This summer, Onboard, a website that's all about cruise travel, will be launched by Onboard Media, whose parent company is LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the posher-than-posh owner of many luxury brands.
Onboard Media plans to "evangelize" cruise travel with this new online site. It is a long-time custom publisher for magazines for major cruise lines. Its sister company Starboard Cruise Services is the world's largest onboard retailer.
The website Onboard aims to create the largest online community of cruisegoers, pitting it directly against the established sites Cruise Critic (owned by TripAdvisor) and Cruisemates.*
Early indications suggest that Onboard will be like Nowness, a two-year old LMVH-owned blog that profiles interesting professionals worldwide who work in travel, fashion, entertainment and other fields, in English and Chinese versions.
At the prettily designed Nowness, you click on each day's posts to say which ones you "love" or don't "love", and Nowness will use that information to email you "tailored" story recommendations. Similar Facebook-style functionality is expected with the new Onboard.
Onboard will feature cruise and destination-related information, including having advice forums with cruise experts.
Managing director of the site is Annette Hogan, who has held senior positions at Sabre, Amadeus, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and most recently Cruise Planners/American Express.
Managing editor is Rebecca Wallwork, previously a contributor to Conde Nast's HotelChatter and soon-to-be-sold Jetsetter.
Cruise editor is Sherry Laskin.
Here's a promo video for the site: