ShipAhoy Cruise Planners

What ShipAhoy Cruise Planners does

Ship Ahoy Cruise Planners is a privately held, independently owned travel agency franchise operating under CP Franchising, LLC (dba Cruise Planners), headquartered in Florida and run by three named travel advisors — Tony Tascione (ECC), Charles Parraga, and Jesi Bullrich. The company functions as a full-service booking intermediary for leisure consumers, distributing cruise, escorted-tour, and all-inclusive resort vacations through a centralized web platform combined with personalized advisor consultation.

The platform comprises three core booking modules: a cruise search engine covering 40+ ocean, river, and expedition lines (Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Viking, Lindblad, Hurtigruten, and others); a tour booking service with 15+ suppliers including Abercrombie & Kent, Globus, Trafalgar, Tauck, and G Adventures; and an all-inclusive resort booking system covering 80+ brands such as Sandals, Hyatt Ziva/Zilara, Beaches, and Secrets. These are supplemented by LivePlanner (an online consultation tool), myTrips (customer portal for managing bookings and travel documents), Group Travel Services for hosted sailings, and specialty services including Travel Insurance, Excursions & Activities, Special Needs at Sea, and Autism Friendly Vacations.

Revenue is generated entirely through supplier commissions earned on bookings, with pricing quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The agency benefits from the Cruise Planners franchise network's supplier relationships and has been recognized with Partner of the Year awards from Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean International, alongside President's Club status with Norwegian Cruise Line and Viking Platinum Circle membership, indicating top-producer standing within the network. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via phone (866-833-5355), live chat, and online consultation requests, with no enterprise B2B channel or app-based booking.

Name

ShipAhoy Cruise Planners

Legal name

CP Franchising, LLC

Website

https://shipahoycp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ship Ahoy Cruise Planners is a three-advisor Cruise Planners franchise selling cruise, tour, and all-inclusive resort vacations to leisure consumers across 40-plus cruise lines and 80-plus resort brands via personalized advisor consultation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cruise and Travel Agency Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cruise Planning & Booking (HSACAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Cruise Concierge & Itinerary Planning Services (THAEAEAH)

Keywords

• Cruise travel booking
• Travel advisory services
• All-inclusive resort booking
• Escorted tour booking
• Group travel planning

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Travel Agency Commissions: Earn commissions from cruise lines, tour operators, resorts, and travel suppliers for bookings made through the agency. The agency is part of Cruise Planners franchise network and benefits from their supplier relationships and exclusive deals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ShipAhoy Cruise Planners is a personal travel advisory service that books cruises, escorted tours, and all-inclusive resort vacations for individual consumers and groups. Customers work one-on-one with a dedicated travel advisor who uses the Cruise Planners platform to search inventory across 40+ cruise lines, 15+ tour operators, and 80+ resort brands, then delivers exclusive pricing, onboard credits, and perks not available through direct booking. The agency also coordinates group travel, destination weddings and honeymoons, hosted sailings, and specialty services such as accessibility and autism-friendly vacations.

Product overview

Ship Ahoy Cruise Planners is a Cruise Planners franchise operating as a full-service travel agency that combines a centralized booking platform with personalized advisor services. The core offering consists of three integrated booking modules: Cruise Booking Services for ocean and river cruises (40+ cruise lines), Tour Booking Services for escorted tours (15+ suppliers), and All-Inclusive Resort Booking (80+ resort brands). These core booking services are supported by add-on modules including LivePlanner for advisor consultations, myTrips for booking management, Group Travel Services for organized groups, and specialty services like Travel Insurance, Excursions & Activities, Special Needs at Sea, and Autism Friendly Vacations. The platform also features a cruise search engine with advanced filtering by cruise line, ship, length, destination, and departure dates, as well as an 'Inspire Me' discovery tool for travel inspiration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cruise Booking Services Full-service cruise booking platform enabling travelers to search and book cruises across 40+ cruise lines including Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess, Viking, and luxury operators, with advanced filters by cruise line, ship, length, destination, and departure dates.
• Tour Booking Services Escorted tour booking service connecting travelers with tour suppliers including Abercrombie & Kent, Globus, Trafalgar, Tauck, Contiki, and others, searchable by destination, length, and supplier.
• All-Inclusive Resort Booking Booking platform for all-inclusive resort brands including Sandals, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, Beaches, Secrets, Dreams, Marival Resorts, and 80+ other brands, searchable by country, brand, budget level, and amenities.
• LivePlanner Travel planning and consultation tool that connects travelers with travel advisors for personalized trip planning, enabling consultation requests and live chat with travel experts.
• myTrips Customer portal for managing existing bookings, accessing travel documents, and viewing itinerary details; requires login authentication.
• Group Travel Services Organized group travel services including group registrations for themed sailings, weddings, honeymoons, and hosted sailings such as Iceland Fjords & Celtic Origins and Momasita Ana's group on Diamond Princess.
• Travel Insurance Travel insurance offerings to protect bookings against trip interruptions, cancellations, and travel-related emergencies.
• Excursions & Activities Booking platform for shore excursions and activities at cruise destinations and land vacation locations.
• Special Needs at Sea Specialized travel services for passengers with accessibility needs, assisting with wheelchair access, special diets, and other accommodations.
• Autism Friendly Vacations Specialized vacation planning services for travelers with autism spectrum needs, offering sensory-friendly environments and prepared staff.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Carnival Cruise LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor cruise line partner featured prominently in cruise search tools. Agency offers exclusive pricing and promotions for Carnival sailings.
• Celebrity CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNamed Partner of the Year by Celebrity Cruises. Featured cruise line with exclusive offers and priority access to promotions.
• Royal Caribbean InternationalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoyal Caribbean named the agency as Partner of the Year. Offers exclusive pricing and onboard credits for bookings.
• Norwegian Cruise LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecognized as President's Club member indicating top producer status with Norwegian Cruise Line.
• VikingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorViking Platinum Circle member showing high-volume bookings for Viking ocean and river cruises.
• Princess CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFeatured cruise line partner available through cruise search with various itineraries offered.
• Holland America LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner cruise line featured in search tools and destination promotions.
• Virgin VoyagesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorModern cruise line partner offering adult-focused sailings with exclusive promotions.
• Disney Cruise LinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAgency is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner with special access to Disney cruise packages.
• Oceania CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCruise Connoisseur Club member recognized for expertise and sales volume with Oceania Cruises.
• Sandals ResortscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecipient of Sandals Star Award for sales performance. Offers Caribbean all-inclusive resort bookings.
• Universal Parks and ResortsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred travel agency status for Universal vacation bookings including cruises and resort packages.
• Avalon WaterwaysminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRiver cruise partner available through tour search featuring European and world river itineraries.
• Abercrombie & KentminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLuxury tour operator partner offering small group journeys featured in special promotions.
• Tauck ToursminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTour operator partner featured in exclusive offers including complimentary hotel nights for 2027 journeys.
• G AdventuresminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdventure tour operator partner offering up to 20% off select trips worldwide.
• Marival ResortsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAll-inclusive resort partner offering up to $300 resort credit on bookings.
• Villas of DistinctionminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLuxury villa rental partner offering $200 concierge credit per booking.
• Rental Escapes Luxury Villa RentalsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLuxury villa rental partner featured in land vacation options.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cruise Planners: The franchisor and brand network under which ShipAhoy operates. Cruise Planners is one of the largest sellers of cruises globally and provides the supplier relationships, marketing, technology, and exclusive pricing that ShipAhoy's value proposition depends on.
• Nexion Travel Group: Host travel agency that provides back-office, supplier, and technology support to independent travel advisors, including cruise specialists. Directly comparable in supporting advisor-led cruise, tour, and resort bookings.
• KHM Travel Group: Host agency for home-based travel advisors specializing in cruise, tour, and resort bookings. Comparable business model serving independent advisors with supplier-direct commission revenue.
• OutsideAgents.com: Host travel agency that enables home-based travel advisors to sell cruises, tours, and resorts under a shared back-office and supplier platform. Directly comparable to ShipAhoy's franchise/host agency model.
• Dream Vacations: Competing home-based travel agency franchise network (also under World Travel Holdings) that sells cruises, tours, and resort vacations through independent franchisee travel advisors — directly comparable business model and customer value proposition to ShipAhoy.
• Avoya Travel: Independent travel agency network and host agency that supports home-based travel advisors selling cruises, tours, and land vacations. Comparable in offering advisor-led cruise and vacation booking with supplier-direct commission economics.

Broad incumbents

• AAA Travel: Established travel agency network embedded in a broader membership organization, offering cruise and vacation booking with personal advisor service. Comparable cruise booking and concierge value proposition at greater scale.
• Expedia Cruise: Major OTA's cruise vertical offering self-service and call-center cruise booking across most major cruise lines. Competes for the same cruise-shopping consumer but with a fundamentally different (largely self-service) delivery model.
• American Express Travel: Large established consumer travel agency offering advisor-led cruise, tour, and vacation booking. Broader portfolio with greater resources but overlapping cruise-advisor value proposition for affluent consumers.
• Liberty Travel: Long-standing consumer travel agency chain selling cruise, tour, and vacation packages via in-person and online advisors. Overlapping cruise booking and vacation planning value proposition, though at meaningfully larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ShipAhoyCP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shipahoy-cruise-planners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 ShipAhoy Cruise Planners