News /Take a virtual cruise on dry land

CRUISE holidaymakers will be able to take a virtual look at their destination before ever setting foot on the ship thanks to a new store.

Cruise firm Cruise1st.co.uk have launched the country’s first ever ‘interactive and immersive’ cruise store at The Lowry Shopping Centre.

It aims to give travellers the chance to explore cruise liners and destinations in 3D before they travel.

The new store features multiple touch-screen ‘information hubs’.

It aims for travellers to be able to research and plan their cruise adventures via various search options and virtual 3D tours of ships, resorts and hotels.

It even has virtual reality headsets for customers who want a more immersive experience, and experienced cruise experts on hand to help with decision making.

It comes after research by the company showed that customers often find researching and choosing the right cruise confusing and complicated, especially those who are new to cruise.

It also found that customers who wanted to book more expensive or intense cruise holidays were sometimes not confident about doing it online, without the support of trained staff.

To celebrate the launch of the new store, cruise1st.co.uk is offering £100 off all cruise holidays booked in store before 31 January as well as a number of exclusive instore offers.

The store is open seven days a week.