CruiseMates

CruiseMates is an online magazine and virtual community dedicated to all aspects of passenger cruises and the passenger cruise industry.

History

CruiseMates was founded in 1999 by Paul Motter and Anne Campbell, two authors with years of experience writing AbOUT the cruise industry and the Internet. The site was created with the goal of providing an interactive, independent online cruise guide. As a result, CruiseMates does not sell cruises and is not affiliated with any cruise lines or travel agencies.

The unbiased, community-oriented nature of CruiseMates led to fast growth, with the site averaging eight million monthly page views and a library of 1,500 user-generated cruise reviews by 2003. New features were added as the site grew, including blogs, photo galleries, and polls. By 2009, the site featured more than 3,900 user-generated reviews.

CruiseMates was acquired by Internet Brands in 2006.

Site Functionality

CruiseMates primarily consists of editorial and user-generated cruise reviews classified by cruise line, cruise ship, and port. The site also features coverage of cruise industry news and a large repository of articles on all aspects of cruises, including special sections for first-time cruisers, luxury cruisers, single cruises, and gay/lesbian cruisers. Social media features include an active discussion forum on which users discuss a variety of cruise-related topics, and users can choose to receive cruise-related information away from the main website through e-mail alerts and through Twitter updates.

Recognitions and Awards

• Frommer's named CruiseMates one of "six essential sites for planning family cruise" in 2009.

• Kiplinger voted CruiseMates the "most useful cruise review site" in 2006.

See also

• Internet Brands