From sea to shore: How Starboard Group is holistically redefining travel retail experiences

Cruise retail is no longer a niche within a niche. It is a fast-growing global market that fashion brands are starting to take more seriously, and now, it is moving beyond the ship.

According to TechSci Research, the global luxury retail market specific to cruise liners was valued at 17 billion dollars in 2025 and is projected to reach 31.88 billion dollars by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 11.05 percent. Passenger numbers are similarly rising.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) reported that passenger volume reached 31.7 million in 2024, 7 percent higher than 2019 levels. In its 2025 State of the Cruise Industry Report, CLIA forecasts 37.7 million ocean-going passengers in 2025.

North America remains the largest market, mainly due to many major cruise operators being headquartered in the US. At the same time, a growing share of passengers are high-net-worth individuals, driving cruise operators to expand premium retail environments and attracting global luxury brands keen to engage a captive audience with strong purchasing power.

Within this environment, onboard retail specialists are scaling their operations and, in turn, are increasingly looking to land.

Larger ships, larger retail spaces

One of the companies at the centre of this shift is Starboard Group, a long-established retail operator at sea. In July 2025, the company announced it would manage an experiential retail precinct aboard the new Star Princess, spanning 4,779 square feet across two decks, underscoring how seriously cruise lines are investing in retail infrastructure.

For Stacy Shaw, a 32-year cruise industry veteran and the company’s senior vice president of luxury and resorts, the growth feels natural. She began her career working directly for cruise lines in sales, marketing and onboard revenue roles, where Starboard was once her retail partner. Only after joining the company did she fully appreciate how distinct the segment is.

“It’s not traditional retail, it’s vacation retail. It’s very specific,” she explained to FashionUnited. That specificity is part of its appeal to brands. Guests are typically on holiday for five to seven days or longer, often celebrating milestones, and are therefore shopping in a different mindset than at home. “It’s less about depth and more about curation: Capsules. Storytelling. Experiences.”

A curated alternative to department stores

Unlike traditional department store models, cruise retail environments are tightly edited and highly controlled. Space is limited, particularly in luxury settings, where Starboard works with six luxury cruise lines. Assortments must therefore reflect both the guest profile and, in many cases, multiple destinations on a single journey.

On ships, retail teams merge destination-relevant products with a core assortment tailored to the cruise line’s brand DNA. Cultural nuances also play a role. When working with Japanese cruise passengers, for example, the team had to quickly adjust sizing scales after early assortments ran too large.

The same cultural lens has been applied to new partnerships such as Mein Schiff Relax, part of Germany’s TUI Cruises portfolio, as well as Mitsui Ocean Cruises in Japan. In each case, the approach combines global brand recognition with highly localised understanding. The result is a retail environment that feels integrated into the travel experience rather than an afterthought.

From sea to shore

Now, Starboard is looking to bring its expertise further into land. The company has quietly entered the resort market and currently operates in three resort locations.

Its first land-based retail location debuted early 2025 under its new division, Starboard Resort, at Westgate Resorts in Las Vegas. In August, Starboard launched its second land-based resort at Westgate Vacation Villas Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, offering a dedicated personalisation station where guests can customise vacation keepsakes.

A similar concept was then brought to the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District in Savannah in Georgia, as the company extended its footprint to show that land-based retail continues to resonate. Most recently, the location hosted a rooftop fragrance engraving event for Valentine’s Day.

The shops aim to bring experiential, vacation-oriented retail to both resort guests and local visitors, blending high-end brands with personalised services and engaging activations.

Resort approach brings holistic retail

The move into the resort market, Shaw insists, is not a pivot but an adjacent expansion. “Resorts and cruise ships have a lot in common. Guests are on holiday. They’re there for several days. They’re celebrating something.”

Many resort retail outlets, Shaw noted, still operate like traditional gift shops. In larger hotel groups, retail is often managed locally at each property, which can lead to inconsistencies. Starboard’s pitch is to bring a more holistic retail strategy, one that aligns with the brand’s DNA while maintaining consistency across multiple locations.

The company is not aiming to compete with high street or mall retailers. Instead, it sees resort retail as another form of vacation retail: curated, experiential and embedded into the wider hospitality ecosystem.

Store design varies by property. In some cases, Starboard takes over existing retail spaces and reworks the assortment. In others, it collaborates from the beginning on new builds, using its in-house planning and design team to optimise layout, flow and guest experience.

Geographically, the US remains the immediate focus, given regulatory familiarity and operational ease. Mexico and the Caribbean, with their high concentration of all-inclusive resorts, are seen as logical next steps. Europe and Asia are longer-term ambitions. The approach, Shaw underlined, will be strategic rather than rapid.

A growing distribution channel

Despite its scale, cruise retail is still overlooked by many in fashion. Shaw says even seasoned retail executives are often surprised to learn how large and structured the channel has become. Recognition, she believes, is the first step.

“Vacation retail is a distinct distribution channel. It’s curated scarcity. Intentional edits. Retail embedded into travel and lifestyle,” she notes. For brands facing crowded wholesale markets and shifting consumer behaviour, that positioning may become increasingly attractive.

The conversation also extended to Starboard’s recent Unleash the Potential summit in Cancún, which brought together more than 200 retail managers, cruise line executives and brand partners to explore the future of vacation retail.

As passenger numbers climb and ships grow larger, cruise retail is investing in more space, more luxury and more experiential concepts. Now, with operators stepping onto land, vacation retail is expanding its footprint and offering fashion another route to reach consumers when they are most open to spending, on holiday.