CruiseOne / Dream VacationsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A CruiseOne / Dream Vacations franchise requires a total initial investment of $13K – $21K, including a $11K franchise fee and an ongoing 1.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $588K[2]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $13K – $21K
- 4th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $588K
- 12th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 1.5%
- 3rd pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 2,175
- 54th pct Business Serv…
- SBA default
- 66.7%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Business Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 35.0x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1992. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $13K – $21K including a $11K franchise fee, 1.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $588K/year (median $227K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 67/100.
- System growing at 27.6% CAGR over 3 years with 2175 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- CruiseOne, Inc.
- Parent company
- World Travel Holdings, Inc.
- Predecessor
- We do not have a predecessor
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer
- Bradley Tolkin
- CEO experience
- 18 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 1201 W. Cypress Creek Rd., Suite 100, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33309-1955
- Auditor
- RSM US LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $17.8M
- vs $26.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
CruiseOne/Dream Vacations franchisees operate as independent travel agencies specializing in cruise and vacation bookings. Day-to-day work involves client consultation, package quotation, booking processing, handling supplier relationships with cruise lines and tour operators, and managing customer service. Most franchisees work from home or small offices, earning commissions on cruise/travel bookings rather than managing retail inventory.
- CEO
- Bradley Tolkin
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1992
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 51
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $495 | $11K | |
| Training expenses | $250 | $475 | |
| Additional Signatories/Associates Training and Travel | $745 | $1K | |
| Office Equipment and Furniture | $0 | $350 | |
| Initial Office Supplies | $50 | $275 | |
| Computer Hardware/Software Equipment | $0 | $2K | |
| Insurance, Legal, and Accounting | $150 | $2K | |
| Permits, Franchises, Bonds, & Memberships | $150 | $500 | |
| Initial Promotion and Advertising | $250 | $1K | |
| Criminal and Civil Background Check | $0 | $50 | |
| Additional Funds (3-month initial phase for full-time franchisees) | $500 | $3K | |
| Financing Application Feenot refundable | $0 | $75 | |
| Total initial investment | $3K | $21K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$109K
18.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
595%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
2 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $13K – $21K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $500 – $3K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $495 – $11K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 1.5%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 1.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $150 |
| Training fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| 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.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $588K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $227K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 1357 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $25K→$31.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Compared against 360 Business Services brands
Revenue is 35.0x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Business Services averages
How CruiseOne / Dream Vacations Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,175
- Opened
- 378
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 161
- Turnover rate
- 7.4%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.6%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +27.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 378
- Closed (3yr)
- 161
- Terminated (3yr)
- 51
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 82
- Transfers (3yr)
- 20
- Projected new
- 504
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 0.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 6.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 7.4%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $1.6M
- Median loan
- $147K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 66.7%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 50.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 2
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into CruiseOne / Dream Vacations's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 4 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 4 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Commission-dependent travel franchise with opaque profitability, unprotected territories, and aggressive growth masking structural vulnerabilities in an economically-sensitive industry.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $100,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · RSM US 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 67 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation and profitability assessment
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk with 2,175 other franchisees in system
- 03MINOR11.3% YoY unit growth masks potential quality issues; expansion rate outpacing market demand
- 04MEDWide royalty range (1.5%-3.0%) suggests inconsistent commission structures and unclear earning formulas
- 05MEDCommission-based revenue model creates volatility; travel industry highly susceptible to economic shocks
- 06MINORLow franchise fee ($10,500) may indicate low barriers to entry/exit and higher failure rates
- 07MINOR5-year term is relatively short; high renewal/replacement churn expected
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 88 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- MyCruiseControl
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: MyCruiseControl
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
82 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
CruiseOne / Dream Vacations · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a CruiseOne / Dream Vacations franchise?
The total investment to open a CruiseOne / Dream Vacations franchise ranges from $13K – $21K, with an initial franchise fee of $11K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do CruiseOne / Dream Vacations franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the CruiseOne / Dream Vacations FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $588K. The median is $227K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is CruiseOne / Dream Vacations's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for CruiseOne / Dream Vacations (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 CruiseOne / Dream Vacations franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, CruiseOne / Dream Vacations has 2,175 total units in the United States, including 1,704 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 378 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is CruiseOne / Dream Vacations a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates CruiseOne / Dream Vacations as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 67 out of 100, 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.
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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.