A-ROSA River Cruises cuts avoidable calls 45% with AI, phone bookings up 89%

A-ROSA cuts avoidable calls 45% and lifts phone bookings 89% with AI coaching

A-ROSA River Cruises has rolled out AI across its customer service operation in partnership with German tech company Alyza. The goal: reduce avoidable contacts, speed up resolutions, and give agents more time for real consultation.

How it works

AI analyzes customer and partner calls and emails (with prior consent) and feeds agents real-time context: reason for contact, sentiment, and resolution likelihood. It also flags repeat patterns, highlights process gaps, and suggests next best actions and coaching tips during and after conversations.

Alyza scores conversation success and friendliness, surfacing what's working and where to improve. A-ROSA is building a focused coaching program for its call center team based on these insights.

Early results

• 45% fewer avoidable service calls in travel information and payments.
• 89% increase in booking completions via phone.
• About 22,000 calls analyzed in six months, averaging five minutes each.
• Above-average resolution rates and top-tier friendliness, according to Alyza's analysis.

Leadership view: the system supports growth and improves service quality, giving employees more time for meaningful consultation and customers faster responses.

Why support leaders should care

Real-time analytics and coaching close the loop between QA and performance. By removing low-value contacts and tightening processes, teams free up capacity for revenue-driving conversations-and improve customer experience without adding headcount.

How to apply this in your contact center

• Define "avoidable contact" categories (e.g., travel info, payments, account access). Track them weekly.
• Set up explicit consent flows for call and email analysis. Be transparent about what's analyzed and why. See guidance on consent under GDPR here.
• Deploy AI for live intent detection, sentiment, and wrap-up reason tagging. Pipe insights into your CRM and ticketing.
• Turn AI insights into a weekly coaching cadence: one skill focus, two behaviors to practice, one metric to move.
• Automate the easy wins: proactive notifications, self-serve payment updates, and clearer pre-trip info.
• Instrument outcomes: conversion, AHT, first-contact resolution, customer effort, and friendliness scores.
• Close the loop with Product/Ops when the same friction repeats. Fix root causes, not just handle volume.

Metrics to mirror

• Volume of avoidable contacts and % change week-over-week.
• Booking completions per 100 connected calls.
• Resolution rate by intent type and channel.
• Friendliness/quality scores tied to coaching actions.

Guardrails that build trust

• Obtain and manage consent; allow opt-outs without penalty.
• Limit access to conversation data and audit who views it.
• Share aggregated insights with agents so they see the benefit, not just the oversight.

Level up your team's AI skills

If you're implementing AI across support roles and want structured training, explore role-based options here: Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.

The takeaway: focus AI on context, coaching, and process fixes. Reduce noise, increase conversions, and give your team time for the conversations that matter.