Cruise Planners Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2K – $21K
- Disclosed sales
- $411K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
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 →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $2K – $21K
- 0th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- $411K
- 3rd pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 1.5%
- 1st 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 median · 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 98/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +116 franchised outlets in the latest year (325 opened, 209 closed); 36 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- 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.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2026 FDD
- 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
- $70.4M
- vs $62.8M 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 98% 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 by sales volume · 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 48% below the recreation & entertainment norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Cruise Planners until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$13K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own 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?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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 outlets
- vs category median 5 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $25K→$37.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 35 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- 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
Compared against 165 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 median of 8.0%.
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 medians
How Cruise Planners Compares
Category median of published Recreation & Entertainment brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
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
- 209
- Terminated
- 124
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 33
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.7%
- 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
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 124
- Not renewed
- 33
- Transferred
- 3
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 36
- 0.01 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 597
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
2,938 current owners across 51 states; 59 former (terminated, transferred or not renewed) listed separately.
- FL 697
- TX 321
- CA 212
- GA 149
- NY 130
- NJ 106
- VA 91
- NC 85
- PA 81
- CO 76
- AZ 72
- SC 68
- +39 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
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)
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CohnReznick LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 19 reports "Total Sales" = total fares quoted by Travel Suppliers before deducting commissions/markups/discounts/taxes for departed bookings, not franchisee-retained revenue or commission income; Item 8 discloses 2025 total franchisor revenue of $70,439,130, of which E&O insurance fees were $995,271 (1.4%)
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 98 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDRegulatory violations including Maryland Securities Commissioner consent order indicates disclosure and registration failures
- 02HIGHLitigation involving fraud/deceptive practices counterclaim and trademark disputes suggests franchisor-franchisee relationship strain
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk between franchisees within same market
- 04MEDCommission-based revenue model with no income disclosure creates unpredictable cash flow and recovery timeline
- 05MINOR3-year term is relatively short, limiting long-term business stability planning
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
Litigation case detail2 matters · Item 3
Litigation cases
The franchisor
Concluded (2)
CP Franchising, LLC d/b/a Cruise Planners v. Allison Elliott
dismissedBrought against a franchisee · filed 2019-11-22 · U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida · 19-cv-62911-XXXX
“CP Franchising, LLC d/b/a Cruise Planners v. Allison Elliott, Case No. 19-cv-62911-XXXX, U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida. On November 22, 2019, CP Franchising, LLC (“CP”) filed a complaint against Allison Elliott (“Defendant”), a terminated franchisee, alleging trademark infringement under the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq.), breach of contract, and defamation.”Page 11 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
In the Matter of CP Franchising, LLC d/b/a Cruise Planners and Michelle Fee
concludedGovernment or regulatory action · filed 2011-04-21 · Administrative Proceeding Before the Securities Commissioner of Maryland · 2011-0223
“In the Matter of CP Franchising, LLC d/b/a Cruise Planners and Michelle Fee. Administrative Proceeding Before the Securities Commissioner of Maryland, Case No. 2011-0223. As a result of an inquiry initiated on April 21, 2011 into the franchise related activities of CP Franchising, LLC d/b/a Cruise Planners and Michelle Fee ("Respondents"), the Maryland Securities Commissioner ("Commissioner")”Page 12 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Item 3 lists the litigation the franchisor must disclose; a matter against a parent, an affiliate or a named officer is not a matter against the franchisor, and pending claims are allegations, not findings.
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 | No territory protection |
| 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
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.
Who owns Cruise Planners?
Cruise Planners is franchised by CP Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Cruise Planners Holdings, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
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 98 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.