Shore Excursions Group

What Shore Excursions Group does

Shore Excursions Group is a Florida-based e-commerce marketplace that sells shore excursions to cruise passengers worldwide. Founded in 2008, the company has curated a portfolio of more than 4,500 excursion experiences across 300+ ports and six continents, positioning itself as the world's largest independent shore excursion provider. The platform organizes inventory along two axes — group size (Private, Small Group of 2–20, Standard of 20–50) and experience type (Cultural, Scenic, Active, Water/Beach, Culinary) — and supports multi-currency booking in USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, and EUR.

The core product is a self-serve web booking platform supplemented by a B2B ecosystem consisting of the Excursions Affiliate Network (8% commission, with tracking links, marketing toolkits, and optional API access), a Private Labeling Program (white-label shore excursion websites for cruise lines and partners), and direct integrations with major cruise booking systems including Sabre/ClientBase, Odysseus, WinCruise, and Revelex. Ancillary products include Digital Port Guides (curated destination content) and an opt-in Excursion Protection Plan. The company holds trust certifications (BBB, ASTA, IATAN, TrustedSite) and industry recognition (Travvy Award, Magellan Gold and Silver, TripAdvisor accolades).

Shore Excursions Group operates a transaction-fee marketplace model, retaining a portion of each booking while paying local tour operators for delivery. It differentiates on price (up to 40% below cruise-line excursions), quality (average group size of 12), and trust guarantees (satisfaction guarantee, guaranteed return to ship, 24/7 traveler hotline). The company is privately held and was acquired by H.I.G. Capital in December 2025, with the new owner committing capital to technology platform enhancement and expansion of the vetted tour-operator network. The company is headquartered outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida, employs 11–50 people, and competes with larger OTAs such as Viator and GetYourGuide.

Name

Shore Excursions Group

Legal name

Shore Excursions Group LLC

Website

https://shoreexcursionsgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shore Excursions Group is a Florida-based e-commerce marketplace that books shore excursions for cruise passengers, offering 4,500+ curated tours across 300+ ports globally. It monetizes via marketplace transaction fees, an 8% affiliate network, white-label B2B solutions, and integrations with major cruise booking systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cruise Shore Excursions Marketplace

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (4872)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Cruise Shore Excursion Operators & Port Services (Agency-led) (THAKAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Shore Excursion Operators (Tours & Activities) (THAEAFAC), Shore Excursion & Port Services Operators (THAKAEAE)

Keywords

• Shore excursion booking
• Cruise port tours
• Excursion affiliate network
• Private cruise excursions
• Travel marketplace platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Weston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Excursion Transaction Sales: The company earns revenue by taking a transaction fee or commission on shore excursion bookings. Customers pay for tours at various price points ($50-$370+ per person depending on excursion type and group size), and the company retains a portion as revenue. This is a marketplace model connecting cruise passengers with local tour operators.
2. Affiliate Network Commissions: Partners in the Excursions Affiliate Network earn 8% commission on bookings made through their referral links. While this represents a cost to the company, it drives customer acquisition through the partner ecosystem.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Shore Excursions Group operates an online marketplace that curates and resells shore excursions to cruise passengers at ports of call worldwide. The platform aggregates 4,500+ excursions from local independent tour operators across 300+ ports, offered in Private, Small Group, and Standard formats, with guarantees on satisfaction, return-to-ship, and best price.

Product overview

Shore Excursions Group operates a B2C travel booking platform for cruise passengers and a B2B partner ecosystem. The core platform (shoreexcursionsgroup.com) offers over 4,500 shore excursions across 300+ ports worldwide, organized into three excursion sizes (Private, Small Group, Standard) and five experience types (Cultural, Scenic, Active, Water/Beach, Culinary). Supporting the platform are ancillary modules: the Excursions Affiliate Network (8% commission partner program with marketing tools and API access), a Private Labeling Program (white-label website capability), Digital Port Guides (curated destination content), and an Excursion Protection Plan (insurance add-on). The company was acquired by H.I.G. Capital in December 2025, with stated plans to invest in technology and product innovation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shore Excursions Group Platform B2C travel booking platform enabling cruise passengers to discover, compare, and book shore excursions across 300+ global ports with over 4,500 curated excursions, guaranteed return-to-ship and satisfaction policies, and a best-price guarantee.
• Private Shore Excursions Customized excursions for private groups of 2 to 25 guests, with vehicles accommodating up to 4, 8, 15, or 25 travelers; for groups of 4+ the per-person price is often lower than large cruise line tours.
• Small Group Shore Excursions Excursions tailored to groups of 2–20 people, offering a more personalized experience than standard cruise line tours; higher per-person pricing than standard tier due to smaller group sizes.
• Standard Shore Excursions Day excursions sized for 20–50 people, similar in scale to cruise line tours, with maintained quality and service standards despite larger group sizes.
• Excursions Affiliate Network Partner program enabling travel influencers, bloggers, and agents to earn 8% commission by sharing excursion recommendations; includes unique tracking links, marketing tools, automated emails, API access, and integrations with major cruise booking systems.
• Private Labeling Program White-label capability allowing partners (cruise lines, travel brands) to operate their own branded shore excursions websites using Shore Excursions Group's backend platform, booking functionality, and full excursion inventory.
• Digital Port Guides Digital destination guides curated by tour directors and local representatives covering port history, maps, shopping recommendations, weather, highlights, attractions, recommended clothing, restaurants, local currency, safety, and transportation.
• Excursion Protection Plan Optional insurance and protection coverage for booked shore excursions, providing refund and cancellation safeguards beyond the company's standard policy terms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5.7+ million shore excursions coordinated since 2008
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Local tour operators worldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShore Excursions Group partners with local independent tour operators in hundreds of ports worldwide to deliver shore excursions. These operators provide the actual tour services including transportation, guides, and experiences. The company curates and coordinates these relationships to ensure quality and reliability.
• Major cruise lines (40+)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorShore Excursions Group provides excursion offerings that complement major cruise lines including AIDA, Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Viking, Virgin Voyages, Windstar, and 40+ other cruise lines. Their excursions are available as alternatives to cruise line offerings.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ToursByLocals: Private tour marketplace specializing in local-guide-led experiences, with substantial shore excursion offerings. Competes most directly with Shore Excursions Group's Private and Small Group tiers.
• Musement: Tours and activities platform acquired by TUI Group, with significant overlap in shore excursions and cruise port experiences. Competes for both B2C bookings and B2B distribution through cruise operators.
• Klook: Asia-headquartered tours and activities platform expanding into global cruise ports. Operates a similar marketplace model connecting travelers with local tour operators, including shore excursion offerings.
• Peek: Tours and activities marketplace offering bookable experiences including shore excursions. Comparable technology platform with operator network curation and white-label/affiliate distribution capabilities.
• GetYourGuide: Global tours and activities marketplace with strong presence in European cruise ports. Competes head-to-head for cruise passenger excursion bookings with similar B2C marketplace dynamics and affiliate/partner programs.
• Withlocals: Private tours and experiences marketplace with strong cruise port coverage in Europe. Competes for the same private and small-group excursion demand from cruise passengers.
• Viator: Tripadvisor-owned global marketplace for tours, activities, and shore excursions. Viator is the closest direct competitor, offering the world's largest catalog of bookable experiences including a dedicated cruise shore excursion category.

Broad incumbents

• Expedia Group: Large OTA group that has expanded into activities and cruise-related bookings. Represents broader competitive pressure on travel distribution, including shore excursion cross-sell at the cruise booking stage.
• Airbnb Experiences: Broader online experiences marketplace from Airbnb. While not cruise-specific, it competes for shore-day leisure spending in cruise destinations and offers a scaled alternative for private/small-group experiences.

Others

• Cruise Critic: Leading cruise reviews and community platform owned by Tripadvisor. While not a booking marketplace for excursions, it influences cruise passenger purchasing decisions and is an indirect competitor for content-driven shore excursion discovery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ShoreExcursions
• Facebookfacebook.com/ShoreExcursionsGroup
• Instagraminstagram.com/shoreexcursionsgroup
• Pinterestpinterest.com/shoreexcursions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shore-excursions-group

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shore Excursions Group