CruiseDirect
Cruise specialist paying 3% of the commissionable fare on a 45-day cookie, with an average order value of $2,200.
About the CruiseDirect affiliate program
CruiseDirect joined CJ in May 2002 (advertiser 965192), making it one of the longest-running travel programmes on the network. It pays 3% of the commissionable cruise fare from each completed trip, which it claims is among the highest rates offered by travel advertisers on CJ, plus 10% on gift card purchases. With a stated average order value of $2,200, 3% works out at roughly $66 a booking — far more per conversion than the hotel OTAs return, and the 45-day cookie gives a realistic window for a decision that people rarely make quickly. The phrase to read carefully is completed trip: commission is earned when the cruise is actually taken, not when it is booked, and cruises are frequently booked six months to a year ahead. Expect a long gap between the sale and the payment. CJ flags the programme as having lower application approval odds, and the stored network of ShareASale was wrong — though the 45-day cookie we had recorded turned out to be right.
Pros and cons
- ✓A 45-day cookie, among the longest in travel and suited to the long cruise booking cycle
- ✓Average order value of $2,200, so 3% works out around $66 a booking
- ✓10% commission on gift card purchases, which is unusually generous
- ✓On CJ since 2002, one of the longest-running travel programmes on the network
- –Commission is paid on completed trips, not bookings — so payment can lag the sale by months
- –CJ flags this programme as having lower application approval odds
- –A single-category specialist, so it only suits cruise content
- –CJ reported no conversion-country data for the previous month
Topics
CruiseDirect runs its affiliate program through CJ Affiliate. Search for it by name inside your CJ Affiliate dashboard. We list program details for reference and don’t link out — always confirm the current terms with the program itself.