Aquila
Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence is a Saint John, Canada–based consultancy founded in 2007 that delivers training, industry awards, and panel moderation for cruise line executives, port authorities, and destination management companies focused on destination performance and shore experience.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersSaint John, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Aquila does
Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence is a private, for-profit consultancy founded in 2007 by Beth Hatt and headquartered in Saint John, Canada. The firm provides strategic training and consulting services to the cruise industry, with a specific focus on cruise destination performance evaluation and shore experience enhancement. Its offering centers on three interlocking services: structured training sessions for cruise industry professionals, industry awards programs, and moderation of expert panels at major cruise conferences.
The company operates a single core product line — the Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence — distributed primarily through direct engagement at major cruise industry trade events such as Seatrade Cruise Global 2026, where it presents awards, moderates panels, and delivers training. Its target customer segment is vertical: cruise line executives, port authorities, and destination management companies seeking professional development and industry recognition. The firm's go-to-market is event-driven, relying on concentrated presence at industry gatherings to build visibility and engage prospects rather than a scaled digital or partner-led distribution model.
Aquila has 11–50 employees, no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no acquisitions or partnerships on record. Its revenue model is not disclosed, and no AI/technology stack, app presence, or integrations are documented. The business model therefore appears to be services-based — likely a mix of training program fees, consulting engagements, and possibly awards-program sponsorship — operating within a narrow vertical niche with limited publicly observable commercial metrics.
Aquila firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aquila
- Website
- https://cruiseexcellence.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence is a Saint John, Canada–based consultancy founded in 2007 that delivers training, industry awards, and panel moderation for cruise line executives, port authorities, and destination management companies focused on destination performance and shore experience.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aquila industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cruise Industry Training and Consulting
- NAICS
- Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Destination Management Companies (Cruise DMCs) (THAEAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Cruise Travel Agencies & Specialist Cruise Consultants (THAEAFAB)
Keywords
Where Aquila is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Saint John
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Aquila business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Go-to-market motion1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Aquila product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence provides strategic training sessions, consulting, and industry awards programs for the cruise industry, with a specialization in cruise destination performance evaluation and shore experience enhancement. It engages cruise line executives, port authorities, and destination management companies through moderated panels and training delivered at major cruise industry events such as Seatrade Cruise Global.
Product overview
Aquila operates as a single focused offering, the Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence, which provides training services, industry awards, and moderation panels for the cruise industry. The center specializes in cruise destination performance evaluation and shore experience enhancement programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence A training, consulting, and industry insight offering for the cruise sector that delivers awards programs, moderation panels, and training sessions focused on cruise destination performance evaluation and shore experience enhancement, aimed at cruise line executives, port authorities, and destination management companies.
Companies that use Aquila
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Aquila technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Aquila partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves2 records
Expansion highlights1 record
Aquila competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA): Global cruise industry trade association that provides training, certification, and professional development for cruise travel agents and industry professionals. Directly comparable to Aquila's training and recognition mission, though operating at much greater scale as the industry's official credentialing body.
- Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA): Industry association representing cruise lines and cruise destinations, with a focus on destination performance and cruise tourism development. Comparable to Aquila's destination-focused training mandate and stakeholder engagement model.
Regional players
- Cruise Baltic: Cruise destination network for the Baltic Sea region that supports destination development and training for ports and shore operators. Comparable focus on cruise destination excellence and stakeholder training, regionally concentrated.
- MedCruise: Association of Mediterranean cruise ports focused on destination performance, port operations, and stakeholder training. Comparable to Aquila in advocating destination excellence and offering training to cruise industry professionals.
- Cruise Norway: Norwegian cruise destination organization supporting member ports and destinations with training, marketing, and quality standards. Comparable destination-excellence and stakeholder-training mandate.
- Cruise Europe: Consortium of European cruise ports and destinations that promotes cruise tourism and delivers training/standards for member destinations. Directly comparable mission of cruise destination performance enhancement, though regionally scoped to Europe.
- Cruise Saudi: Public entity developing Saudi Arabia as a cruise destination, with destination training, port readiness, and shore experience development as core mandates. Comparable to Aquila's destination-performance focus, though operating as a national development body.
Others
- Seatrade Cruise (Informa): Organizer of the Seatrade Cruise Global conference where Aquila participates. Acts as an events/media enabler for the cruise industry rather than a direct training competitor, but shares the cruise destination and shore-experience thought-leadership space.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Aquila social profiles
Digital presenceAquila financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aquila leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Aquila funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aquila 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 Aquila
What does Aquila do?
Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence provides strategic training sessions, consulting, and industry awards programs for the cruise industry, with a specialization in cruise destination performance evaluation and shore experience enhancement. It engages cruise line executives, port authorities, and destination management companies through moderated panels and training delivered at major cruise industry events such as Seatrade Cruise Global.
Is Aquila a public or private company?
Aquila is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Aquila founded?
Aquila was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Aquila based?
Aquila is headquartered in Saint John, Canada, in the North America region.
Who are Aquila's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA). Regional players are Cruise Baltic, MedCruise, Cruise Norway, Cruise Europe and Cruise Saudi. Seatrade Cruise (Informa) is listed as an others.
Does Aquila have an API?
No public API is recorded for Aquila.
What industry is Aquila in?
Aquila's product category is Cruise Industry Training and Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAEAFAD, Destination Management Companies (Cruise DMCs), with a secondary code of THAEAFAB, Cruise Travel Agencies & Specialist Cruise Consultants. Its NAICS code is 4883.