This study contributes to the growing literature on repeat visitation by examining the factors that affect a cruise ship passenger's stated likelihood of returning to a visited port as a stayover tourist. Results from a survey on cruise ship passengers that stopped in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) during the second semester of 2009 suggest that about one half of the respondents plan a return trip to the area. We show that the probability of returning to the destination depends positively on the residence geographic area, on the level of satisfaction declared by the passenger, on the time spent out the ship, and especially on whether the tourist usually travels in cruises. The average visitor wanting to return as stayover tourist is thus male, lives in the Caribbean area, is highly educated, young, on his first cruise, on an self-organized visit, and has spend a lot of time in port and experienced satisfactory services and security.

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Mass customization has become important to business because of the difficulties for customers in finding what they want despite an increase in product variety for many categories over the past decades. The emergence of modern technologies in production and communication, however, allows companies to offer customised products and services without relinquishing economies of scale. The advent of web interfaces has finally given the opportunity to achieve completely the involvement of the customer in the product's entire design process. The results of our survey on more than 500 European customers show a declining willingness of customers to compromise on the issue of suitability of products to their personal needs and preferences, the possibility for companies to break brand loyalty through mass customization and the influence of immediate availability, delivery time and price on the customer's willingness to take part in the co-creation process of products.

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