Cruise Nation
Cruise Nation is a UK-based online cruise travel agency that aggregates inventory from 18+ major cruise lines across 200+ destinations and sells bundled Smart Packages (cruise + flight + free hotel) directly to British consumers via a self-service website and phone sales team.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersSwansea, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Cruise Nation does
Cruise Nation is a UK-based online travel agency that specializes in selling cruise holiday packages to British consumers. Operating under the legal entity Really Great Cruises Ltd (company number 06908517, registered in England and Wales), the company is headquartered in Swansea and conducts its package holiday business as an appointed agent for Hays Tour Operating Limited, which holds ATOL 10531. The platform aggregates inventory from more than 18 major cruise lines, including MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Virgin Voyages, Cunard, P&O, Holland America, Disney, and Silversea, offering access to over 200 destinations worldwide.
The core product is the Smart Package, which bundles a cruise sailing with flights, free hotel accommodation, low deposits (sometimes as low as £1 per person), and monthly payment options. Supporting the customer journey is a proprietary Smart Code system — a unique identifier assigned to each cruise holiday that enables sales agents to retrieve and manage bookings consistently across phone (0333 455 8500) and online channels. The platform is built around a self-service booking website integrated with the Hays Tour Operating booking and payment system (haysitour.co.uk), supplemented by a UK-based phone sales team and a customer support line. Deal merchandising is segmented into categories such as Knockout Deals, Red Hot Deals, Last Minute Cruises, All Inclusive Cruises, and Cruise & Tour (Toureka) packages, and the company backs this with an extensive content marketing library of more than 50 cruise guides and 100+ blog posts for organic search acquisition.
Cruise Nation generates revenue as a transaction-fee agent, earning commission on cruise package sales without charging customers a separate booking fee for online transactions. Pricing is dynamic across cruise line, destination, cabin grade, and departure date, with promotional discounts of 30-70% off standard retail pricing used to drive conversion. Marketing is a multi-channel mix spanning content marketing (blog, guides), organic social (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, Pinterest), email, and Feefo verified reviews (4.9/5 across 11,919 reviews). The target customer is the UK holidaymaker across use cases including family cruises, honeymoons, adults-only escapes, and group travel, with a stated cumulative customer base of 720,000+.
Cruise Nation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cruise Nation
- Legal name
- Really Great Cruises Ltd
- Website
- https://cruisenation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Cruise Nation is a UK-based online cruise travel agency that aggregates inventory from 18+ major cruise lines across 200+ destinations and sells bundled Smart Packages (cruise + flight + free hotel) directly to British consumers via a self-service website and phone sales team.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cruise Nation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cruise Holiday Travel Agency
- NAICS
- Travel Agencies (561510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cruise Aggregators & Online Cruise Agencies (THAKAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cruise Booking Platforms (THALAFAG), Hotel + Pre/Post-Cruise Land Stays (Cruisetours) (THAEAHAC), Cruise Consolidators & Wholesale Cruise Sellers (THAKAKAH)
Keywords
Where Cruise Nation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Swansea
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cruise Nation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Cruise Package Sales Commission: Acts as a travel agent selling cruise packages from multiple cruise lines. Earns commission on bookings made through the platform. No booking fee is payable when booking online.
- Smart Package Upsells: Bundle cruises with flights, hotels, and additional services. Revenue generated through markups on bundled packages including hotel stays and flight arrangements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Dynamic pricing based on cruise line, destination, cabin grade, and travel date |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Cruise Nation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cruise Nation is a UK online cruise travel agency that sells cruise holiday packages from 18+ major cruise lines (MSC, NCL, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Cunard, P&O, Holland America, Virgin Voyages, Disney, and others) covering 200+ destinations worldwide. Its flagship "Smart Packages" bundle cruises with flights, free hotel stays, low deposits, and monthly payment options. Customers can book online via cruisenation.com or by phone, with all packages sold as agent for Hays Tour Operating Limited under ATOL 10531 and ABTA membership.
Product overview
Cruise Nation is a UK-based online cruise booking agency offering a unified consumer-facing platform for booking cruise holidays. The core product is Smart Packages, which bundles cruise sailings with flights, free hotel stays, and flexible payment options. Supporting products include a Smart Code Search system for tracking bookings, specialized deal categories (Knockout Deals, Red Hot Deals, Last Minute), and a comprehensive Cruise & Stay program covering 200+ destinations globally. The company operates as an agent for Hays Tour Operating Limited (ATOL 10531), providing package holidays that combine cruises with land accommodations across diverse destinations from Mediterranean ports to Caribbean islands, Far East adventures, and South American routes. A companion Information Hub provides 50+ cruise guides and 20+ airline flight guides. The platform aggregates 16+ major cruise lines and offers dedicated cruise line profile pages alongside destination-specific landing pages.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Smart Packages Signature bundled cruise holiday offering that combines a cruise with flights, FREE hotel stays, low deposits (from £1pp), and monthly payment options for UK holidaymakers seeking all-inclusive value.
- Cruise & Stay Package holidays pairing cruise sailings with hotel stays and flights in destinations such as Barcelona, New York, Orlando, Venice, Seattle, San Francisco, Salou, Amsterdam, and Rio de Janeiro for UK travellers.
- Cruise & Tour (Toureka) Combined cruise and guided land-tour holidays (e.g., Japan cruise and tour packages) for travellers wanting multi-destination itineraries with land touring components.
- Knockout Deals Promotional cruise deals offering 30-70% savings on cruise package prices, with featured promotions including reduced deposits and onboard credit offers.
- Red Hot Deals Time-limited promotional cruise deals with discounted pricing and special offers for UK consumers.
- Last Minute Cruises Last-minute cruise deals for spontaneous travellers, with regional variants such as Last Minute Mediterranean and Last Minute Caribbean cruises.
- All Inclusive Cruises Cruise packages that include meals, drinks, and various onboard amenities within the holiday price for UK consumers seeking bundled value.
- Cruise Lines Portfolio Curated selection of 16+ major cruise lines including MSC, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess, Virgin Voyages, Costa, Holland America Line, Cunard, P&O, Celebrity, Azamara, Disney, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Celestyal, Fred Olsen, Seabourn, Carnival, Explora Journeys, Oceania, and Silversea, available for booking via the Cruise Nation platform.
- Destinations Over 200 cruise destinations worldwide including Mediterranean, Caribbean, Far East, Alaska, Dubai & Emirates, Canary Islands, Norwegian Fjords, USA, Hawaii, Northern Lights, Scandinavia, Polar Regions, Australia, New Zealand, Greek Isles, South America, Panama Canal, and World Cruises, bookable through the Cruise Nation platform.
- Customer Support & Knowledge Base Searchable FAQ and customer support services for holiday queries, payment support, Advanced Passenger Information handling, and booking management accessible via the Cruise Nation website.
Quantifiable outcome
- 30-70% savings on cruise package prices
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cruise Nation
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Cruise Nation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Cruise Nation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, primary and secondary.
- Hays Tour Operating LimitedcorePackage holidays are sold by Cruise Nation as an agent for Hays Tour Operating Limited, ATOL 10531. Hays provides the underlying booking platform and holiday operations infrastructure.
- MSC CruisesprimaryFeatured cruise line partner with promotional deals including £1 deposits on 2027/2028 cruises from Southampton and up to £90 onboard credit per cabin.
- Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)primaryFeatured cruise line with 'Cruise Line of the Week' promotions. Currently running Free At Sea Flash Sale with half-price all-inclusive upgrades.
- Princess CruisesprimaryFeatured cruise line partner with onboard credit promotions.
- Virgin VoyagessecondaryFeatured cruise line partner targeting adult travelers.
- Royal CaribbeansecondaryFeatured cruise line partner offering cruises from major US ports.
- ABTAcoreTravel association membership providing consumer protection and industry credibility.
- ATOL (Civil Aviation Authority)coreAir Travel Organiser's Licence providing financial protection for package holidays. ATOL 10531.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves2 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cruise Nation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Iglu Cruise: One of the largest UK-based online cruise specialists, aggregating multiple cruise lines with bundled cruise-and-stay packages and aggressive promotional pricing. Closest direct competitor to Cruise Nation in scale, model and UK customer base.
- Cruise.co.uk: Established UK cruise aggregator offering multi-line cruise and cruise-and-stay packages with phone-based sales and online booking. Direct competitor targeting the same UK holidaymaker segment with overlapping cruise line inventory.
- Bolsover Cruise Club: Long-running UK cruise specialist agency with loyalty/membership model and broad cruise line portfolio. Comparable hybrid online-plus-phone sales motion and UK consumer focus.
- ROL Cruise: UK cruise-only retailer offering discounted fares across major cruise lines with bundled cruise-and-stay options. Overlapping value proposition with Cruise Nation around price-led multi-line cruise aggregation.
- Planet Cruise: UK-headquartered online cruise aggregator selling cruise holidays across a wide range of operators with last-minute and discounted inventory. Similar digital-first cruise agency model targeting UK and European customers.
- Imagine Cruising: UK cruise-and-stay package specialist offering bundled cruise, hotel and flight holidays across premium and mainstream lines. Comparable bundled-holiday product positioning to Cruise Nation's Smart Packages.
- Cruise118: UK online cruise agency selling multi-line cruise packages with price-match guarantees and bundled fly-cruise options. Direct competitor in the UK cruise aggregator category.
Broad incumbents
- Hays Travel: UK's largest independent travel agency chain and the underlying ATOL holder (ATOL 10531) on whose licence Cruise Nation sells package holidays. Strategic infrastructure partner and broader incumbent in UK packaged travel.
Others
- Virgin Voyages: Cruise line partner whose inventory Cruise Nation resells, but increasingly pursuing direct booking through its own digital channels. Represents both a key supplier relationship and a structural disintermediation risk.
- P&O Cruises: UK-flagged cruise line partner whose sailings Cruise Nation aggregates, with a strong direct-booking programme. Comparable supply-side competitor and ecosystem participant rather than a direct agency competitor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cruise Nation social profiles
Digital presenceCruise Nation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Cruise Nation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cruise Nation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Cruise Nation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cruise Nation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cruise Nation
What does Cruise Nation do?
Cruise Nation is a UK online cruise travel agency that sells cruise holiday packages from 18+ major cruise lines (MSC, NCL, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Cunard, P&O, Holland America, Virgin Voyages, Disney, and others) covering 200+ destinations worldwide. Its flagship "Smart Packages" bundle cruises with flights, free hotel stays, low deposits, and monthly payment options. Customers can book online via cruisenation.com or by phone, with all packages sold as agent for Hays Tour Operating Limited under ATOL 10531 and ABTA membership.
Is Cruise Nation a public or private company?
Cruise Nation is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cruise Nation founded?
Cruise Nation was founded in 2009. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Cruise Nation based?
Cruise Nation is headquartered in Swansea, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cruise Nation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Cruise Package Sales Commission is the primary driver. The others are smart Package Upsells.
Who are Cruise Nation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Iglu Cruise, Cruise.co.uk, Bolsover Cruise Club, ROL Cruise, Planet Cruise, Imagine Cruising and Cruise118. Hays Travel is listed as a broad incumbent. Others are Virgin Voyages and P&O Cruises.
Does Cruise Nation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cruise Nation.
What industry is Cruise Nation in?
Cruise Nation's product category is Cruise Holiday Travel Agency. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAAAK, Cruise Aggregators & Online Cruise Agencies, with a secondary code of THALAFAG, Cruise Booking Platforms. Its NAICS code is 561510.