The Cruise Advertisement Checklist
Specific, honest and easy to act on — check every cruise ad against this list.
Advertise on the Official Cruise DirectoryA good cruise advertisement is specific, honest and easy to act on. Use this checklist before any ad, email or listing goes live.
What Every Cruise Advertisement Should Include
- The product: line, ship, itinerary and sailing dates or season — not just “Caribbean cruise.”
- Price basis, if you show a price: per person, double occupancy, cabin category, and what taxes, fees and port expenses are or are not included.
- Offer terms: booking deadline, which fares qualify, whether the offer combines with others.
- Who is selling: your business name, contact details and any registration number your state requires.
- One clear next step: request a quote, call, or visit one page — not five.
What a Cruise Advertisement Must Not Do
Bury the extras
Hiding mandatory fees or quoting a fare nobody can actually book undermines trust and can break advertising rules.
Put prices in pictures
Prices baked into images go stale and cannot be updated with the fare. Keep prices in text, or leave them to the quote.
Invent urgency
“Only two cabins left” must be true. False scarcity is deceptive.
Borrow a brand
Do not use a cruise line’s logo, ship names or photos outside what its marketing rules allow.
The FTC advertising and marketing guidance sets out the core truth-in-advertising principles that apply to travel ads: claims must be truthful, not misleading, and backed up.
Cruise Advertisement Rules: FAQ
Do I have to show taxes and fees in a cruise advertisement?
Travelers and regulators expect advertised prices to be clear about what is included. The safest approach is to state that fares are per person, based on double occupancy, and whether taxes, fees and port expenses are included, and to follow the cruise line’s own advertising rules.
Do I need a seller-of-travel registration to advertise cruises?
Several states, including California, Florida, Washington and Hawaii, require sellers of travel to register, and some require the registration number in advertising. Check the rules where you do business.
Want a ready-made place for your well-built ad? A directory listing on the Official Cruise Directory gives you a permanent, accurate page about your business.
Before You Publish
- Read the ad aloud as a traveler would: is anything unclear about what is included?
- Check every date, ship name and deadline against the cruise line’s own materials.
- Make sure the landing page repeats the offer exactly as advertised.
- Keep a dated copy of the ad and its terms in case of questions later.
The same checklist applies to every format — search ads, social posts, emails, flyers for a cruise night and directory listings. Short formats leave less room, so link to a page that carries the full terms rather than squeezing them out of the cruise advertisement altogether.
Publish Your Listing the Right Way
Clear descriptions, real photos and one next step — that is what an Official Cruise Directory listing is built for.
Start on the Official Cruise Directory