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A new cruise line with a sharp focus on health, fitness and activity is being organized by a Miami entrepreneur with a planned May 2018 launch.
Blue World Voyages plans an all-suite 350-passenger vessel with 26 staterooms designated as “residential condominiums,” the most comprehensive sports/wellness complex at sea, and “a corporate culture focused on enhancing personal health, the environment and passengers as partners.”
The founder and CEO of Blue World is Gene Meehan, who was founder and president of Miami’s Downtown Athletic Club from 2004-2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Blue World was incorporated in April 2016, according to Florida corporate records. Its registered agent is Robert Kritzman, an attorney at the Fowler & White firm and a former executive vice president at Norwegian Cruise Line.
About $400,000 in seed capital has been invested so far. The company says it has commitments for another $15 million from unidentified traditional investment channels.
Blue World also plans to be the first cruise line to use crowdfunding as a financial tool. It hopes to raise $10 million by soliciting investments of between $500 and $5,000 a person through the crowdfunding platform Start Engine.
Members of the company’s Founders Club would get a dollar-for-dollar discount on their first cruise based on the amount of their investment. They also receive shares in the company, additional discounts for onboard purchases, a Founders Club welcome event on each cruise, and cabin up-grades when available.
“This is uncharted territory for the cruise industry,” said Meehan, “but it is so perfectly aligned with our view of passengers as partners that it seems natural for us to take this direction.”
Blue World plans to acquire an unspecified ship in November 2017. It said initial cruises are planned for the Med in the summer of 2018, with possible itineraries in Cuba and Costa Rica the following winter.
Among the ship’s amenities will be an indoor basketball court, batting cages, golf simulators, a first-of-its-kind sea lap pool, and “every water sports toy imaginable.” Fitness offerings will include “one of the top conditioning programs in the country, plus TRX, yoga, spinning studios and more,” while the wellness program will include a large spa, a sports medicine clinic and healthy, sustainable cuisine.
Diane Trieste, former director of spa operations at Canyon Ranch has signed on as vice president of wellness. Tim Andriola, owner of Miami restaurants Basil Park and Timo, is listed as executive chef.
Sоurсе: travelweekly.com