Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: The Case of Star Cruise Libra, Penang.

Abstract

Quality of service is a major competitive advantage within the tourism industry and cruise liners are no exception. In recent years, the Asian-Pacific company Star Cruises has striven to strengthen and retain the loyalty of its customer base in an increasingly challenging market. This study aims to look at the interface between Star Cruises’ service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction level by analyzing data on one of its ships, the Super Star Libra, with its homeport in Penang, Malaysia. An adapted version of the SERVQUAL model was used by the researchers to evaluate the quality of service and customer satisfaction aboard the Libra, as was a questionnaire, whose instruments were developed from past studies. 102 questionnaires were given out to and collected from passengers who had ridden aboard the Super Star Libra. Results indicated that service quality dimensions such as tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, and empathy had a significant bearing on customer satisfaction. The latter also helped determine which cruise customers would prefer to spend their vacations on in the future. The outcome of this research provides useful guidelines for cruises that intend to capitalize on the quality of their service to both maintain the satisfaction of their existing customers and attract more potential customers going forward.