'Cruisin' With the Cougs' sails into BYU history

SALT LAKE CITY — A BYU-chartered cruise, dubbed "Cruisin' With The Cougs," launched its maiden voyage April 11-18. The sold-out cruise set a standard for BYU-themed trips and paved the way for a future of Cougar traveling.

The journey to create a cruise involving BYU fans was years in the making.

"Cruisin' With The Cougs" cruise director and organizer Troy Dunn, years ago, met Ryan Williams, who would change his life forever. After a lunch reunion, the duo began discussing Williams' vision of chartering cruise ships and forming curated vacations. One of the ideas the men were most excited about was a BYU-themed cruise. Their dream was to have everything on the ship — from sea to shining sea — celebrating BYU.

Years later, Williams died while on vacation; he was just 46 years old. His death reminded Dunn of the dream to make a BYU-themed cruise, and he decided to make his late friend's dream come true.

"If you are a BYU fan outside of the Utah bubble, you don't get a lot of exposure to BYU. … BYU sports is something you see on TV, not something you get to experience at a tailgate party, the football stadium or at the basketball arena," Dunn said. "From a selfish standpoint, as a BYU fan, I thought, 'This is what I always wanted.' I couldn't even imagine a cruise ship filled with all the BYU legends and fans."

The dream took nearly four years to make a reality. Dunn partnered with a close friend, Jason Burgess, and they started working to get BYU football's largest name on the cruise. If they could get head coach Kalani Sitake on board, Dunn believed they could get anyone.

To Dunn's shock, Sitake's answer was a resounding "yes."

After securing Sitake's place, the team brought dozens of BYU athletics alumni on board. Standouts included Tom Holmoe, Jennifer Rockwood, Jimmer Fredette, a smattering of the Cougarettes and, of course, Cosmo.

The team also replaced every show on board with entertainers who were BYU alumni or fans of the university. Hilary Weeks, David Osmond and Tom and Gayle Holdman joined the roster.

Although the cruise was nearly all decked in Cougar Blue, Dunn was still anxious about whether it would be a success. He figured the phrase "If you build it, they will come" may not ring true in this case.

"We decided that if we built this thing, we had to hope Cougar Nation is as excited about it as we are," he said. "And they were! Thousands of them piled onto the ship."

After the cruise was announced, cougar fans from all over had a "thirst for more information." Constant requests for more information flooded the staff.

"It was a magical moment," Dunn recalled. "This thing we had been dreaming about for two years went from quiet to beautiful chaos."

Cougar Nation immediately invested in the trip and clamored for more information. The cruise team soon revealed that they would also host kids' sports camps throughout the journey, which would leave from Los Angeles and port in Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta before returning to California.

One of the trip's guiding values was creating a safe space where all of Cougar Nation could feel welcomed.

"Our philosophy is that BYU fans come in all shapes and sizes, and all walks of life. They are all welcome on the BYU cruise. We made sure of that," Dunn said. "We just wanted people to come, be themselves and celebrate the Cougars."

The itinerary was full each day with entertainers, panels and meet-and-greets — all celebrating BYU. Every show, moment and activity on the ship morphed into something BYU-themed. The bars onboard were also transformed into mini dirty-soda bars, serving the classic sodas that BYU fans have come to love. Many on board described the behind-the-scenes look at BYU as the "ultimate fan experience."

"Cruisin' With The Cougs" will sail again in 2027, and a waitlist for anyone interested is already filling up. For more information, visit byucruise.com.

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