Rosetta Stone Enterprise: Norwegian Cruise Line Partners with Rosetta Stone to Strengthen Its Customer Service Philosophy

About Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is the innovator in cruise travel with a 42-year history of breaking the boundaries of traditional cruising, most notably with the introduction of Freestyle Cruising, which has revolutionized the industry by allowing guests more freedom and flexibility.

Today, NCL has the youngest fleet in the industry with 12 purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ships, providing guests the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed cruise vacation on the newest, most contemporary ships at sea.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL): At a Glance

• www.ncl.com
• 10,000 crew members

Situation

While NCL’s business language is English, the company operates ships in many parts of the world where English is not the native or most commonly spoken language. NCL recognized and understood the competitive advantages of speaking its customers’ native language, and therefore, looked to implement a uniform program that would allow its 10,000 crew members — at sea at any given time, making face-to-face training difficult — the opportunity to learn to speak to its customer-base in their native language.

Solution

Committed to providing the best customer service in its industry, NCL implemented a progressive initiative called “Crew 2.0,” a program geared to provide all crew members with access to Rosetta Stone® Enterprise Version 3 language-learning software in its on-board training computer labs.

Results

Within the first six months of launching the program in May 2008, each NCL ship has trained approximately 30 crew members and expects this number to grow as more languages and computers are added to their ships. Crew members now have access to the tools needed to become bi- or multilingual, which helps to improve their interpersonal skills as well as communication among fellow employees, in turn empowering them to elevate the company’s commitment to customer service.

"It is very important to improve our understanding of the English language because it is the language we use onboard. And, if you want to express yourself, Rosetta Stone helps you do it fluently." —Crew Member

NCL Recognizes Benefits of Communicating to Customers in their Native Language

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) prides itself on its purpose of challenging traditional cruise conventions so that it can deliver the most liberating experience at sea for all its guests. Within its 42-year history, NCL’s customer service philosophy drives everything it does for its customers. NCL’s S.T.Y.L.E, which stands for Service, Teamwork and Yes Lead to Excellence, is the company’s commitment to deliver dream vacations with outstanding, friendly and efficient guest service from a dedicated, passionate team.

As part of the company’s commitment to providing the best customer service in its industry, NCL implemented “Crew 2.0,” in which it provides all NCL crew with access to Rosetta Stone® Enterprise Version 3 language-learning software in its on-board training computer labs. What started with one to two languages offered has grown quickly to include French, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), English and, soon, German.

Rosetta Stone® Enterprise Version 3 Provides NCL
Uniform Platform for Language Learning

The logistics of NCL’s operation makes “face-to-face” training difficult, so the company decided that the Rosetta Stone “at your own pace” format would be more successful. Since there is no translation, it also made the format easier for its non-native English speaking crew members. Within the program’s first six months, each ship has trained approximately 30 crew members, and the company expects that number to grow as more languages and computers are added. The idea for the overall program grew from NCL’s customer service philosophy — a concept that all employees take pride in supporting and role modeling. By providing crew with the tools needed to become bi- or multilingual they allow individuals the opportunity to improve their interpersonal skills as well as communication amongst fellow employees. In turn, this has a positive influence on customer service and makes crew members stronger, more confident individuals.

"I’m very comfortable with Rosetta Stone because it lets me speak the language and then teaches me how to speak it correctly."
"It’s very convenient to have Rosetta Stone on laptops, so I can bring it to my cabin and learn in my free time." —Crew Members

Proven Method: The Most Effective Way to Learn a New Language

Rosetta Stone is an interactive software program that provides an engaging, effective way to learn a new language: entirely by immersion. Its proven method, innovative versatile instruction and clever, easy-to-use program, creates an engaging learning environment. The Rosetta Stone Dynamic Immersion® method immediately teaches users to think in a new language, by connecting real-life images and contexts with meaning. Rosetta Stone uses a proprietary speech recognition program, guided pronunciation exercises and conversation practice to build confidence in speaking. Rosetta Stone users learn to read and write by associating letters and words with sounds and meanings. Users become proficient in understanding native speakers through exposure to fluent speech combined with clear meaning from context. Instant feedback is provided within a carefully sequenced structure to ensure learning success.

About Rosetta Stone Enterprise

Rosetta Stone Enterprise is a cost-effective language-training solution that harnesses the power of technology to provide immersion-based, self-paced study, accelerate language learning and provide quantifiable measurements of success. Rosetta Stone Enterprise builds language skills, helping organizations maximize their talent pool and improve communication internally and globally. Used by thousands of companies worldwide for all levels of learning, Rosetta Stone Enterprise is uniquely scalable and flexible to any business or organization’s needs. Innovative features include advanced speech recognition technology that helps learners to start speaking a language quickly with correct pronunciation, and an intuitive user interface that captivates and engages users. The program is offered in 25 languages and can be accessed online by employees anywhere at any time. The program also offers Rosetta Stone Manager, a built-in management tool that provides powerful, easy-to-use administrative and reporting functionality for easily tracking employee success. These tools deliver easy-to-read reports and graphs that track learner activity, progress and scores — providing organizations with key information needed to confirm return on language investment.

Rosetta Stone Enterprise available in:

• Arabic
• Chinese (Mandarin)
• Danish
• Dutch
• English (American)
• English (British)
• Filipino (Tagalog)
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Indonesian
• Irish
• Italian
• Japanese

• Korean
• Latin
• Pashto
• Persian (Farsi)
• Polish
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Russian
• Spanish (Latin America)
• Spanish (Spain)
• Swahili
• Swedish
• Thai
• Turkish
• Vietnamese
• Welsh