Bryman (2004; 1999) conceptualised ‘Disneyization’ as the ways in which ‘the principles of Disney theme parks dominate’ various sectors of the world. According to Bryman, Disney parks have four key unique characteristics which may also be observed on cruise ships (Weaver 2006). Firstly, the cruise ship is a themed environment – a stylised place that creates the ambience of fantasy and fun. For example, the Harmony of the Seas offers a seven nights/eight days round trip cruise of the Eastern Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA. The ship is a means of transport to different ports of call but the ship, given all its amenities as a ‘floating resort’ (Wood 2006), is in itself is a tourist destination (Wood 2004). The visual motif varies from one ship to another and Cruise Lines compete to attract cruise passengers by offering different packages, on-board activities, shore excursions and accommodation that can be enjoyed.
Secondly, cruise ships are characterised by the sale of merchandise such as souvenirs, t-shirts, jewellery and perfume. Perhaps the most successful example of brand consumption is the Disney Cruise Line, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company (Weaver 2006). The Disney brand and the ship reinforce each other. Visitors of Disney World are enticed to see how ‘the magic’ is recreated at sea: on the ship, cruise passengers are also able to consume every valued emblem of the Disney brand. Each of the more than fifty cruise lines (cruisemapper.com) aims to promote a particular brand that sets them apart from others and caters for a targeted market.
Thirdly, cruise ships are places of hybrid consumption where the purchase of merchandise and various form of services, on-board and in different ports of call, are interlocked with each other. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the largest trade network of cruise companies, suppliers and travel agents, estimated that in 2014, direct expenditure from cruise lines, crew and passengers amounted to approximately US$56 billion (Table 1). CLIA-member cruise lines spent in the region of US$40 billion for a variety of goods and services to support their global cruise operation (CLIA 2015).
Table 1 Direct expenditures within the cruise sector
Category Amount
(in billion US$)
Home port passengers 7.56
Transit passengers 7.07 Passenger total 14.63 Crew 12.7 Cruise Lines 39.87 TOTAL 55.77 Source: (CLIA 2015)
On top of the cruise package, passengers spent almost US$15 billion on retail goods, shore excursions and other services throughout the trip. Even crew members made US$1.3 billion worth of purchases of goods and services. CLIA (2015) further estimated that on average the crew and the passengers spent US$127 million on local transit and retail (food and beverages, accommodation, tours and transit, etc.) for every visit day at ports of call. These tourism-related activities in the local communities and cities are intertwined with the passengers’ purchase of the cruise package. It is for this reason that the cruise industry claims that they have a direct and indirect economic impact on local/national economies.
Cruise-related consumption is very intense from the point of view of both the passengers and the crew who make these purchases. One review3 of a ship has the
following remarks:
Pro: a dizzying number of on-board activities and top-notch entertainment ensure you’ll never be bored.
Con: The ship’s central Royal Promenade is a bit like a shopping mall, and sales pitches are at every turn.
This illustrates how the contained space of the ship is maximised as a revenue-capture system (Weaver 2005c). The propensity to buy amongst passengers is reinforced by both the on-board environment and the medium of transaction. These purchases, from
3 Source: ‘Freedom of the Seas Review’ Available at: https://goo.gl/M1s81z [Accessed 13 December 2016].
booking to the payments of goods and services on-board, can only be made via debit or credit cards that distance the vacationer from the ‘pain of spending’ and so result in over consumption. The perceived cost of the product or service on-board seem small compared to the large resource of money made accessible through the credit/or debit card (Morewedge et al. 2007). Unlike the use of cash, where the actual transaction is seen and the amount of money to be paid is counted and realised, the use of credit/debit cards throughout the cruise vacation makes the monetary exchange invisible and appear less painful.
A final aspect of Disneyization on-board cruise ships is the performative labour of the crew, particularly of the service workers in the entertainment, food and beverage, hotel, retail and personal care divisions. Customer service is part and parcel of the overall ambience of the cruise ship that cruise passengers look for when considering whether to purchase a package (Xie et al. 2012). For workers who interact with passengers, ‘emotion is not just a response to the work situation but actually is the work’ (Tracy 2000 p.91). Smiling for example is a required emotional display in order to maintain the ambience of fun and enjoyment on-board. In addition to physical tasks (e.g. serving drinks and food, taking used plates and cutlery back to the galley), bar and restaurant waiters on cruise ships are also required to ‘labour emotionally’ (Hochschild 1983) as they are expected to greet and chat with the passengers with happiness, calmness, pleasantness and politeness to make their stay comfortable (Zhao 2002). The tips passengers give to staff are based on their ability to create a rapport as much as their efficient delivery of products and services.