The Starboard Group is seizing the moment.
With the cruise industry experiencing a sustained rebound post-COVID-19, the Starboard Group, operator of boutiques aboard cruise liners and super yachts, has been rolling out new product initiatives and services ranging from personalizing jewelry and ear piercings, to tequila developed with the Invicta Watch Group.
Starboard also plans to launch a natural diamond program this fall, details of which will be revealed later this summer.
“Cruising has never been more popular,” said Caryl Capeci, Starboard’s senior vice president of fine jewelry and Swiss watches. “There was a stoppage of the cruise ships during COVID-19, and then it all came back. We’ve seen not only the number of passengers but also retail sales on cruise ships grow and grow and grow. And in June, we had record high sales volume.”
During an interview Tuesday, Capeci cited statistics indicating the cruise industry is forecast to carry 37 million passengers in 2025, up from approximately 34.6 million last year, with expectations to reach 42 million by 2028. So an opportunity to capture greater wallet share from more passengers on board cruise ships exists.
Last year, Starboard cruise line shops generated an estimated $800 million to under $1 billion, according to sources. Capeci declined to confirm the figure though she characterized Starboard’s 2024 volume as in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Caryl Capeci
Starboard works with 14 cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages and Carnival Cruise Line, and more than 95 different cruise ships selling everything from beauty, fragrance and liquor to apparel, Swiss watches and fine and fashion jewelry. Through its cruise and luxury division, Starboard operates single-brand shops, as well as multibrand shops on ships. Among the brand shops are Omega, Brietling, Tag Heuer, Bulgari, Hublot, Cartier, IWC, Panerai, Piaget, Messika, Swarovski and Pandora. Also sold are beauty brands such as Dior, Chanel, Lancome, Clinique, Estée Lauder, Clarins and La Mer. Shops range from 100 to 750 square feet. The merchandise in the Starboard shops is duty free and tax free.
Among the initiatives Capeci cited:
- Boutiques for Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen and Piaget aboard Luminara, the newest super yacht in The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, which was launched this week. The boutiques offer Swiss timepieces, fine jewelry and accessories, as well as private viewings, in-suite appointments and sessions with brand ambassadors to explore the craftsmanship and heritage of the brands. Also on offer are designer jewelry, luxury accessories and resortwear — from vintage Hermès bags and Stella McCartney handbags to fine jewelry by Ileana Makri, Lauren Rubinski and Sydney Evan.
- Ear piercing in partnership with Inverness, the ear piercing system, has been set up on 33 ships across multiple cruise lines in the past couple of months. Starboard says “expertly trained retail team members” administer the piercings.
- The debut of Invicta Tequila is for sale exclusively aboard 26 cruise ships worldwide, produced for the Invicta Watch Group by Mexico’s Casa Maestri Distillery. Onboard tastings and personalized activations are offered.
- Engraving stations for personalizing jewelry are being set up.
- Mail-order services for most of the jewelry and watch brands sold at Starboard shops began rolling out in mid-May. Passengers can view digital catalogues on iPads to select styles, ring sizes or colors that not on the ship and have them shipped home.
- Rolling out financing through FlexPay with interest free, interest bearing and buy now, pay later options. The rollout began four months ago on Carnival and is being extended to all Starboard cruise line partners.
A Starboard-operated boutique aboard a cruise ship.
Manuel Mazzanti
“Most guests on cruises are celebrating something with their loved ones, whether it’s a birthday, an anniversary or a family milestone so they come with a desire to splurge, to discover new brands and items connected to the destination they’re traveling to,” Capeci said. “But most importantly, they want to mark the time with something meaningful, and we all know that jewelry and timepieces are among the most special ways to mark an event or a vacation, and remember time spent together with loved ones. For those reasons, most voyages we sell on do quite a nice business in fine jewelry. Fine jewelry and watches are probably 40 percent or more of our total sales. It’s very significant.”
Sales at Starboard’s cruise line boutiques are selling at much higher rate than pre-COVID-19, globally, with the exception of China, Capeci said. “Pre-COVID, we did a significant business on ships sailing out of Shanghai and mainland China. That market has not returned.
“The largest region in terms of retail value and sales is the Caribbean by far because of the sheer number of passengers that sail in the Caribbean and the size of the ships,” Capeci said. Cruises in Alaska and the Mediterranean, particularly summertime, also generate “very significant” business.
Asked what’s selling best, Capeci said: “Diamonds are huge. Yellow gold is huge. Materials that are connected to the destinations they travel to are very important. So if they’re going to Australia, they want opals. If they’re going to South America, they want green emeralds. The destination they’re traveling to and the jewelry that we’re offering are always connected. You could buy emeralds at home, but it’s not as meaningful as it is when you just visited that location of their origin.”
The Invicta brand, founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1837, “is one of our most successful and longest running partners for watches,” Capeci said. “They’re moving into more lifestyle-driven programs. Because we have a liquor shop on board, we married up this tequila company in Mexico with Invicta to [produce] this wonderful new Invicta Tequila. But it’s just one example of how we work with our partners in jewelry and watches to marry them up with other categories.”
Starboard was purchased by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2000, and in 2023 it became part of Global Travel Retail Holdings, a joint venture with LVMH, Gissy Investments and three other investors. The Miami-based Starboard Group, with additional offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Genoa, Italy, includes the Starboard Cruise, Starboard Luxury and Starboard Resort units.
In 2024, Starboard Group expanded its retail operations to land-based operations. Three shops — Luxe by Starboard, The Edit by Starboard and Baubles by Starboard — opened in the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, located at 3000 Paradise Road, and a fourth Starboard shop opened at the Westgate Vacation Villas Resort in Orlando, Fla. The shops are operated by the Starboard Resort division.
