The decision for VIER was made because the cruise company nicko cruises was looking for a solution that could easily and effectively network the three service centers distributed throughout Germany. "The biggest challenge was that the three service centers were different partners with their own telecommunications solutions and were not compatible with each other. The requirement was therefore to implement everything completely web-based and to get all three service centers under one roof," explains Andreas Grasberger, CTO of nicko cruises. Even back then, nicko cruises took care to select the system in such a way that additional channels such as voice and chatbots could be integrated if required and email management with the classic "Info@ mailboxes" could also be mapped in the ACD. The aim was to be able to distribute all information quickly and easily to the three service center locations.

“nicko cruises has implemented its key objectives—such as routing and connecting all locations—using the VIER Omnichannel ACD, and it’s working exceptionally well,” said Grasberger. A comprehensive reporting system is also in place, which has been greatly simplified by the central data hub. Since 2023, nicko cruises has worked with its partners Vodafone and VIER to implement the integration of voice and chatbots. “The goal here is to effectively support agents—or rather, to free up their time and allow them more flexibility—by having voice and chatbots handle all simple, recurring questions in advance,” adds Grasberger. The AI component of the contact center solution was trained using a wide range of internal company data—including a cloud-based internal knowledge base, published FAQs, advertising and sales materials, and information from nicko cruises’ booking system. The AI support was introduced gradually alongside existing direct contact and tested in live operations. It addresses specific use cases, such as questions regarding document delivery or payment information. The generative AI implemented in the solution then generates the dialogs with guests. This allows agents to focus on their core tasks: sales and providing targeted, in-depth advice on cruise products. “The AI-powered chatbots and voice bots noticeably reduce the workload on our agents,” says Andreas Grasberger.
As a closed system with individual customer authentication, the solution also ensures compliance with all data protection regulations, including the requirements of the GDPR.

In the future, the partners plan to further develop the solution that has already been implemented. This will enable even more complex customer requests—such as booking additional services or updating address information—to be automated. In addition, the AI solution will be expanded to include further analytics functions that provide metrics on the quality of service delivered and, where necessary, identify areas for employee training and professional development. In the long term, the AI will also contribute content to the company’s internal knowledge database.

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