• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 1, 2006

Gearing up for a competitive cruise season, Arnold Worldwide and IQ Interactive have relaunched a promotional microsite for Royal Caribbean's latest craft, Freedom of the Seas, as a borderline virtual reality experience.

In order to maximize interactivity with visitors, the site includes full-motion video, including footage of actors escorting visitors through three-dimensional renderings of the ship and its accoutrements, such as an onboard surf park.

Upon entering FreedomoftheSeas.com, a virtual guide greets guests and--after answering a few questions--directs them to desired locales and activities on the ship.

New areas include an art preview area, which showcases the ship's displayed art collection, as well as background information on the artists and in-progress works. Freedom's onboard art theme is "The Four Elements--Earth, Fire, Air and Water," each of which the site plans to visually explore through April.

In addition, visitors can also tour Freedom's presidential family suite, the biggest stateroom Royal Caribbean has ever offered. Using video compositing and animation techniques, visitors are transported into a game-like environment resembling the actual 2,000 plus square-foot suite. Visitors can also explore each of the five rooms in the suite and the balcony, interacting with the full-motion people they encounter.

IQ Interactive's President Tony Quin said the site was particularly challenging to design because Royal Caribbean wanted the microsite--first launched in July with a reduced amount of interactivity--before the ship was even built. "We had to bring the ship to life ourselves," Quin said.

Since the site first launched, visitors have stayed for an average of eight minutes, according to IQ Interactive. Set to hit the high seas in May, Royal Caribbean is billing Freedom of the Seas as the largest cruise ship ever built--able to hold 3,634 guests double-occupancy.