Cruise Passengers’ Perceived Service Quality During the Pandemic Period via User-Generated Content

The coronavirus epidemic, which emerged in Wuhan at the end of 2019, spread worldwide and caused more than 4 million deaths as of 2021. The cruise industry, whose goal is to maintain customer satisfaction at the highest possible level, like all service industries, has passed a difficult test with serious coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases that emerged on various ships. The new rules of the COVID-19 pandemic are reflected in the service processes of the ships that started to sail again after a long-term pause in the sector. The main motivation of this study is to determine whether the factors affecting customers’ perceived service quality have changed during the pandemic period in the cruise industry, which is one of the sectors where service quality should be maintained high. Therefore, this study aims to determine the factors affecting the perceived service quality of cruise passengers and determine the new factors that occurred during the pandemic. To achieve this goal, the online narratives of 418 passengers cruising in the European Region between September 2020 and September 2021 were analyzed using Leximancer software, and key elements of passengers’ perceptions of service quality were determined. As a result of the study, it was found that cabin location, restaurant quality, and COVID-related variables became significant factors affecting the perceived service quality of cruise passengers during the pandemic period. Additionally, disembarkation and embarkation, which were important variables in the pre-COVID period, were reclassified under the COVID category. The study also determined that adherence to COVID-19 measures by cruise companies positively impacted customer satisfaction during this period.