NEEDHAM, Mass., April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site, today announced the launch of a new cruise experience in the U.S. and U.K. TripAdvisor Cruises expands its offering to both new and seasoned cruisers with the ability to consider a cruise vacation, as they read and write cruise ship reviews, share photos and shop for great deals. This addition expands the TripAdvisor travel ecosystem by exposing cruise to up to half a billion monthly users.

"We know our community demands the best options while traveling, and by adding awe-inspiring cruises to our platform, we're excited to support the continued growth of the overall cruise industry by bringing cruise to the world's largest travel audience," said Bryan Saltzburg, president of TripAdvisor Flights, Cruise & Car. "The addition of Cruise will help solve the complexity of planning and booking a voyage, supported by the confidence of rich user generated content with reviews and photos from millions of TripAdvisor members. For example, cruisers can research and book their flight to the port, a hotel room for the night before departure, review 'Ship-tinerary' pages, compare cabin options, book excursions, and read reviews all in one place."

According to data courtesy of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the cruise industry continues to grow at a steady pace, with 30 million passengers expected to cruise in 2019, which is an increase of more than 34 percent in the past five years. While this is the first time TripAdvisor will feature cruise reviews, TripAdvisor travelers are already passionate about this industry. Based on 2018 TripAdvisor dataⁱ, 32 percent of TripAdvisor users have cruised before and 44 percent are cruise shoppers.

New TripAdvisor Cruises Features
Now with the following new features, it will be easy for travelers to find their perfect cruise experience. 

• User generated content – ability to read and write reviews, and share candid traveler photos.
• Ship-tineraryä pages – the most comprehensive tool in cruise planning. "Ship-tineraries" deliver robust ship profiles to help users quickly get a sense of "is this the right ship for me." Featuring traveler reviews, advice and photos, as well as detailed amenities and itineraries, "Ship-tineraries" help travelers make a more informed decision about their trip with an unbiased, detailed view of ships across cruising options.
• Price comparison – discover deals from partners for the lowest cruise prices globally.
• Sort and filter cruises by cabin type, itineraries, price and more.
• Large inventory – shop more than 70 thousand cruises – from ocean and luxury to river and adventure.

Cruise Industry Embraces Traveler Reviews
Cruise lines around the world have embraced TripAdvisor's launch of cruise reviews, as a way for cruising to reach TripAdvisor's massive community of travelers with a host of expert content.

"The cruise industry is growing at an incredible pace, with more travelers than ever planning their vacations at sea," explained Gordon Ho, Princess Cruises Chief Marketing Officer. "Having cruise represented on TripAdvisor acknowledges the growth of the sector as a vacation option and will help to introduce cruising to a massive new audience, as part of the world's largest travel site. We're thrilled to introduce Princess Cruises award-winning cruise experience to TripAdvisor travelers."

For almost 15 years, TripAdvisor has been anchored by Cruise Critic, the world's largest cruise site and credible place travelers turn to when they want to set sail, making TripAdvisor Cruise already an expert in the industry. Building upon this rich history, TripAdvisor will apply those learnings and expertise to its massive audience of 490 million unique monthly users who place their trust in user generated content. Cruise Critic will continue to operate independently of TripAdvisor.   

Starting today, TripAdvisor Cruises, including its reviews and functionalities, is available in the U.S. and UK here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Cruises. This experience will continue to evolve with additional cruise lines, cruise ships, cruise ship deck plans, features and content, with expansion to other markets in the coming months.    

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site*, enables travelers to unleash the full potential of every trip. With over 730 million reviews and opinions covering the world's largest selection of travel listings worldwide – covering approximately 8.1 million accommodations, airlines, experiences, restaurants, and cruises – TripAdvisor provides travelers with the wisdom of the crowds to help them decide where to stay, how to fly, what to do, where to eat and how to cruise. TripAdvisor also compares prices from more than 200 hotel booking sites so travelers can find the lowest price on the hotel that's right for them. TripAdvisor-branded sites are available in 49 markets, and are home to the world's largest travel community of 490 million average monthly unique visitors**, all looking to get the most out of every trip. TripAdvisor: Know better. Book better. Go better.

The subsidiaries and affiliates of TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) own and operate a portfolio of websites and businesses, including the following travel media brands:

www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bokun.io, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, and www.restorando.com), www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com and www.viator.com.

*Source: Jumpshot for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, December 2018
**Source: TripAdvisor internal log files, average monthly unique visitors during seasonal peak in Q3 2018

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ⁱ 2018 IPSOS study – sourced from a TripAdvisor.com survey

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SOURCE TripAdvisor

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