Our story
The Cruise Maps story starts in 2007 when we were housemates at the University of Southampton, bonding over a shared love of travel, ships and the ocean. Will was a lifelong sailor and naval architect in training and Matthew was a Geography undergraduate with two seafaring parents, who met working on the QE2 in the 1980s. So when we found ourselves, 16 years later in London, talking excitedly over breakfast about the possibilities of using AIS data in different ways - it wasn’t really a huge surprise. That very day in 2023, we teamed up to create the world’s first personalised and entirely accurate print maps for cruise passengers.
By using AIS ship tracking data, we managed to build a system that can take a passenger’s basic cruise details and create the perfect map of where the ship actually went, rather than where it planned to go.
‘We are both perfectionists at heart. We want to create maps that you will hang on your walls proudly for decades to come.’
We want you to immediately recognise the remarkable quality of our maps and frames as soon as you open the box. We know (from experience) that cruise voyages can be incredibly significant, and we wanted to create
something tangible that keeps that memory alive and allows you to share it with the people that matter to you most.
Having now been joined by the amazing Polly, we’re starting to grow an incredible team at The Cruise Maps and we will always remain completely committed to being real people that you can actually talk to. So don’t be a stranger - tell us what you want to see us do next as you build your Cruise Maps collection!
We’re so grateful for you joining us on this adventure.
