CruiseMates is an online magazine and virtual community dedicated to all aspects of passenger cruises and the passenger cruise industry.
[edit] History
CruiseMates was founded in 1999 by Paul Motter and Anne Campbell, two authors with years of experience writing about the cruise industry and the Internet.[1] The site was created with the goal of providing an interactive, independent online cruise guide. As a result, CruiseMates does not sell cruises and is not affiliated with any cruise lines or travel agencies.[2]
The unbiased, community-oriented nature of CruiseMates led to fast growth, with the site averaging eight million monthly page views and a library of 1,500 user-generated cruise reviews by 2003.[3] New features were added as the site grew, including blogs, photo galleries, and polls. By 2009, the site featured more than 3,900 user-generated reviews.[4]
CruiseMates was acquired by Internet Brands in 2006.[5]
[edit] Site Functionality
CruiseMates primarily consists of editorial and user-generated cruise reviews classified by cruise line, cruise ship, and port.[6][7] The site also features coverage of cruise industry news and a large repository of articles on all aspects of cruises, including special sections for first-time cruisers, luxury cruisers, single cruises, and gay/lesbian cruisers.[8][9] Social media features include an active discussion forum on which users discuss a variety of cruise-related topics, and users can choose to receive cruise-related information away from the main website through e-mail alerts and through Twitter updates.[10][11]
[edit] Recognitions and Awards
- Frommer's named CruiseMates one of "six essential sites for planning family cruise" in 2009.[12]
- Kiplinger voted CruiseMates the "most useful cruise review site" in 2006.[13]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
