Comparison copy for Richard, built by the pitch engine. Never to be sent.
Cruise together & celebrate

Your next steps

Australian groups find you, send their details, and get your quote

Start with your website when you're ready. You asked about January, and that works for us. After that, it can grow one step at a time.

Prepared for Nadia, Cruise together & celebrate by Richard, C.E.A Smith ยท November 2026

What you told me

What you are after

  1. You want to specialise in group cruises: weddings, reunions, birthdays, corporate and more.
  2. Your main market is Australia, because that is where people love to cruise.
  3. You want groups to send you their details. Then you call the cruise line and send them a quote.
  4. You're running this part time for now.
  5. You want to know you're dealing with a real New Zealand business.
  6. You'd like to start in January.

Start here

Step one: your Cruise Social Club website

We built a draft of your site from the content and PDF you sent us. Have a look when it suits you and tell us what you'd change.

Essentials gives you up to five pages, written to win the enquiry. Once it's live you also get two changes a month.

You can leave any time, and you keep full access to your site. Before anything starts, you get a written agreement with our NZBN on it.

Why now: You don't need to decide anything this week. The draft is there to look at whenever suits you, and it only goes live when you say go. January is fine.

How it helps later: Every plan below works through this site. Groups send their details here, and the follow-up, the reviews and the ads all lead back to it. Once the site is live, you can get one small add-on at half price for 30 days.

From you: Look over the draft, tell us what to change, and confirm the photos are yours to use.

$899

setup, then $79 a month

When you are ready for more

Three ways to grow from here

Each plan builds on the one before it. Start with whichever fits, and move up later: nothing you set up is wasted.

What I recommendPlan 1

Every enquiry followed up

Stop losing the groups who reach you.

$1,299

one-off setup

$129 a month

from the month it starts

  • Every group enquiry gets a reply straight away, in your words, so they know you have their details.
  • Each enquiry goes into one list: who, how many, when and what kind of cruise.
  • If a quote goes quiet, one polite follow-up goes out for you. Only once.
  • We keep it running and fix it if something changes.
  • One new or reworked step each quarter as your business changes.

Why: You said you want groups to send their details so you can call the cruise line and quote. You're part time, so this means no group is left waiting or forgotten while you're busy.

Suits: You, working part time, when you want every group to hear back straight away and no quote to be forgotten.

Your time: About 15 minutes at the start to approve the wording. After that, nothing beyond the quotes you already do.

Plan 2 builds on plan 1

Keep them coming back

Turn each group you sail with into proof for the next one.

proposed
$1,498

one-off setup

$129 a month

from the month it starts

Everything in plan 1, plus:

  • Your own Google review link.
  • A QR code card you can hand to group leaders.
  • A ready-to-send text to use after each cruise.
  • Reviews show new groups that you're a real business they can trust.

Why: You told us you don't want to deal with overseas scammers. Your customers will think the same way. Reviews from groups who have sailed with you answer that before they ask.

Suits: When your first groups have sailed and you want new groups to see that real people have travelled with you.

Your time: A minute after each cruise to send the text.

Priced once we know more: A Google Business Profile, if you don't have one yet. We'll check with you first.; A members sign-up and member list. We held this back on your site until you have members-only sailings. We'll scope it once you know what members get.

Plan 3 builds on plan 2

Bring Australians in

Bring new groups in from Australia.

proposed
$2,497

one-off setup

$628 a month

from the month it starts

Everything in plan 2, plus:

  • A Facebook and Instagram ad account set up in your name, with tracking.
  • A first campaign aimed at Australians planning a group cruise: weddings, reunions and milestone birthdays.
  • Three ads to start, made from your words and photos you're happy to use, with new ads each month.
  • Enquiries from the ads go to the same form and get the same follow-up.
  • A monthly report on what the ads brought in.
  • You own the ad account and pay Facebook directly for the ads.

Why: You asked about Instagram, and you said Australia is your main market. Facebook and Instagram ads can reach Australians who are planning a group trip.

Suits: When the site and follow-up are running and you want more group enquiries than word of mouth brings.

Your time: About 30 minutes a week to quote the extra enquiries, plus a quick read of the monthly report.

All prices plus GST. Ad spend is paid to Meta directly, on top.

See it working

What happens when a group enquires

This is sample data. The names, groups and messages are made up to show how Every enquiry followed up would work for you.

Switch plans to see what each one adds.

Your first month on Every enquiry followed up

Week by week

Month 1Starts when you say go. January works for us.

Your site live and every enquiry followed up

  1. Week 1

    Your site goes live

    We build
    • Your changes to the draft made
    • Photos and logo confirmed with you
    • Site connected to your own web address
    From you
    Send your changes, confirm the photos are yours, and tell us which address you've bought.
  2. Week 2

    Enquiries answered straight away

    We build
    • Instant reply to every group enquiry, written in your words
    • Each enquiry added to one list
    From you
    Read the reply wording and tell us if it sounds like you (about 15 minutes).
  3. Week 3

    Quotes followed up

    We build
    • One friendly follow-up when a quote goes quiet
    • You choose how long to wait before it goes
    From you
    Tell us how long a cruise line usually takes to give you a price, and when a follow-up feels right.
  4. Week 4

    Tested from start to finish

    We build
    • Sample enquiries run from the form through to the follow-up
    • We watch the first real enquiries to check everything works
    From you
    Send one test enquiry yourself and check what you receive.

Before we build

What we still need to know

We only build what you need, so these come first.

Have you bought cruisesocialclub.com.au yet?

We need the address before the site can go live. A .com.au address also has Australian rules on who can hold one.

Where do you keep track of enquiries and quotes now: your email, a notebook or a spreadsheet?

We'll build the enquiry list to fit how you already work, not make you learn something new.

Roughly how many group enquiries do you expect a month at the start?

It tells us how simple or detailed the list and follow-up need to be.

Do you have a Google Business Profile for Cruise Social Club?

The review link in the second plan needs one. If you don't have one, we'll talk it through first.

What would members of the club get?

We held back the members area until we know. Your answer decides what we build.

Look in your own time

If you have a question, reply to this email or call Richard. When you want to go ahead, in January or later, tell us which plan suits and we'll send the written agreement with our NZBN.

Call Richard: 03 567 1600info@ceasmith.com