Venture Ashore
Venture Ashore is a cruise shore excursion marketplace operating in 500+ destinations worldwide, offering small-group and private tours to cruise passengers at up to 50% below cruise line prices through a curated local operator network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersWilmington, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Venture Ashore does
Venture Ashore is a cruise shore excursion marketplace that connects cruise passengers with vetted local tour operators across more than 500 destinations worldwide. The platform enables travelers to search excursions by cruise line, ship, and sailing date, with both small-group (10-25 travelers) and private (1-500+) booking options. Founded in 2021 by cruise industry veterans, the company is led by CEO Rinat Glinert, who spent 25 years at Royal Caribbean International including as Head of Strategic Projects on the newbuilding team. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, with operational leadership in the UK (VP Operations Simonne Slowikowski), the company serves individual cruise travelers, affinity and family groups, wedding and resort groups, corporate MICE programs, and luxury travelers, with a Travel Agent Portal serving as a B2B distribution layer.
The platform combines a web-based booking interface with mobile application support, real-time availability, secure payment processing, and digital voucher delivery. Differentiated features include a Cruise Itinerary Search that matches excursions to specific sailing itineraries, multi-port package booking, a Group Booking Portal for 8-500+ passenger groups, and two consumer guarantees: the Back-to-Ship Guarantee (covering up to $500 per person in missed-ship costs) and Don't Port, Don't Pay (full refunds if a ship skips a port). The supply side is a curated network of vetted local operators built through direct industry relationships, onboarded via a dedicated Vendor Portal; the demand side is supported by a Travel Agent Portal for advisor bookings with commission support and affiliate partner integrations. The company reports more than one million cruisers served and a 4.4/5 Trustpilot rating since launching in 2022.
Venture Ashore generates revenue primarily through commission-based transaction fees on bookings intermediated between cruise passengers and local operators, with supplementary group booking services at premium pricing. Pricing is per-person and unit-based, ranging from approximately $32 to $280+ per excursion, with multi-port packages marketed at up to 50% savings versus cruise line equivalents. A 50% deposit option is available for bookings 120+ days in advance, and the platform supports five currencies (USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, CAD). Distribution combines direct-to-consumer web/mobile bookings, a dedicated travel agent channel, and affiliate partner integrations.
Venture Ashore firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Venture Ashore
- Legal name
- Venture Ashore, LLC
- Website
- https://ventureashore.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Venture Ashore is a cruise shore excursion marketplace operating in 500+ destinations worldwide, offering small-group and private tours to cruise passengers at up to 50% below cruise line prices through a curated local operator network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Venture Ashore industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cruise Shore Excursion Marketplace
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Shore Excursion Operators (Tours & Activities) (THAEAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cruise Shore Excursion Operators & Port Services (Agency-led) (THAKAKAJ), Cruise Aggregators & Online Cruise Agencies (THAKAAAK)
Keywords
Where Venture Ashore is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wilmington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Venture Ashore business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Excursion Booking Commissions: Venture Ashore acts as an intermediary between cruise passengers and independent local tour operators, earning commissions on bookings. The company curates and vettes local operators, handles marketing and customer acquisition, and provides guarantees (Back-to-Ship Guarantee, Don't Port, Don't Pay). Tour pricing is per person, with deposits accepted (50% for bookings 120+ days out).
- Group Booking Services: Specialized services for group travel (8-500+ passengers) including custom itinerary design, dedicated coordinators, and group leader incentives (free travel for groups of 20+). Revenue generated through group excursion bookings with premium pricing for custom experiences.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Shared/Small Group Tours |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Private Group Tours |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Deposit Reservation |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Multi-Port Packages |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Venture Ashore product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Venture Ashore runs an online marketplace that aggregates vetted local tour operators and sells cruise shore excursions in 500+ ports worldwide. Customers search by cruise line, ship, and date, and book small-group (10-25 travelers) or private excursions at prices up to 50% below cruise line rates, with every transportation-included tour backed by the Back-to-Ship Guarantee and Don't Port, Don't Pay protection.
Product overview
Venture Ashore is a cruise shore excursion marketplace and tour operator offering small-group and private shore excursions in 500+ destinations worldwide. The core platform centers on two main product lines: Small-Group Shore Excursions (10-25 travelers with shared experiences at competitive pricing) and Private Shore Excursions (fully customized for groups of 1-500+). These are supplemented by add-on modules including Discounted Multi-Port Packages for bundling multiple ports, Hot New Tours for newly added offerings, and two guarantee products — the Back-to-Ship Guarantee (covering missed-ship expenses up to USD $500/person) and Don't Port, Don't Pay Protection (full refunds when ships skip ports). The company also operates specialized sub-products for Cruise Groups, Resort & Wedding Groups, MICE corporate groups, and Luxury Experiences. Supporting infrastructure includes a Travel Agent Portal for advisor bookings and commission management, and a Vendor Portal for onboarding local tour operators.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Small-Group Shore Excursions Curated small-group shore excursions (typically 10-25 travelers) available in 500+ cruise destinations worldwide, with pier pickup, expert local guides and pricing up to 50% less than cruise line equivalents. Targeted at independent cruise travelers.
- Private Shore Excursions Fully customized private excursions for groups of 1-500+ travelers with private transportation, a dedicated guide and an itinerary built around the group's specific interests and pace. Targeted at cruise passengers seeking exclusivity and personalization.
- Discounted Multi-Port Excursion Packages Pre-bundled excursion packages allowing cruisers to book multiple ports on a single sailing in one transaction with one transparent price, the best vetted operator at every stop and pier pickup included. Targeted at cruise travelers who want a fully planned shore-excursion itinerary.
- Cruise Group Shore Excursions Private group shore excursions for 8-500+ cruise passengers, with dedicated coordinators, private vehicles, dedicated guides and pier pickup, built around the group's interests and cruise schedule rather than the ship's standard itinerary. Targeted at family, alumni, affinity and other organized cruise groups.
- Resort & Wedding Group Tours Customized group tour services for travelers staying at hotels, resorts or Airbnbs, including destination wedding groups with transfers, private island tours, wine tastings, cooking classes and catamaran charters. Targeted at wedding parties and resort-based group travelers.
- Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events (MICE) Shore Excursions Corporate group shore excursions and conference experiences with end-to-end logistics management for meetings, incentive programs, conferences and events. Targeted at corporate groups running cruise-based meetings or incentive trips.
- Luxury Shore Experiences Premium shore experiences including private yachts, helicopter transfers, exclusive access and chef-led dinners ashore for high-end travelers. Targeted at luxury and high-net-worth cruise travelers seeking extraordinary private experiences.
- Travel Agent Portal Dedicated portal for travel agents and advisors to book, manage and organize customer reservations, with commission support and a dedicated account contact. Targeted at travel professionals booking shore excursions on behalf of cruise clients.
- Vendor/Supplier Portal Portal for licensed local tour operators and guides to apply to join Venture Ashore's vetted network of excursion providers. Targeted at local tour operators seeking distribution via the platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 50% cost savings compared to cruise line excursion prices
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Venture Ashore
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Venture Ashore technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature3 records
Venture Ashore partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Venture Ashore competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Klook: Klook is an Asia-headquartered tours-and-activities platform expanding globally with deep cruise-port and destination coverage. Comparable as an aggregator of local operators with self-serve booking, though its brand strength outside Asia is still building relative to Venture Ashore's cruise specialization.
- GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a global tours-and-activities platform with strong destination coverage and a self-serve booking flow. It overlaps with Venture Ashore's destination breadth and small-group/private tour offering, though its curation and cruise-itinerary-matching workflows are less specialized.
- Viator: Viator (owned by Tripadvisor) is the world's largest tours-and-activities marketplace, overlapping heavily with Venture Ashore on shore-excursion inventory but at much broader scale and with a non-cruise-specific focus. It is the standard alternate channel a cruiser considers.
- Cruise Line Shore Excursions (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian): Cruise lines operate their own onboard shore-excursion programs that serve as the primary alternative to independent marketplaces. They are the incumbent option Venture Ashore explicitly displaces on price and group size, with materially higher pricing and 75–100-person groups.
- Carnival Adventures / Cruise Line Excursion Brands: The in-house shore-excursion brands of major cruise operators (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC) collectively represent the captive alternative that independent platforms like Venture Ashore substitute for. Most directly relevant on pricing benchmarks and bundle structure.
Emerging players
- Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb Experiences is a marketplace of host-led activities that increasingly overlaps shore-excursion demand for cruise passengers staying in-city before/after sailing. It competes on supply breadth and brand trust, though it lacks cruise-itinerary matching and group-coordination tooling.
Direct peers
- ToursByLocals: ToursByLocals is a private-guide marketplace for city tours and shore excursions, with comparable direct-to-private-guide booking and pricing. It is similar on private-tour offering and global destination coverage, though it leans more heavily to local guides than full small-group tours.
- TourRadar: TourRadar is a multi-day tour marketplace connecting travelers with tour operators. It overlaps Venture Ashore on the operator-aggregator model and group-booking capabilities, though it focuses on multi-day itineraries rather than single-port shore excursions.
- ShoreTrips: ShoreTrips is a long-standing marketplace dedicated exclusively to independent cruise shore excursions across hundreds of ports. Directly comparable to Venture Ashore on offering (curated tours, comparable pricing, cruise-passenger focus) and customer base (cruisers booking outside the ship's excursion program).
- Project Expedition: Project Expedition is a cruise shore-excursion platform offering small-group and private tours at cruise ports, with curated local operators and pricing positioned below cruise-line alternatives. Closely comparable business model and target customer to Venture Ashore.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Venture Ashore social profiles
Digital presenceVenture Ashore financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Venture Ashore leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Venture Ashore funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Venture Ashore 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 Venture Ashore
What does Venture Ashore do?
Venture Ashore runs an online marketplace that aggregates vetted local tour operators and sells cruise shore excursions in 500+ ports worldwide. Customers search by cruise line, ship, and date, and book small-group (10-25 travelers) or private excursions at prices up to 50% below cruise line rates, with every transportation-included tour backed by the Back-to-Ship Guarantee and Don't Port, Don't Pay protection.
Is Venture Ashore a public or private company?
Venture Ashore is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Venture Ashore founded?
Venture Ashore was founded in 2021. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Venture Ashore based?
Venture Ashore is headquartered in Wilmington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Venture Ashore make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Excursion Booking Commissions are the primary driver. The others are group Booking Services.
Who are Venture Ashore's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Klook, GetYourGuide, Viator, Cruise Line Shore Excursions (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian) and Carnival Adventures / Cruise Line Excursion Brands. Airbnb Experiences is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are ToursByLocals, TourRadar, ShoreTrips and Project Expedition.
Does Venture Ashore have an API?
No public API is recorded for Venture Ashore.
What industry is Venture Ashore in?
Venture Ashore's product category is Cruise Shore Excursion Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAEAFAC, Shore Excursion Operators (Tours & Activities), with a secondary code of THAKAKAJ, Cruise Shore Excursion Operators & Port Services (Agency-led). Its NAICS code is 56152.