Expedia Cruises franchise
2026 filing · March 25, 2026Shares sales figures
Expedia Cruises at a glance
A travel agency selling cruises, airline tickets, car rentals, hotels and other travel services. At the end of 2025 there were 93 Expedia Cruises locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- CruiseShipCenters USA Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2008
- 18 years of selling franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $149K–$259K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $49,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 9%
- A service fee of 9% of gross revenues paid by travel suppliers, collected monthly; new franchisees may qualify for discounts
- Brand fund
- Yes
- 4% of supplier-paid revenue, capped at $8,500 in 2026
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 93
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 93
- Company-owned
- 0
From CruiseShipCenters USA Inc’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Expedia Cruises among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Expedia Cruises | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $203,923 | Costs less than 69% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $49,000 | Higher than 62% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 9% | Higher than 94% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 93 | More than 75% of franchises |
How much a Expedia Cruises franchise costs
Opening one Expedia Cruises costs an estimated $149,300 to $258,545. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: CruiseShipCenters USA Inc, 2026 filing, page 1
Expedia Cruises franchise fee
The franchise fee is $49,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: CruiseShipCenters USA Inc, 2026 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | A service fee of 9% of gross revenues paid by travel suppliers, collected monthly; new franchisees may qualify for discounts. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 4% of supplier-paid revenue, capped at $8,500 in 2026. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: CruiseShipCenters USA Inc, 2026 filing, pages 14 and 16
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Expedia Cruises publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: CruiseShipCenters USA Inc, 2026 filing, page 43
SBA loans to Expedia Cruises franchisees
Lenders approved 9 SBA 7(a) loans for Expedia Cruises franchisees from 2014 to 2017, $1.12M in all. Of the 7 that have ended, 4 were paid in full and 3 were charged off. The other 2 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Expedia Cruises compares
Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Figure | Expedia Cruises | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $149K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $259K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $49K | $40K |
| Royalty | 9% | 6% |
| US locations | 93 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 (−2) | 0 |
| 2022 | 92 (0) | 0 |
| 2023 | 99 (+7) | 0 |
| 2024 | 98 (−1) | 0 |
| 2025 | 93 (−5) | 0 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 94 to 93 (−1, −1%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: CruiseShipCenters USA Inc, 2026 filing, page 48
2021–2022: CruiseShipCenters USA Inc, 2024 filing, page 49
Who owns Expedia Cruises?
Expedia Cruises franchises are sold by CruiseShipCenters USA Inc.
From CruiseShipCenters USA Inc’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 11–12. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: CruiseShipCenters USA Inc, 2026 filing, litigation on pages 11–12, bankruptcy on page 12
Expedia Cruises filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from CruiseShipCenters USA Inc’s 2026 filing, issued March 25, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | March 25, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | March 27, 2024 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
