First cruise app Ship Mate is growing up with help of accelerator Startup UCLA
Skift Take
Ship Mate was the child prodigy of mobile cruise apps, but the founders have realized that great products should refine with age so they’re creating products for niche cruises and teaming up with travel agents.
Ship Mate’s mobile app was the first cruise app to enter the App Store in December 2009 and has maintained a consistent spot in Apple’s Top Travel apps, but the brother duo that founded the service is now working on building a better platform and growing their user base with the help of summer accelerator program Startup UCLA.
How a fun family project becomes a top travel app
The app was created as a family project by brothers Mike and Jan Jirout to keep track of their 55 family members during their bi-annual cruise vacation. It started as a simple deck map, but other passengers were so interested in the app that the Jirouts decided to offer it for free in the App Store. They never expected the hundreds of daily downloads or user requests for more maps and feature
