The online travel company Expedia and CruiseShipCenters, a North American retail franchisor, have banded together to form a new brand, Expedia CruiseShipCenters, with the first store opening at the Crossroads Shopping Center in Bellevue, WA. Additional franchise opportunities will be available in Washington and Oregon in the first quarter of 2008. Home-based agents in the U.S. who sign up as independent contractors can begin selling Expedia CruiseShipCenters offerings in January. "With the combined power of the Expedia and CruiseShipCenters brands, backed with our proprietary CruiseDesk technology, our agents are better equipped to grow their business," said Michael Drever, president and CEO of CruiseShipCenters. Expedia invested in CruiseShipCenters in March 2007 in a move to broaden its exposure to offline distribution channels. The alliance enables home-based agents to use the Expedia brand but serve clients even more by accessing the breadth of Expedia non-cruise offerings. (DE)