Theming provides coherence, pleasure, and fantasy to the enjoyment of goods and services. Although social scientists and tourism researchers have studied built environments that are themed, the theming of activities and special events has not been examined in great detail. Themed activities and events are an integral dimension of themed cruises and underpin the provision of experiences that are coordinated and organised around a particular hobby, pastime, or specialised interest. This article identifies and analyses a series of factors that have contributed to the rise of themed cruises. These factors are the fragmentation of markets, the rising importance of neo-tribal affiliations, the heightened sense of nostalgic identification with past eras, and the popularity of celebrities. Themed cruises serve a particularly important purpose for the cruise industry because they are used as a way of attracting both first-time and repeat passengers. Business imperatives are ultimately behind the structured ‘thematisation' of consumption. The examples that complement the more theoretical components of the article were obtained from articles published in newspapers and travel-industry periodicals. A crucial notion addressed by this article is that the four factors responsible for the rise of themed cruises are interwoven and mutually reinforcing.

Research has found that corporate reputations are particularly important for service firms. Yet, extant, similar research has not been conducted in the tourism sector where customers typically purchase complex bundles of services. Hoping to assist in filling this void, the purpose of this study was to segment cruise passengers based on their perceptions of a cruise line's reputation and identify differences between the resultant reputation groups. Data were collected on two separate 7-day Caribbean voyages, on board the same Holland America Line (HAL) ship. Vast differences were found between reputation groups and their perceptions of prior experiences. It was further revealed that reputation has a great influence over cruise passengers' perceptions of price sensitivity, monetary price, behavioral price, quality, value, satisfaction, word of mouth, and repurchase intentions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.