Norwegian Cruise Lines is willing to bet that some guests on their 4,200 passenger ship Norwegian Epic would. They are offering a guitar package for those interested guests. For $10 a day, the package includes a guitar and a pod, which is a private amplifier, according to this USA Today article. The Norwegian Epic is one of the new large ships by Norwegian Cruise lines, which is set to sail in July 2010.
Although many guests may not make use of the package, Norwegian Cruise Lines meets guests’ needs and provides a better cruising guest experience by offering guitar rentals.
For musicians, the guitar rentals will allow them to do what they enjoy while on vacation without the hassle or worry of risking their own expensive guitar through all of their travel arrangements. Plus, if the guest will need to take a flight to the cruise port, the $10 a day rental would probably be the better economical choice. For non-musicians, the private amplifier will allow everyone to enjoy the cruise, since it would not matter whether the musician in the cabin next door is the next Hendrix or a practicing tween.
In addition, vacation is an excellent time to pick up an old hobby or develop a new one, according to this Mintel article.
The research finds consumers participating in a broad range of activities whilst on holiday. An estimated 7.1 million adults (11%) have learnt a sport or game on holiday in the past three years, while 4.6 million (9%) have learnt a language, 6.6 million (13%) have learnt a new skill, and 3.1 million (6%) have attended a course. Three of the fastest-growing segments in this sector are photography holidays, cookery holidays and dance holidays.
While the amenity might not spark the interest of many, it does improve the guest cruising experience for those interested. However, how likely are guests going to use or know about the amenity while they are on the cruise? When I browsed through the Norwegian Epic website, I could only find a reference to the “Check-in-Rock Out” program on the blog. Guitarists, who would find the greatest benefit from the amenity, would need to know about the program ahead of time in order to decide that they would rather leave their guitars at home. Plus, the program is only applicable to a few guests and probably won’t sway a potential guest to the Norwegian Epic.
