Joystar announced today the launch of Joystar Cruises, which includes a consumer booking engine and an “AgentsOnly” booking tool. The cruise booking engine allows Joystar’s network of professional agents and their travelers to book and manage cruise reservations online. The engine offers real-time access to cruise line inventory to deliver the best response times and closing ratios. Features include:

* Ability to book cruises at the cabin level in real-time.  Supports 30+ cruise lines.  Provides real-time connectivity to 9 major cruise
lines including—Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian
Cruise Lines, Princess, Holland America, Disney, Crystal and Windstar.
  * Content for over 30 different cruise lines that include deck plans,
cabin info and images, itinerary and pricing information, as well as
cruise reviews and announcements.
  * A comparative search engine that allows consumers and agents to search
and compare up to four cruises side-by-side.
  * Co-branded Private Label Cruise Web-Site—An easy, no maintenance
solution providing cruise content, technology, and fulfillment with no
up-front costs.
  * Private Label Cruise Web-Site—Content, technology, and fulfillment
services are housed in a customized user interface.  Maintains look and
feel as well as branding integrity of the partner’s Web site.
  * Connectivity as well as access to robust cruise content, including
cruise descriptions, cabin categories, deck plans, amenities, and more.

Blue Wave Solutions, Inc. serves as the technology cornerstone of Joystar Cruises, delivering a single, all-in-one interface link to a variety of cruise lines.

Larry Norman, CTC, MCC, Joystar’s Sr. Vice President and head of its Cruise Division commented, “Joystar offers an array of web-based solutions for travel agents and online businesses ranging from easy, turnkey services to completely customized models which allow travel sellers to control 100 percent of their profits. Our members now have real-time access to profitable cruise line inventory.”

In 2005, over 10 million passengers spent approximately $15 billion on cruises. Strong consumer demand for cruise vacations drove robust passenger growth in the first three months of 2005 as the member fleets of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) carried 2.63 million worldwide guests in the first quarter of 2005, an 8.9 percent increase over the same period in 2004. North American passengers grew by 12.9 percent during the quarter to 2.34 million guests, up from 2.10 million first-quarter guests one year ago.

“The cruise industry’s strong first-quarter 2005 passenger totals provide further evidence of high consumer demand for cruise vacations. As the cruise lines continue to attract more and more consumers through non-stop innovation and new onboard options, Joystar’s member agencies also play a key role, providing today’s consumers with the latest cruise product information and unmatched counsel and sales expertise,” added Norman.

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