Start A Cruise Ship Travel Agent Business - Business Ideas

Pat Walls

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Updated: September 16th, 2022

Start A Cruise Ship Travel Agent Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Cruise ship travel agents are professionals who work on board cruise ships. They are responsible for helping passengers plan their trips, make reservations for shore excursions, and assist them with any other travel-related needs.

Cruise ship agents may specialize in a specific area of expertise, such as booking tours or finding excursions that match the interests of the passengers. For example, if the passenger is interested in wildlife viewing or diving, then the agent might have extensive knowledge of which tours would be best for them to take.

The first step to starting a cruise ship travel agent is to find a cruise line you are interested in. The next step is to find out if the company has any openings for an agent. If they do, you will need to apply for the position. If not, you may need to wait until one becomes available.

Starting a cruise ship travel agent business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell cruise ship travel agent service, or selling cruise ship travel agent service online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size

$596B

starting costs

$11.7K

gross margin

90%

time to build

210 days

growth

Organic social media

business model

Subscriptions

time investment

Full time

Startup Costs

	Min Startup Costs	Max Startup Costs
Office Space Expenses	$0	$7,000
Employee & Freelancer Expenses	$150	$250
Website Costs	$223	$7,015
Business Formation Fees	$600	$4,700
Software Expenses	$162	$2,894
Advertising & Marketing Costs	$0	$1,400
Total Startup Costs	$1,135	$23,259

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Successful Businesses

Business	URL	Rank
Cruises \| Carnival Cruise Deals	carnival.com	32,000
Cruise Line Industry Association	cruising.org	81,421
Regent Seven Seas Cruises	rssc.com	126,629
Cruise Compete	cruisecompete.com	144,853
2020 Best Small Ship Cruise Line	windstarcruises.com	153,263
MSC Cruises: Cruise Deals	msccruisesusa.com	166,154
Home	travelagewest.com	287,554
CruiseDirect.com	cruisedirect.com	414,088
Cruise.com	cruise.com	472,344
Cruise Planners	cruiseplannersfranchise.com	943,844
Cargo Ship Voyages	cargoshipvoyages.com	1,350,483

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Pros & Cons

Pros	Description
Flexibility	You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.
Ability to start your business from home	It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!
Little startup costs required	The cost to start a cruise ship travel agent business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 23,259.
Rewarding work	Starting a cruise ship travel agent business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.
Scalable	With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.
No overhead costs	To get your cruise ship travel agent business started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

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Cons	Description
Crowded Space	Competition is high when it comes to your cruise ship travel agent business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.
Longer Sales Process	A cruise ship travel agent business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.
Work can be inconsistent	As a cruise ship travel agent business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.
Lack of benefits	With a cruise ship travel agent business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.
Isolation	Often times, as a cruise ship travel agent business, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.
Taxes	As a cruise ship travel agent business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

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Key Stats

Startup Costs

Successful Businesses

32,000

81,421

126,629

144,853

153,263

166,154

287,554

414,088

472,344

943,844

1,350,483

Pros & Cons