or ethnographic approaches would permit more direct investigation of the symbolic
responses (e.g. brand-self congruity and self-identity construction) to shipscapes.
Indeed, this is a potentially fascinating area of future research – and one of significant
practical importance for cruise marketers. For many cruisers, the increasing
complexity of the shipscape has created convoluted experiential meanings. As
suggested by the cruiser comment that led this paper, the feeling one gets aboard some
ships is conflated, leaving cruisers unsure whether they actually experience a “cruise”
or something different – a floating theme park for grownups. The findings presented
in this paper suggest that research is needed from tourism scholars (and cruise
executives) that listens to the voice of the cruiser to better understand shifting
meanings – and the influence of the shipscape on the experiential and symbolic
dimensions of the leisure cruise experience.