Cruisebound Secures $13 Million in Financing – Cruise Industry News

Cruisebound announced that it has successfully closed a $13 million financing round.

Cruisebound provides a database of worldwide sailings as well as features like multi-cabin booking, a free 24-hour cabin hold, flexible payment options and no booking fees.

According to a press release, the investment was led by Thayer Ventures, with participation from Link Ventures, former Booking Holdings Chairman and CEO Jeff Boyd, PAR Capital Ventures, Tripadvisor co-founder and former CEO Steve Kaufer, Flybridge, Plug & Play Ventures, and several other investors.

“As avid travelers, we were intrigued by the convenience and value of going on a cruise, but struggled to easily compare, find and book a cruise on the go,” said Pierre-Oliver Lepage, co-founder and CEO of Cruisebound.

“We launched Cruisebound two and a half years ago to help more people discover the joy of cruising.”

“We think of Cruisebound as your friendly cruise co-captain and leverage new technologies like AI wherever we can to make the booking experience better,” said Bjorn Larsen, co-founder of Cruisebound. “As a result, 83 percent of our customers book without any agent assistance, which is significantly higher than the industry average.”

The $13M financing will enable Cruisebound to enhance its product and customer acquisition efforts. The company reports that 92 percent of reviewers on Trustpilot rate its support highly, reflecting its effective hybrid online/offline service model. Additionally, Cruisebound attracts a younger clientele, with customers averaging 9.5 years younger than typical cruisers, most of whom are new to cruising.

In 2024, 57 percent of reservations have been made via mobile devices. This aligns with the increasing trend of new-to-cruise passengers, which has risen by 27 percent over the past two years, according to Chris Hemmeter, managing partner at Thayer Ventures.

“Cruising is enjoying a noticeable bump in popularity; the number of new-to-cruise passengers is increasing – 27 percent of cruisers over the past two years are new-to-cruise, an increase of 12 percent over the past year,” said Hemmeter. “We were impressed by Cruisebound’s innovative approach to a traditionally complex booking process and revenue growth.”