Cruise yachting and social sustainability: An economic optimization of the crew-to-passenger ratio
- 1Odesa National Maritime University
Abstract
This study investigates the crew-to-passenger ratio in cruise yachting, addressing the critical balance between service quality, operational costs, and social sustainability. As the sector transitions towards personalized, small-vessel experiences, determining optimal staffing levels is essential for maintaining fair labor practices and economic viability. We develop a social sustainability matrix to classify service operations and propose an economic-mathematical optimization model that balances the elasticity of service quality against the variable costs of additional crew. Our results indicate that reducing the crew-to-passenger ratio improves the perceived service quality index by 30% and allows for a 15% increase in cruise prices, but simultaneously raises crew-related variable costs by 31%. The findings demonstrate that while higher staffing enhances passenger satisfaction, it yields diminishing returns. This model provides cruise operators and charter companies with a quantitative tool to optimize staffing, manage costs, and evaluate compliance with sustainable labor standards.
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BibTeX
@misc{navrozova2026cruise,
title = {{Cruise yachting and social sustainability: An economic optimization of the crew-to-passenger ratio}},
author = {Yuliia Navrozova and Anatoliy Kholodenko and Veronika Shcherbyna and Maryna Matviienko and Iuliia Mykhailova and Ihor Poliakov},
howpublished = {Zenodo},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23597776},
url = {https://zenodo.org/records/23597776},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Cruise yachting and social sustainability: An economic optimization of the crew-to-passenger ratio
AU - Yuliia Navrozova
AU - Anatoliy Kholodenko
AU - Veronika Shcherbyna
AU - Maryna Matviienko
AU - Iuliia Mykhailova
AU - Ihor Poliakov
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
PB - Zenodo
DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23597776
UR - https://zenodo.org/records/23597776
AB - This study investigates the crew-to-passenger ratio in cruise yachting, addressing the critical balance between service quality, operational costs, and social sustainability. As the sector transitions towards personalized, small-vessel experiences, determining optimal staffing levels is essential for maintaining fair labor practices and economic viability. We develop a social sustainability matrix to classify service operations and propose an economic-mathematical optimization model that balances the elasticity of service quality against the variable costs of additional crew. Our results indicate that reducing the crew-to-passenger ratio improves the perceived service quality index by 30% and allows for a 15% increase in cruise prices, but simultaneously raises crew-related variable costs by 31%. The findings demonstrate that while higher staffing enhances passenger satisfaction, it yields diminishing returns. This model provides cruise operators and charter companies with a quantitative tool to optimize staffing, manage costs, and evaluate compliance with sustainable labor standards.
ER -