The entrepreneurs behind an interactive new digital platform, which logs cruise routes, are encouraging agents to make use of their free mapping technology.

The Cruise Globe is the world’s first free-to-use website that allows travellers to accurately map out their cruise history.

The maps are created using AIS satellite ship tracking data, which is more typically used by the marine industry for collision avoidance and insurance. This is the first time the data has had a consumer application.

“Our maps are unique,” says co-founder Matthew Jones, “because they track the exact route taken by a ship, including every diversion, man overboard drill or missed port. They can only be finalised after a ship has completed its itinerary.”

He adds: “Our digital platform is a visual logbook of a person’s cruise history and it offers a much richer way to share details about cruises. The USP of the platform is that it’s an exact route – when you’re onboard, you’re not always aware that your ship is killing time between ports.”

More than 180,000 cruises have been logged since Jones launched The Cruise Globe with his business partners Will Ellison and Emma Le Teace in February.

New features coming later this summer include live cruise tracking and future cruise mapping, plus the roll-out of an app.  The addition of river cruise maps is also planned.

The trio originally came together to found The Cruise Maps in 2023, which creates keepsake printed maps of specific cruise routes. Their combined expertise is marine technology (Ellison), publishing (Jones) and Le Teace is a full-time cruise content creator and industry trends watcher.

Jones explains: “No one else is doing what we’re doing at the moment, because the data is not perfect at source. Ships’ exact locations are picked up every couple of minutes by satellite but when there’s a bigger gap and the points are not uniform, we have to manually validate it. We have a global team of 17 people doing checks for us. We can go back as far as 2015 [when the data started to become accurate enough to do this], and about 20% of cruises have gaps in the data.”

“We’re the only source in the world with this rich set of data. Cruise lines have their own routes, but they don’t have each other’s.”

The Cruise Globe team is encouraging agents to make use of its free digital tools in their customer interactions. “We think it’s a really interesting marketing tool,” explains Jones. “You could send a welcome home email to your clients with the exact route and stats from their voyage. We’re keen to speak to the industry about this and explore how we can partner with agents. We believe our maps will change the industry.”

“Anyone using it as a consumer, or from a travel agency perspective, can do so entirely for free. There are no adverts on the site. We monetize our products by selling high-quality print maps, but there is no obligation to buy those.”

“Our goal is to get as many of the 36 million cruisers in the world as possible using our platform and getting value out of it. Imagine what a rich set of data that would be. If we start charging cruise passengers to use it, that will slow things down.”

Dan Hammond, GoCruise & Travel, has been using The Cruise Globe and The Cruise Maps since the beginning. He’s logged 85 of his own cruises and he regularly shares these itineraries with clients, either digitally or in person with printed versions. 

“It makes things so much easier and 100% these tools have helped me to convert sales,” he says. “On one occasion, I switch sold a client to a circumnavigation of Iceland with HX Expeditions, which they hadn’t even realised was possible until I showed them the route on The Cruise Globe.”

“It’s just not the same experience with standard itinerary maps,” he adds. “They join the dots but you don’t get the full picture.”

“These maps have made a huge difference to my business, and I would definitely encourage other agents to make use of them. I’m an avid cruiser so I tend to use my own maps and sell my own experiences but if you’re new to cruise, you could easily create an account and find past voyages to share with customers. Clients are always fascinated by the maps – and best of it, the digital versions are completely free!”

Lines including Cunard, P&O Cruises and Marella Cruises sell branded versions of The Cruise Maps onboard their ships, with prices ranging from £40-120, depending on the size of the map and whether a frame is included.

ROL Cruises went a step further this year, offering branded The Cruise Maps as a more personal gift for its customers. 

Sarah Wikevand, chief operating officer, ROL Cruise, says: “We recently ran a campaign gifting The Cruise Maps to a selection of our world cruise guests. On their return, guests were surprised with a beautifully framed, personalised map of their journey, tracking every destination, port and special memory along the way. The response has been fantastic. Many of our guests have shared photos of their maps on social media, including dedicated world cruise Facebook groups, and have told us what a wonderful keepsake it is for keeping their cruise memories alive.

“For some, it was their first world cruise so having a tangible, special memento to hang on their wall means the experience continues long after they return home. We see The Cruise Maps as a brilliant marketing tool. It adds genuine value and creates lasting positive associations with our guests and ROL Cruise. It’s a special way of thanking customers for their loyalty. We’re now exploring other ways to incorporate these into future campaigns, particularly for longer or once-in-a-lifetime cruise packages where they have the most impact.”