Last week, I went to see the new Pixar movie, “Up.”  Some of you might wonder why a 24-year old went to see a “kid’s movie.”  You want to know why?  Because Pixar kicks ass, and the movie was absolutely incredible.  I laughed, I almost cried, I said “awww” at least a dozen times, and I left the theater with a big grin on my face and learned a few life lessons.  It was certainly better than 95% of the movies I’ve seen in the past year, that’s for sure.

Now, I knew nothing about this movie before seeing it other than it had something to do with balloons and an old man. This wasn’t a problem because I had unwavering faith that Pixar would deliver an incredible experience; they didn’t disappoint.  I’m not the only one that thought so either: Up is currently at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and has made over 137 million dollars in its first two weekends.  I’d say I’m a trusting individual, but I’m also quite frugal with my money (and who isn’t these days?).  In order to earn my trust (and money), Pixar has had to consistently operate at an unparalleled level of cinematic perfection.  Not only have they done this every year, but they do it with a new concept, new director, new cast, new plot, and new characters every time.  From A Bug’s Life to Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo to WALL-E, each film has had very little in common with its predecessors.  Sure, there’s the occasional sequel (Toy Story 2), but each film has been resounding success with both critics and audiences alike.  After so many spectacular movies, I will not hesitate to head to the movie theater whenever the next Pixar “kid’s movie” comes out.

So, where am I going with all of this? Sixthman has only been around for 10 years, but I can’t wait until we “grow up” and have this effect on our customers.   Over the next year we’re very excited to launch new cruises with new bands, new companies, and new locations.  More often then not, we’ll be dealing with new customers who have no idea who we are or what we do.  By the time they finish their first Sixthman experience, I want customers to associate “Sixthman” with “Best freaking vacation EVER.”  Anything less means we haven’t done our job properly.

I read a book recently called Groundswell that discussed the various perceptions of a company; what they tell their customers they are, and what their customers really think about them.  Thanks to the ever growing influence of the internet, no matter what a company picks for a motto, the REAL motto is what their customers experience and decide.  Comcast will always be associated with “poor customer service” because they continue to dump money into marketing rather than improving their customer service.  To me, Pixar has become a company that always delivers a compelling, thoughtful, funny movie that I need to see as soon as possible.  I want Sixthman to be a company that is known for always delivering a compelling, enjoyable, unforgettable, epic vacation that people not only love to experience on a yearly basis, but will go out of their way to tell their friends about how much fun they’ve had.

How do we get there? Instead of a $10 movie ticket and 2 hours of your time, it’s $1000 and five days of your vacation, which means we have a much higher mountain to climb.  We need to provide each and every guest with the best possible experience every single time they step on board one of our ships.  After ten years of The Rock Boat we’ve been fortunate to gain the trust of the TRB alumni, almost selling out TRB X after only a handful of bands had been announced; however, that doesn’t mean we’re going to simply rest on our laurels.  If we start to slack and decide “hey, our guests love us and will come no matter what, why bother trying so hard?” we will quickly lose that reputation (M. Night Shyamalan, I’m looking in your direction).  If you’re coming back for your 10th Rock Boat, your 4th Simple Man Cruise, or your 3rd Cayamo, thank you for trusting us with your vacation again – we’re going to make sure it’s worth it.

For our new cruises, we need to exceed our guests expectations from the moment they initially book their cabin until they step off the ship on the last day of the event.  We need to do this every year, with every guest, on every cruise.  It’s quite the undertaking, but something that is absolutely vital to the longevity of Sixthman as a company and culture.

-Steve