Cruise Ships Resources

Cruising has recently gained significant importance as one of the fastest growing niche sectors within the tourism industry (Bow, 2002; Kester, 2002; Veronneau & Roy, 2009). Modern cruises with ever-larger vessels have transformed the ship from merely transporting tourists to various destinations to become a resort in its own right (Kester, 2002; Papathanasis & Beckmann, 2011; Weaver, 2005). With the extended facilities offered, competitive pricing and aggressive marketing campaigns, a cruise is no longer perceived as '... a boring or elite type of vacation for the newlywed or nearly dead, to something affordable and rewarding that everyone could enjoy' (Veronneau & Roy, 2009, p. 129).

The expansion of the cruise industry has led to a range of jobs for people with different skills, experiences and backgrounds (Dickinson & Vladimir, 2007; Wood, 2000). Employers depend on their employees to perform at levels that positively affect the profitability of the business through influencing both repeat business and customer recommendations (Wiley, 1995). Furthermore, tourists who embark on cruise ships have clear service expectations, and employees' performances falling short of expectations bring about customer dissatisfaction (Huang & Hsu, 2010). Therefore, highly motivated employees are a contributing factor in providing excellent services that in turn determine the success of the company. Cruise ships can be seen as a unique area to study employee motivation for reasons that are primarily related to the ship's physical isolation for extended periods of time. The unique aspect of the cruise environment and the travelling element to the job suggest these employees may face different experiences to employees in the conventional form of service organisation.

A number of studies have been conducted on managing employees in the various subsectors of the hospitality industries (e.g., Balmer & Baum, 1993; Lundberg, Gudmundson, & Anderson, 2009; Ogaard, Marnburg, & Larsen...