PROOF OF CONCEPT — 2025
Royal
Caribbean
About the Project
Reimagining group travel from the first idea to the final memory
Group travel is inherently social, but planning it is fragmented across group chats, spreadsheets, booking sites, payment apps, and phone calls. Royal Caribbean saw an opportunity to bring these disconnected moments together through one cohesive group-travel experience.
My role
As Design Lead, I shaped the experience from discovery through concept development; translated customer research, competitive analysis, and business requirements into the product vision, experience framework, key journeys, wireframes, and interactive prototype.
Team
Monica Cleves — Group Creative Director
Goals
Create a seamless, self-service experience that helps groups discover, plan, book, and enjoy a cruise together—while reducing the burden on lead planners and unlocking a new growth opportunity for Royal Caribbean.
The Problem
The trip delights. Planning and booking don’t.
One person often becomes the system—coordinating schedules, gathering preferences, tracking payments, and keeping everyone informed across disconnected platforms.
Royal Caribbean’s existing tools also defined groups through booking thresholds rather than how people actually travel. Smaller groups received limited support, visibility, or self-service options despite facing the same complex planning needs.
What We Learned
Group trips don’t plan themselves. One person becomes the system.
Research with more than 2,500 travelers revealed that group travel is driven by connection, shared experiences, and celebration.
88%
traveled in groups of 3–10 people.
97%
would consider a vacation
for a special occasion.
51%
of lead planners were satisfied
with planning and booking.
The Solution
One shared destination for the entire group journey
We created Group Getaways by Royal Caribbean, an end-to-end concept that gives every group a shared digital home—from initial inspiration through booking and onboard coordination. Each traveler could manage their own booking, payments, and preferences while remaining connected to the larger group experience.
The experience included:
Personalized recommendations and planning guidance
A shared dashboard for invitations and guest management
Collaborative polls for dates, destinations, and activities
Booking, payment, and trip-status visibility
Shared itineraries, room locations, and reminders
Group perks, onboard activities, messaging, and memories
Collaborative polls for dates, destinations, and activities
Booking itineraries
Guest management
Outcome
The work produced a research-backed product vision, MVP definition, experience framework, and interactive prototype for Royal Caribbean’s future group-travel experience.
It also reframed the definition of a group—not simply by the number of staterooms booked, but by the coordination required across multiple households. More than a new booking flow, Group Getaways demonstrated how Royal Caribbean could transform fragmented planning into a differentiated, connected service.