First Class Vacations was severely impacted by the government-mandated shutdown of the cruise industry during COVID-19 and did not receive industry-specific relief funding. Like many travel businesses focused on cruises, it was unable to recover in the way anyone hoped.

Rather than walking away, a new company — Fan Cruise — was created with a different, scalable business model so there could be a responsible path forward for clients.

This transition exists because we chose to try — not because we were required to.

The Emerald Club is the system Fan Cruise uses to responsibly manage client accounts, bookings, refunds, inventory, and concierge services.

It creates the legal, operational, and technical relationship that allows Fan Cruise to work on your behalf.

Without this structure, FanCruise cannot safely or responsibly process your request.

The $945 is not a fee.

It is simply the mechanism used to move your account into FanCruise’s system so your request can be handled properly.

That amount is structured entirely for your benefit:

It is converted into $1,200 in travel credit, or

It is applied toward your refund amount, or

It is refunded to you in full if your vacation is already paid and you do not need additional credit.

In other words, it effectively costs you nothing.

Because Fan Cruise is a separate company and cannot legally or operationally assume responsibility for thousands of legacy accounts without proper authorization, identity verification, accounting controls, and client instructions.

The Emerald Club onboarding step is what makes this possible in a compliant and responsible way.

No — it is not normal.

In all other cases when a business is destroyed by a crisis, the company closes, files bankruptcy, and customers lose their money.

What is happening here is unusual. Fan Cruise was intentionally built to create a recovery and fulfillment path where one normally would not exist

If no action is taken, your account remains inactive and nothing moves forward.

Fan Cruise cannot process refunds, allocate inventory, or provide concierge support without your participation in the system.

That is absolutely okay.

Many of our strongest supporters are clients who are no longer able to travel but still want to be part of the recovery process.

You would simply choose the Classic Emerald Club option and submit a refund request. Your transition amount would be applied toward your refund or returned to you.

FanCruise has raised capital, secured major partnerships, and built a scalable business model around large-scale events and private travel. The current valuation of Fan Cruise is $25 million and growing. This new structure is what makes it possible to responsibly do something like this