Franchise Facts Report → brands → Cruise Planners
Cruise Planners franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Cruise Planners is a home-based travel agency franchise with a low initial investment and a royalty structure based on a percentage of sales.
Everything below is free, read straight off Cruise Planners's registered filing, with where the numbers land against travel & hospitality peers. Weighing Cruise Planners against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Cruise Planners's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641276 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Cruise Planners? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Cruise Planners will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Cruise Planners franchise make?
Cruise Planners is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $518,262 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every travel & hospitality brand that discloses earnings in the Hotel, travel & hospitality franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Cruise Planners franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Cruise Planners's 1.5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Cruise Planners franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Cruise Planners franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $518,262 of revenue, a 1.5% royalty alone is about $7,774 a year before any other cost.
Cruise Planners lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Cruise Planners's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) does disclose 2 legal proceedings in Item 3 . Item 3 is the item where a franchisor must put its material legal history on the record. Two things it is not: it covers the franchisor and its predecessors, parents and affiliates, so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Cruise Planners itself; and a disclosure is a fact, not a finding of wrongdoing — most entries are contract disputes with former franchisees, which every large system accumulates. 1 of those proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor — the split that actually matters, because franchisees suing their franchisor is the signal a buyer is looking for. Item 3 of the source FDD describes each case.
Cruise Planners closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Cruise Planners will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Cruise Planners's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a travel & hospitality of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Cruise Planners's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 5.2%, against a travel & hospitality median of 4.1% — worse than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +116 to 3,124 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Cruise Planners?
Cruise Planners's franchise is offered by CP Franchising, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Travel & hospitality franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Cruise Planners is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Cruise Planners franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Cruise Planners — who is the franchisor?
Cruise Planners's most recently filed FDD (2026) names CP Franchising, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Cruise Planners franchise cost?
Cruise Planners's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $1,945 – $20,505, with an initial franchise fee of $10,995 and a 1.5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against travel & hospitality peers it sits in the top quartile (median $3,332,700).
How much profit does a Cruise Planners franchise make?
Cruise Planners discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (1.5% of gross for Cruise Planners), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Cruise Planners franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Cruise Planners discloses is $518,262 in average unit revenue.
Does Cruise Planners disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Cruise Planners reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $518,262 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Cruise Planners?
Cruise Planners's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses 2 legal proceedings in Item 3. Item 3 covers the franchisor, its predecessors, parents and affiliates — so a disclosed case is not necessarily a suit against Cruise Planners itself, and a disclosure is not a finding of wrongdoing. 1 of the disclosed proceedings were brought by franchisees against the franchisor.
Is Cruise Planners a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Cruise Planners's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against travel & hospitality peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Cruise Planners or travel & hospitality: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.