One of North America’s Top Travel Franchises Brought Together Their Entire System for Recognitions, Ongoing Education, and Industry Deep Dives

VANCOUVER (May 19, 2025) –The cruise industry is continuing its upward trajectory with projected market revenue reaching $44.39 billion in 2025. Expedia Cruises, which is backed by one of the most powerful travel brands in the world, remains a leading force and sets the standard for excellence in the industry. The full-service leisure travel agency recently hosted its highly anticipated 2025 ANCHOR meeting at sea, themed “Stronger than Ever.”

“Our 2025 spring ANCHOR meeting was arguably the largest and most successful one to date,” said Matthew Eichhorst, President of Expedia Cruises. “This year’s theme of ‘Stronger than Ever’ was truly embraced throughout the ship from our franchisees and their Vacation Consultants to our corporate staff and supply partners. Each conference represents a unique moment when our entire industry and system are united in the same space. These conferences are where we drive businesses forward by communicating our strategies, sharing best practices, and building relationships.”

With over 650 attendees including franchisees, Vacation Consultants, supply partners, and corporate team members, the brand set sail aboard the Carnival Celebration from Miami, FL for a seven-night Eastern Caribbean voyage, where participants enjoyed mainstage presentations, workshops, hosted dinners, prizes, and more.

“Expedia Cruises’ 2025 ANCHOR was not only very important this year—it was a resounding success,” said John Mast, Senior Director of Marketing and Franchise Development at Expedia Cruises. “Franchisees, Vacation Consultants, travel suppliers, and our corporate support team came together to share insights, learn from one another, and build strategies and relationships to fuel sales growth. Our Stronger.Together® culture was shining all week long.”

This year’s ANCHOR centered around a dynamic program designed to keep attendees informed on industry trends, strengthen relationships with peers and partners, and immerse the entire brand network in Expedia Cruises’ vibrant company culture. Through impactful workshops, engaging networking events, and inspiring recognition moments, the conference delivered meaningful experiences that empowered attendees to grow both personally and professionally.

Many franchisees were recognized for opening and acquiring new locations, celebrating milestone anniversaries, achieving or exceeding benchmark goals, having the largest sales transactions in 2024, and excelling in agent recruitment. The three top performing franchisees, both from single-unit and multi-unit operations, were also honored at ANCHOR for their achievements. Additionally, Vacation Consultants were celebrated through the Navigators Club Recognition Program, which acknowledges Consultants for demonstrating exceptional sales and customer service.

While ANCHOR highlighted the travel brand’s outstanding franchisees, Vacation Consultants, supply partners, and corporate team members, Expedia Cruises itself has not gone unnoticed. The brand has received several recognitions including Franchise Business Review’s 2025 Top 200 Franchises, 2025 Top Franchises for Women, and 2024 Top Franchises for Veterans; Expedia Cruises was also ranked on the 2024 Culture100 Awards and was named to Franchise Direct’s 2025 Top 100 Franchises list, further solidifying its reputation as a premier franchise opportunity.

With an unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service, an omnichannel strategy, and a proven franchise model, Expedia Cruises is a leading seller of cruises and vacations in North America. Anchored in their passion and expertise of air, land, and sea vacations, each Expedia Cruises franchise location is a full-service leisure travel agency. Franchisees and their dedicated vacation consultants are experts in booking cruise vacations, all-inclusive resorts, coach and rail tours, vacation packages, homes and villas, travel insurance, flights, hotels, cars, and activities.

Expedia Cruises is currently seeking like-minded team leaders interested in pursuing franchise opportunities. For more information about the Expedia Cruises franchise opportunity, visit expediafranchise.com.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc. brands power travel for everyone, everywhere through our global platform. Driven by the core belief that travel is a force for good, Expedia Group™ helps people experience the world in new ways and build lasting connections. They provide industry-leading technology solutions to fuel partner growth and success, while facilitating memorable experiences for travelers.

The Expedia Group family of brands includes Expedia®, Hotels.com®, Expedia® Partner Solutions, Vrbo®, trivago®, Orbitz®, Travelocity®, Hotwire®, Wotif®, ebookers®, CheapTickets®, Expedia Group™ Media Solutions, CarRentals.com™, and Expedia Cruises™.

For more information on Expedia Cruises, visit www.expediafranchise.com.

© 2025 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Expedia Group and the Expedia Group logo are trademarks of Expedia, Inc. CST: 2029030-50

###