /> This thesis proposes a structure for the way forward.