Cruise Booking Platforms & Cruise APIs for UAE & GCC Travel Agencies
Two ways to sell cruises online: we custom-build a cruise booking platform for you — or we give you our cruise APIs and your team builds the platform itself. Arabic (RTL) and AED support, multi-supplier cruise content, regional payment gateways, and no per-booking fees on either path.
Book a demo in Dubai timeTwo ways to launch your cruise business online
Most UAE agencies evaluating cruise booking software are choosing between licensed, off-the-shelf products — setup fees plus per-booking or subscription costs, with the storefront, data, and roadmap living inside someone else's product. Maukaa offers two different paths, depending on how much you want to build yourself.
We build your cruise booking platform
A cruise booking platform designed and built specifically for your agency — your brand, your domain, your commercial rules, sold the way Gulf travellers book.
- You own everything we build — code, architecture, and data
- Arabic (RTL) & AED-native, with cabin selection and deck plans
- Agent commissions with B2C and B2B sub-agent portals
- Regional payment gateways and VAT-compliant invoicing
Cruise API — you build the platform yourself
For agencies with their own development team: we provide the cruise APIs and your team builds the storefront on top.
- Search, cabin availability, pricing & booking via one interface
- Build in React, Next.js, or any stack you run
- A very low one-time onboarding fee, then a minimal monthly retainer
- No per-call or per-booking charges, and no call limits
Both paths run on the same production-grade cruise engine. We've built and operated booking platforms for cruise operators including Resorts World Cruises, so the domain — fares, cabins, sailings, ancillaries — isn't new to us. This page covers the UAE and GCC; we also serve Singapore, Malaysia, the US, and India — see our global cruise booking platform & cruise API page.
What we build into a Gulf-market cruise platform
Deck plans, cabins & multi-cabin booking
Cabin category selection, add-ons and ancillaries, and multi-cabin flows for the family and group bookings that dominate GCC cruise demand. Deck plans are managed through the CMS we build into your platform.
Arabic (RTL), AED & multi-currency*
Full right-to-left Arabic interfaces alongside English, AED-native pricing, and multi-currency support with configurable FX markups per currency, channel, or agent.
Cruise line & GDS integrations
Live content from the cruise lines you contract with, via their APIs or through Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport cruise connectivity. Four cruise line integrations live in production, and we integrate additional lines on request, free of charge.
UAE & GCC payment gateways
We integrate your merchant accounts on the gateways UAE agencies use — Amazon Payment Services (PayFort), Network International, Checkout.com, and Telr — with 3-D Secure and PCI-DSS-compliant card handling. The gateway accounts and settlement stay yours.
B2B portal, commissions & group quotes
Sub-agent portals with role-based permissions, per-agent commission and markup rules, group quotes and series departures, and consolidated reporting for head office.
Dynamic packaging
Combine cruise fares with flights, hotels, and transfers into packaged itineraries — priced live, with your markup logic applied across every component.
* Conditions apply.
Why UAE agencies choose a built platform over licensed software
No per-booking fees. Ever.
Per-booking pricing means the software vendor's revenue grows with yours. Neither of our paths works that way. A platform we build for you is yours — a build cost, then running costs you control. The cruise API is a one-time onboarding fee, a nominal monthly retainer, and infrastructure on actuals. Either way, your cost per booking falls as you scale instead of staying fixed.
Compliance and data residency on your terms
Card data is handled through PCI-DSS-compliant gateway integrations, invoicing is UAE VAT-compliant, and data practices are GDPR-aligned. Because the platform runs on infrastructure you own and control, you choose the cloud region — including UAE or GCC regions — to satisfy data residency requirements.
Migration, training, and support built into delivery
We migrate bookings and customer profiles from your existing system, train your agents on the new platform, and stay on the roadmap after go-live. Demos and working sessions run in Gulf Standard Time, and support coverage is agreed around your operating hours — not a vendor's ticket queue.
Why Maukaa over a general software company
If you're also evaluating general development firms, here's an honest look at how that comparison tends to play out for a project of this kind.
| A typical software vendor | Maukaa Solutions |
|---|---|
| Little or no cruise industry experience — learning on your project. | Already built DeckPro, the Star Dream Cruises website, mobile app, and CruiseBuddy — cruise tech is our domain. |
| A generic booking-system approach, not built for cruise distribution. | Built for the whole cruise distribution chain — cruise lines, OTAs, and B2B and B2C travel agents. |
| A low quote upfront, with scope creep and change requests later. | Fixed scope and transparent pricing — no surprises after you sign. |
| Handoffs to junior teams after kickoff. | The same senior team from discovery through to launch. |
| Delivery ends at launch — no roadmap ownership. | We stay on the roadmap — your platform evolves as your business grows. |
The real cost of choosing cheaper: a lower quote rarely means a lower cost. Vendors who underprice this kind of project tend to cut corners on features or quality, and the gaps return as change requests — by which point you've lost time and momentum. We've already solved the hard problems in cruise tech, so you're paying for what we know, not for us to figure it out.
Proven in cruise: four platforms live across three clients, every client still with us
Star Dream Cruises — website & booking portal
A unified booking portal we designed and built for Star Dream Cruises — real-time availability, a seamless booking flow from search to confirmation, an integrated CMS, and payment integration. It's now their primary sales channel, driving $1M+ in monthly online revenue. Live at stardreamcruises.com.
Star Dream Cruises — mobile app (iOS & Android)
Native iOS and Android apps giving passengers and agents on-the-go access to bookings, itineraries, cabin details, and real-time updates — running on the same booking engine as the web portal, so there's one source of truth across every channel.
DeckPro — cruise operations platform
A purpose-built cruise operations platform we built for ARK Travel Group, handling end-to-end operations — cabin inventory, itinerary management, agent tools, and back-office workflows — designed for the complexity of multi-liner cruise operations at scale. Live at deckpro.in.
StarDream CruiseBuddy — travel agent rewards platform
A loyalty and rewards platform we built for StarDream Cruises Asia's travel agents. Agents register, log their bookings, and earn reward points against them — giving StarDream a direct incentive channel to its agent network and a clean record of agent-driven sales. Live at stardreamcruisebuddy.com.
A cruise API without per-call or per-booking fees
If your team prefers to build the booking platform itself, we provide the cruise APIs and you build on top. The API connects your website or app to multiple cruise suppliers through a single interface — search, cabin availability, pricing, and booking — ready for headless storefronts built on React, Next.js, or any stack you run. You control the front end entirely; we keep the supplier connectivity running underneath.
An important distinction: Maukaa is a technology implementer, not an API distributor. We are not authorised by cruise lines to distribute their content and we don't sit in your commercial chain — the cruise line agreements are yours, held directly with the lines. We supply and run the technology that connects to them. Four cruise line integrations are live in production today, and we integrate additional cruise lines on request, free of charge.
What sets our API apart is the commercial model. Unlike many providers, we do not charge on a per-call or per-booking basis — and there are no API call limits. Instead, there is a very low one-time onboarding fee; after that, your entire monthly cost is the minimal retainer plus the server charges (billed on actuals) for the infrastructure the APIs are hosted on. No licence fee, no volume tiers — your costs stay predictable as your cruise volumes grow, and the API doesn't take a growing cut of your success.
These APIs are already powering production-grade cruise booking platforms today, helping travel businesses sell cruises from multiple suppliers without building and maintaining each integration themselves. Explore the API documentation, or contact us for sandbox access.
Frequently asked questions from UAE agencies
Does the platform support Arabic (RTL) and AED pricing? — هل يدعم النظام العربية (RTL) وعملة الدرهم؟
Yes. We build cruise booking platforms with full right-to-left Arabic interfaces alongside English, and AED as a native display and settlement currency. Because each platform is custom-built, Arabic content, RTL layouts, and Gulf-market conventions are designed in from the start rather than bolted on.
Can it handle multi-currency pricing with FX markups for GCC markets?
Yes. Platforms we build support multi-currency pricing* — AED, SAR, USD, EUR, INR and others — with configurable FX markup rules per currency, per channel, or per agent, so you control your margin on cross-currency cruise fares.
* Conditions apply.
Does it support MSC, Royal Caribbean, and Costa fares for the UAE market?
We integrate cruise line content based on the supplier agreements you hold — including lines such as MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, and Costa via their APIs or connectivity partners, alongside GDS cruise content through Amadeus, Sabre, or Travelport where applicable. Maukaa is a tech implementer, not a content distributor: the commercial relationship with each cruise line stays yours. Four line integrations are live in production, and we integrate additional lines on request, free of charge.
Which payment gateways work for UAE and GCC payments?
We integrate the regional gateways UAE agencies actually use — Amazon Payment Services (PayFort), Network International, Checkout.com, and Telr — connecting your own merchant accounts, with 3-D Secure and PCI-DSS-compliant card handling. The gateway relationship and settlement remain yours.
How is Maukaa priced — per-booking fee or flat SaaS subscription?
Neither — there are no per-booking or per-call charges on either offering. If we build the platform for you, it's a build engagement and you own the result. If you take the cruise API and build yourself, there's a very low one-time onboarding fee, and the monthly cost is the minimal retainer plus server charges (on actuals) for the infrastructure the APIs are hosted on. Both are more predictable and cost-effective at scale than per-booking models used by off-the-shelf cruise booking software.
Can you build a custom booking website with a B2B sub-agent portal? — بوابة حجز كروز بعلامتنا التجارية؟
Yes. We build fully branded B2C storefronts on your own domain plus B2B portals for sub-agents with role-based permissions, per-agent commission and markup configuration, group quotes, and consolidated reporting.
How long does it take to go live?
Timelines depend on how many cruise line and payment integrations are in scope, but a focused first release typically goes live in a few months, with the roadmap phased so revenue-critical features ship first. We give you a concrete timeline after a scoping conversation.
Can you migrate data from our existing system? — ترحيل البيانات من النظام القديم؟
Yes. Data migration is part of delivery. We map and migrate existing bookings, customer profiles, and supplier data from your legacy system — and because we also build data warehouses, migrated data lands in a clean, structured foundation your reporting can trust.
What about PCI-DSS, GDPR, and data residency in the UAE or GCC?
Card payments run through PCI-DSS-compliant gateway integrations so card data never touches your servers. Platforms follow GDPR-aligned data practices and support UAE VAT-compliant invoicing. Because the platform runs on infrastructure you own and control, you choose the cloud region — including UAE or GCC regions — to meet data residency requirements.
Is there vendor lock-in, a minimum contract, or a cancellation penalty?
If we build the platform for you, you own it outright — code, architecture, and data — so there is no licence to cancel. On the cruise API, the engagement is a transparent onboarding fee plus monthly retainer, and your booking and customer data is always yours and fully exportable.
What's the difference between the platform and the cruise API?
With the platform, Maukaa designs and builds a complete cruise booking solution for you, end to end, tailored to your business. With the cruise API, we provide the supplier connectivity — search, availability, pricing, booking — and your own development team builds the platform on top of it. Choose the platform if you want it done for you; choose the API if you have a dev team and want full control of the front end.
Do you offer a cruise booking API? How is it priced? — توثيق واجهة برمجة تطبيقات حجز الكروز
Yes. You take our cruise APIs and build your own platform on top — the API connects your website or app to the cruise lines you contract with, through a single interface for search, availability, pricing, and booking. There are no API call limits and no per-call or per-booking charges: after a very low one-time onboarding fee, the monthly cost is simply the minimal retainer plus server charges on actuals for the infrastructure the APIs are hosted on — so costs stay predictable as your volumes scale.
Is API documentation and sandbox access available?
Yes. Our API documentation is publicly available, and the APIs already power production-grade cruise booking platforms. Contact us for sandbox credentials to start testing.
Can we get a demo in the Dubai (GST) time zone? — عرض تجريبي لمنصة حجز الكروز؟
Yes. We regularly work with clients across the Gulf and schedule demos and working sessions in Gulf Standard Time. Write to eashwar@maukaa.io or use the contact form to arrange one.