CruiseCritic launches luxury channel and mulls plans for flight search

User review site CruiseCritic.com is to launch a dedicated luxury section in March as part of plans to boost the site’s appeal to higher spending holidaymakers. The hugely popular site, which was snapped up by TripAdvisor in May 2007 to become part of its media network, is also hoping to add new features including a…

User review site CruiseCritic.com is to launch a dedicated luxury section in March as part of plans to boost the site’s appeal to higher spending holidaymakers.


The hugely popular site, which was snapped up by TripAdvisor in May 2007 to become part of its media network, is also hoping to add new features including a flight search engine and improved cruise product finding tools.


Founder and president Kathleen Tucker would not reveal details about the new functionality but admitted a flight search engine would improve the overall user experience on the site in the future.


The cruise search is currently an editorial process whereby CruiseCritic manually uploads product details to the site. This is expected to change to a simpler, automated system, Tucker told Travolution.


The latest wave of development follows the launch of a dedicated site for UK consumers in January 2008.


Tucker also revealed a number of business processes – such as the use of cost-per-click for some advertisers, rather than a CPM model – would be introduced to the site.


The luxury section is expected to have a different look and feel to the existing site as it attempts offer a dedicated channel for high-end customers.