An online travel agent dedicated to selling only MSC Cruises has hit £1m in sales just nine months after its launch.

Simply Cruises was set up by Chris Hughes and Sara Marshall in November 2022 following the growth of Chris’s portfolio of MSC Facebook forums and blogs, which have more than 250,000 followers.

The business, which is a Brilliant Travel Managed Service Travel Partner, took its first booking in February this year.

Chris said sales leads have all been generated organically due to the popularity of his MSC forums and by word-of-mouth, with no advertising spend for the launch.

Bookings over the last six months have predominantly focussed on two MSC ships – MSC Virtuosa

and MSC Euribia – with plans to expand to include the remainder of the MSC fleet during the last quarter of this year.

A new integrated online booking platform within the website is also on track for the end of the year, he said.

“When we came to market with Simply Cruises in late 2022, I said we were coming in as a disruptor,” added Chris.

“Few people saw the value in such a niche proposition, specialising in just one brand but breaching £1m in sales within the first six months of our first booking is a testament to the fact that people value a highly specialised service.

“Our business is modelled on authenticity: We sell the products that we know inside out to ensure that we can guarantee the best advice for our clients. It’s clear this model works, and we can now scale up as part of our growth strategy.

“We’re gradually bolstering our knowledge of other ships within the MSC fleet and will then extend our offering accordingly.”

He said the business expects to grow its team of experts over the next year.