P&O Cruises aimed to open the world of cruising to more guests by simplifying a complex booking experience. The challenge was to turn a maze of choices into a guided journey that feels personal, human, and easy to navigate.
Immediate and dramatic impact with 16:1 return in three months.
Total Net Revenue increased by 66%, with average booking value per guest up by 4%.
Conversions rose by 86%, supported by a 63% open rate and a 20% click-through rate. Nearly two and a half times the previous journey.
Average lead time improved by 10%, allowing the brand to fill ships faster and expand upsell opportunities.
Turning a welcome series to a relationship system
Many guests still book cruises through travel agents or call centers, relying on real people to guide them to the right cruise. Our strategy was to bring that experience online, creating a CRM digital journey that feels like speaking with an expert who listens, understands, and helps you choose with confidence.
We started by studying how people make decisions in this category: through conversation, not conversion funnels. The journey had to feel human. One that simplifies complexity, builds confidence, and meets every guest where they are.
To make that happen, we:
- Translated a vast, information-heavy website into digestible, curated moments.
- Anticipated questions a first-time guest might ask and answer them naturally in the journey.
- Tailored each message based on interaction, such as what guests click or linger on.
- Used declared preferences to evolve content over time, just as a travel expert would.
This approach turned CRM from a static communication tool into a living, responsive relationship system. Interactive content listened to what guests engaged with and adjusted what they saw next, while each interaction captured new data to fuel future personalization.
By designing CRM as a true conversation, we created a bridge between exploration and booking that is intelligent, automated, and always on.
Designing a journey that listens
To make the experience feel personal, we built a five-email welcome journey that listens, learns, and adapts to every guest. Each message builds on the one before it, turning information into inspiration and helping guests move naturally from curiosity to commitment.
The experience is guided by three principles:
- Clarity through relevance. Translate a complex world of options into clear, simple choices.
- Excitement through interaction. Let guests explore destinations, themes, and activities that match their interests.
- Connection through personalization. Use every click and preference to refine what comes next.
Each email deepens engagement:
- Discover. Inspire with the world of P&O Cruises through bold imagery and approachable storytelling.
- Explore. Invite guests to share their holiday interests with interactive content that shapes what they see next.
- Tailor. Adapt imagery, offers, and tone based on declared preferences and previous behavior.
- Discover. Inspire with the world of P&O Cruises through bold imagery and approachable storytelling.
- Act. Deliver a final message that reflects each guest’s choices and inspires them to book their adventure.
- And for the small proportion of our customers who can’t receive interactive emails, this entire experience is replicated on a landing page.
When CRM listens, results follow
The new welcome journey delivered immediate and measurable impact. By turning one-way communication into a two-way conversation, P&O Cruises built stronger relationships and drove significant commercial results. Within just three months, the program achieved a 16:1 ROI, a 66 percent increase in total net revenue, and a 4 percent rise in average booking value per guest. Bookings grew by 86 percent, supported by a 63 percent open rate and a 20 percent click-through rate—more than double the previous journey. Average lead time also improved by 10 percent, helping ships fill faster and opening new opportunities for upsell. The campaign proved that when CRM listens, it performs, transforming a welcome series into an intelligent system that turns curiosity into commitment.
