Cruise Planners Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Cruise Planners is a home-based travel-advisor franchise, an American Express affiliate, selling cruises, tours, and vacation packages. Franchisees operate as independent advisors earning commissions, with no storefront or inventory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cruise Planners franchise requires a total initial investment of $2K – $21K, including a $695 – $11K franchise fee and an ongoing 1.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $411K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $2K – $21K
- 0th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- $411K
- 4th pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 1.5%
- 0th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 3,125
- 55th pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $2K – $21K including a $695 franchise fee, 1.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $411K/year (median $149K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 88/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 20.4% CAGR over 3 years with 3125 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- CP Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Cruise Planners Holdings, Inc.
- CEO title
- Principal Owner, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Michelle Fee
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 3111 N. University Drive, Suite 800, Coral Springs, Florida 33065
- Auditor
- CohnReznick LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $62.8M
- vs $44.3M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michelle Fee
- Headquarters
- Florida
- Founded
- 2005
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 51
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 99% below the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $695 | $695 |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $250 | $3K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1K | $17K |
| Total initial investment | $2K | $21K |
Source: Cruise Planners 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2K – $21K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $250 – $3K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $695 – $11K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 1.5%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- No advertising or marketing fund; franchisor does not adm…
- Total fee load
- 1.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $80 |
| Training fee | $695 |
| Transfer fee | $695 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 1.5% of rev |
A 1.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 59% below the recreation & entertainment norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$76K
18.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
604%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
2 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Cruise Planners unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
604%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Cruise Planners units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$946K
on $4.7M purchase
Total debt
$3.8M
SBA $2.4M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $411K
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $149K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical gross sales by quartile
- Sample size
- 2,855
- vs category median 5 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $25K→$37.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $57K→$1.5M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 166 Recreation & Entertainment brands
Revenue is 36.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $411K/year in gross sales. Median is $149K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 36.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 1.5% — below the Recreation & Entertainment average of 8.8%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System expanding at 20.4% CAGR over 3 years across 3,125 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Recreation & Entertainment averages
How Cruise Planners Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3,125
- Opened
- 325
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 256
- Terminated
- 124
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 33
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +20.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +20.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 325
- Closed (3yr)
- 50
- Terminated (3yr)
- 124
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 33
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 51 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Cruise Planners presents meaningful caution due to absent financial disclosures, regulatory violations, active litigation, and unprotected territories—making true profitability and franchisee success rate impossible to validate independently.
Litigation (Item 3)
CP Franchising, LLC v. Allison Elliott (2019, trademark infringement/breach/defamation; default judgment for CP, $56,740 damages); In the Matter of CP Franchising, LLC and Michelle Fee, Maryland Securities Commissioner administrative proceeding (2011, unregistered franchise sale, consent order with rescission offer)
Largest disclosed settlement: $56,740
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CohnReznick LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 88 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNo financial performance disclosure (Item 19) prevents assessment of actual franchisee profitability and ROI
- 02MEDRegulatory violations including Maryland Securities Commissioner consent order indicates disclosure and registration failures
- 03HIGHLitigation involving fraud/deceptive practices counterclaim and trademark disputes suggests franchisor-franchisee relationship strain
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk between franchisees within same market
- 05MEDCommission-based revenue model with no income disclosure creates unpredictable cash flow and recovery timeline
- 06MINOR3-year term is relatively short, limiting long-term business stability planning
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 1.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 3 years |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 4 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Coral Springs, Broward County, Florida (mediation/litigation) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
CP Franchising, LLC v. Allison Elliott (2019, trademark infringement/breach/defamation; default judgment for CP, $56,740 damages); In the Matter of CP Franchising, LLC and Michelle Fee, Maryland Securities Commissioner administrative proceeding (2011, unregistered franchise sale, consent order with rescission offer)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 84 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Hotel or conference center near headquarters in Coral Springs / Fort Lauderdale, Florida; some modules online
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (no site approval or criteria; home-based)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Proprietary CRM system (CPMaxx)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Proprietary CRM system (CPMaxx)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2,997 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cruise Planners · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cruise Planners franchise?
The total investment to open a Cruise Planners franchise ranges from $2K – $21K, with an initial franchise fee of $695. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Cruise Planners franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cruise Planners FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $411K. The median is $149K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Cruise Planners FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Cruise Planners FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Cruise Planners's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cruise Planners (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Cruise Planners franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cruise Planners has 3,125 total units in the United States, including 3,124 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 325 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cruise Planners a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cruise Planners as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 88 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.