Desk research, also known as secondary research, is making use of information that is already

available. Internally the firm can draw on its own records. Different departments can provide
information on sales trends, customers and costing which is useful in the development of new
products. Extensive published material can also be sourced externally. In addition the
development of new technology such as the internet provides information at the touch of a
button.
Field research or primary research is carried out by contacting potential consumers directly. It
may include surveys, questionnaires and general observation.
Surveys involve questioning people directly about their attitude to a particular product or service.
Surveys are usually carried out using a face to face interview or by telephone. Because it is
impossible to survey all target customers, sampling is used. A representative group or sample,
whose views will accurately reflect the target population, is chosen. Questionnaires are lists of
prepared questions which potential customers are asked to fill out. They are often used in
conjunction with surveys. Careful attention must be given to the design of questionnaires so that
the answers received are of value for decision making.
Information can be gathered by

2.6.1 Segmentation of the Cruise Line Passengers

CUSTOMER PROFILE
The cruise line market into four distinctive categories: the middle market, the upper middle
market, and the luxury market.
The first one tends to cater middle class providing much activities and a range of
restaurant services, usually in a larger cruise ship.
Middle market aims to serve upper-middle class, which can be seen as the main
market area with much diversity in consumers and cruise lines.

Luxury market offers high staff-to-passenger ratio and superior services, so this is
mainly provided for lower-upper and upper-upper social classes.

Table 4. Benefits that cruisers are

searching for Past Cruisers (%)
Explore a vacation
62
area to return later
Good value for money 53
Offers something for
59
everyone
Reliable
49
Safe
45
63
Relax/Get away from
it all
Hassie-free
58
Fun vacation
53

Non-cruisers (%)
30
22
31
22
18
37
32
28

Data Collection
The first method used was archival records. They often take the form of computer files and
records and example evidence include public use files, service records, maps and charts
and survey data
the importance of archival records and statistics is that the researcher can form a new
statistics based on the combination of different data derived from the study. Consequently,
archival records are seen as an effective way to search for generalization to different
research questions and cases.
As a second source of evidence for the study, semi-structured interviews were used.
According to Koskinen et al. (2005, p.104), semi-structured interviews are the most used
qualitative data collection method in business studies. They are also known as thematic
interviews because the interview is based on the theme about some specific subject.
Furthermore, in semi-structured interviews the researcher has prepared a set of questions,
thus seeing that during the conversation they might be changed in order to clarify some
issues or exclude some before thought ones. As a result, the interviewer can ask specific
questions that the interviewee answers with his/her words that do not necessarily benefit
the researcher in any way. Koskinen et al. (2005) Finally, the strength of semi-structured
interviews is that they are free-formed, thus still controllable, and they are close to
conversations
As the third source of evidence, focus groups were used. According to Morgan (1997, p.3),
focus groups are an effective way to support other data sources although the research
would be quantitative in nature
Focus groups can be seen as a mixture of interviews and participant observation, since
according to Morgan (1997, p.7), they are conducted as discussions with a larger amount of
people rather than only one which is essential in interview