Cruiseabout is riding the wave, more than doubling its headcount in FY25 to 80 team members with plans to open three new shopfronts in Australia by the end of the year, as CLIA reports show the local market swelled by 5.9 per cent year on year in 2024.
Flight Centre Travel Group’s relaunched consumer cruise brand opened five stores last year, bringing the current total to seven brick-and-mortar sites in Queensland, NSW, WA, SA and Victoria.
The dedicated cruise agency plans to open three more stores by Christmas and six additional sites by the end of FY26 for a total footprint of 16 shopfronts.
In addition, Cruiseabout has swelled its call centre from one to three teams, responding to both in-store demand and Australia-wide, and the fast-growing brand is currently recruiting for more cruise advisors.
Cruiseabout General Manager Brad Kennedy said fly-cruise holidays are particularly popular with CLIA reporting a 29 per cent year-on-year surge in interest.
“Fly-cruise holidays are a big part of our offering, so I’m particularly excited to see how this category of cruising grows over the next year off the back of a massive surge in the year just gone,” Kennedy said.
FCTG’s cruise brand recently hosted the entire Cruiseabout team in Brisbane for a two-day strategic planning session for FY26.
Day one consisted of a leadership-focused day with the senior executive team and store leaders, while the second day brought the whole brand together for a motivational conference.
“It was great to have everyone together in person to discuss plans for the next year. Last time there were 37 people in the brand and now, there’s more than 80 of us, including consultants, team leaders and head office support staff,” Kennedy said.
“I am incredibly proud of the team we have built over the last 18 months. Every single person is passionate about cruising and genuinely wants to play a role in helping our business succeed.”
For more info, visit cruiseabout.com.au
