Cruiseabout steers cruise sector into virtual reality age

Cruiseabout will roll out the latest technology across its stores with the launch of its virtual reality customer experience – a first in the Australian cruise sector.

The new footage has been produced in collaboration with Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean and features immersive, 360-degree tours of vessels Carnival Spirit and Voyager of the Seas.

National marketing manager Monique van Gelder told Travel Weekly that Samsung VR headsets will be available at selected stores in each state, with the eventual goal to roll-out out the headsets across the entire network.

Using the headsets, customers can look up, down and over their shoulder to experience what it’s like to actually be on board these ships complete with theatre performances, restaurant walk throughs, previews of the onboard facilities like Voyager’s FlowRider and cabin inspections.

However, van Gelder added that you don’t need to have a headset to check out the footage – Cruiseabout customers can also access it via Facebook and their mobile devices.

Considered the “next best thing” to experiencing the ships firsthand, the new product is expected to help the company win more new-to-cruise business, van Gelder revealed, explaining that despite the significant education levels in the Australian market, people are still surprised by what can be found aboard the latest ships.

Repeat cruisers are also expected to be drawn to the new technology which will enable them to check out different vessels that may be on their wish lists before booking.

Meanwhile, Cruiseabout general manager Jarrod Pask highlighted the new offering as pioneering within the sector.

“This will be a game changer for the cruise booking process that is already a highly collaborative, interactive process,” he said.

Until now, the cost associated with producing virtual reality vision has proved “prohibitive” in bringing the new technology to the cruise sector until now with the cost of creating each of the two videos put at around $30,000.

The technology itself has also only recently become sufficiently advanced, Pask continued.

“The headsets we are using were only introduced in a consumer form late last year, while Facebook has only recently launched the functionality to host 360 degree video content, so we are at the forefront of virtual reality technology advances and proud to bring the experience to all customers,” he said.

The vision is part of Cruiseabout’s strategy to enhance the in-store experience and empower customers during the booking process.

Its newer stores focus on offering a refreshed and more open look and feel, with the customer sitting beside the consultant in order to deliver a “more integrated” experience.

The company currently has 79 stores and plans to increase that number to 100 within the next three years.

Cruiseabout plans to develop the virtual reality experiences across a range of ships.

Check out some of the new footage below:

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest comments

Andrew Cross says:
February 24, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Really?! Then why bother booking a trip?
The purpose of a trip is to experience it IN REALITY, to live it, breath it! Not virtual reality!
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