Cruisewinkel

What Cruisewinkel does

Cruisewinkel is an online cruise travel agency operating in the Netherlands under the legal entity Zeetours Cruises BV (KvK nr. 34239671), headquartered at Rokin 105A, Amsterdam. The company was founded in 2006 and serves Dutch-speaking leisure travelers — couples, families, solo travelers, and groups — booking cruise vacations across ocean and river itineraries. The platform aggregates more than 180 ships from major cruise lines including MSC Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, AIDA Cruises, TUI Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, and Oceania Cruises, positioning itself as the leading online cruise specialist (marktleider) in the Dutch market.

The core product is the cruisewinkel.nl booking platform, a self-service website with search and filtering by cruise line, destination, ship, and date, supplemented by an assisted telephone sales team operating seven days a week. Supporting features include a customer portal ("Mijn Cruisewinkel"), price alerts, gift cards (Cadeaubon), travel insurance upsells, last-minute and early-booking deal sections, and the Cruise & Collect loyalty program with tiered status (Explorer, Insider, Expert) and Cruise Coins redeemable against future cruises. The platform hosts 110,000+ verified ship reviews and integrates payment processors (iDEAL, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club), Google Maps, YouTube, and social channels.

Cruisewinkel operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market combining content marketing (blog, cruise guides, Cruise TV video), SEO, email newsletters, social media, and customer-review trust signals (8.4/10 rating across 1,097 FeedbackCompany reviews, 96% recommendation rate). The company earns revenue through travel-agency commissions paid by cruise line partners on booked packages (transaction-fee model), with CO2 compensation, a lowest-price guarantee, and personal consultant advice as functional differentiators. The company is a member of ANVR, SGR, and the Calamiteitenfonds, providing regulated consumer financial protection in the Dutch market, and operates within a broader Zeetours group that runs sister portals across Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, and Portugal.

Name

Cruisewinkel

Legal name

Zeetours Cruises BV

Website

https://cruisewinkel.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cruisewinkel is a Dutch online cruise travel agency serving Dutch-speaking leisure travelers. Operated by Zeetours Cruises BV, it aggregates 180+ ships from major cruise lines on cruisewinkel.nl, combining self-service booking, phone-assisted sales, a loyalty program, and 110,000+ ship reviews.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Travel Agency

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Cruise Agencies & Cruise Booking Platforms (THAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cruise Aggregators & Online Cruise Agencies (THAKAAAK), Cruise Booking Platforms (THALAFAG), Cruise Travel Agencies & Specialist Cruise Consultants (THAEAFAB)

Keywords

• Cruise booking platform
• Online travel agency
• River cruises
• Cruise loyalty program
• Cruise vacation packages

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Travel agency commissions: Cruisewinkel acts as a retail travel agency, earning commissions from cruise line partners on booked cruise packages. Revenue is generated through transactions when customers book cruises via the platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cruisewinkel operates an online cruise travel agency (Zeetours Cruises BV) that aggregates 180+ ships from major cruise lines into a single searchable booking platform for Dutch consumers. The company sells ocean cruises, river cruises, and associated add-ons (gift cards, travel insurance, loyalty rewards) via self-service website booking and assisted telephone sales through personal cruise consultants.

Product overview

Cruisewinkel operates as an online cruise booking marketplace and travel agency offering a unified platform for booking ocean and river cruises. The core offering is the cruise booking website (cruisewinkel.nl) which aggregates cruises from over 180 ships and multiple cruise lines. Supporting products include the Cruise & Collect loyalty program for repeat customers, gift cards (Cadeaubon), travel insurance, and a customer portal (Mijn Cruisewinkel) for managing bookings and setting price alerts. Special booking categories include Last Minute cruises and Early Booking deals. The platform integrates payment options and offers customer support via phone and online.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cruise & Collect: Loyalty program offered by Cruisewinkel where customers earn Cruise Coins on bookings that can be redeemed for discounts on future cruises. Features status levels: Explorer, Insider, and Expert.

Products and services

• Cruise Booking Platform An online cruise travel agency website where Dutch consumers can search, compare, and book ocean cruises from 180+ ships operated by major cruise lines, with options for self-service booking or assisted telephone sales via personal cruise consultants.
• River Cruises A dedicated cruise category within Cruisewinkel's catalogue covering river cruise itineraries, available for booking through the same online platform and consultant channel as ocean cruises.
• Cruise & Collect Loyalty Program A tiered customer loyalty program where repeat Cruisewinkel customers accumulate reward points on bookings that can be redeemed for discounts or benefits on future cruise purchases.
• Gift Cards (Cadeaubon) Purchasable Cruisewinkel gift cards that can be redeemed against any cruise booking on the platform, sold as a standalone gift product to consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% of customers recommend Cruisewinkel
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MSC CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCruisewinkel is an authorized retail partner for MSC Cruises, offering MSC cruise packages including flights, transfers, and drink packages. Featured as a top-performing cruise line on the platform.
• Holland America LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHolland America Line is featured as a top cruise line on Cruisewinkel. The company's ship Rotterdam is headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
• Norwegian Cruise LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorwegian Cruise Line is offered on Cruisewinkel as one of the featured major cruise lines.
• AIDA CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAIDA Cruises is listed as a major cruise line partner available on the Cruisewinkel platform.
• TUI CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTUI Cruises is available as a partner cruise line on Cruisewinkel.
• Celebrity CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCelebrity Cruises is featured as a top cruise line on the Cruisewinkel platform.
• Royal Caribbean CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoyal Caribbean Cruises is offered on Cruisewinkel, including major ships like the Oasis-class vessels.
• Princess CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrincess Cruises is a featured cruise line partner available on the Cruisewinkel platform.
• Costa CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCosta Cruises is a partner cruise line on Cruisewinkel.
• Oceania CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOceania Cruises is listed as a partner on Cruisewinkel with special deal offers featured.
• CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association)minorOthersCruisewinkel displays the CLIA logo, indicating membership or partnership with the cruise industry trade association.
• ANVR (Algemene Nederlandse Vereniging van Reisondernemingen)coreOthersCruisewinkel is a member of ANVR (membership number 3043). ANVR upholds strict membership standards and promotes quality travel and travel information.
• SGR (Stichting Garantiefonds Reisgelden)coreOthersCruisewinkel is a member of SGR, providing consumer financial protection for advance payments on cruise bookings under the SGR guarantee scheme.
• Calamiteitenfonds (Stichting Calamiteitenfonds Reizen)coreOthersCruisewinkel is a member of the Calamiteitenfonds, providing consumer protection in case of calamities affecting travel bookings.
• Zeetours Cruises BVcoreOthersCruisewinkel is a brand of Zeetours Cruises BV, the parent company. Zeetours also operates sister portals including cruisecenter.ch, cruisetravel.nl, e-hoi.ch, e-hoi.de, wondercruises.be, wondercruises.es, wondercruises.fr, wondercruises.pt, and zeetours.nl.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Avoya Travel: US-focused travel agency network with cruise specialization and independent-agent distribution — relevant as a cruise-led agency model with loyalty and consultant differentiation.
• Cruise Critic: TripAdvisor-owned cruise reviews and comparison site with extensive ship reviews and community content — directly comparable to Cruisewinkel's 110,000+ review library and content-marketing GTM, though more review-and-content than transactional.

Broad incumbents

• Booking.com Cruises: Cruise vertical of Booking.com operated by partner Travelpayouts/Smarter Travel — represents the broad-incumbent threat, leveraging massive brand awareness and cross-vertical traffic to compete for the same cruise-transaction demand as Cruisewinkel.

Direct peers

• Iglu Cruise: UK-based online cruise specialist offering aggregated cruise bookings across major cruise lines with consultant-led sales and loyalty programs — directly comparable as a European cruise-only OTA model.
• Dreamlines: German-headquartered cruise-specialist OTA operating across multiple European markets with multi-line aggregation, online + phone sales, and Spanish/German/French localization — structurally identical to Cruisewinkel's model.
• Bolsover Cruise Club: UK-based cruise-specialist agency with a club/loyalty mechanic, call-center-led sales and aggregation across major cruise lines — comparable as a cruise-only retailer with loyalty-program driven repeat bookings.
• Vacations To Go: Long-established US cruise-discount specialist with multi-line aggregation, call-center-assisted sales, and a deep cruise-only focus — analogous niche specialization and revenue model to Cruisewinkel.
• Cruise1st: UK cruise-only online travel agency aggregating cruise inventory with self-service booking and promotional pricing — comparable as a European cruise-focused online retailer competing for similar customer demographics.
• e-hoi: Swiss/German cruise specialist OTA and sister brand of Cruisewinkel under Zeetours Cruises BV — same underlying platform and content model, serving DACH-region cruise customers.

Others

• Zeetours: Dutch sister brand under the same Zeetours Cruises BV parent, offering cruise and broader cruise-related travel — operationally linked to Cruisewinkel with shared back-office and supplier relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cruisewinkel
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/cruisewinkel
• Facebookfacebook.com/cruisewinkel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cruisewinkel-nl
• Instagraminstagram.com/cruisewinkel

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Cruisewinkel