Thousands Watch Live Video Tour of World's Largest Cruise Ship

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of visitors to the popular cruise and reviews site, Cruise Critic® (http://www.cruisecritic.com) were able to get much-anticipated views of Royal Caribbean International's sparkling new "Oasis of the Seas" as Cruise Critic editor-in-chief, Carolyn Spencer Brown conducted a live video tour from onboard the world's largest cruise ship last Friday (Nov. 20).

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With the ship due to host its first Caribbean cruise Dec. 1, Cruise Critic went live with an embedded video player on its Web site in the afternoon after ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" kicked off the day with a two-hour broadcast that presented an overview of the vessel.

Using Livestream's unique Livepack mobile broadcast solution to produce excellent live video quality, the Cruise Critic team was able to tour the ship, giving viewers glimpses of several of the seven themed "neighborhoods" aboard the new ship, including Central Park, Boardwalk, Royal Promenade and the AquaTheater.

"Our members loved that we could offer a detailed insight into this amazing ship," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic. "This was our first ever live broadcast and Livestream made it very easy for us, providing excellent support and great service."

"The Livestream Livepack allowed us to continue to broadcast live inside moving elevators within the ship, giving the audience an unprecedented view of the interior," said John Schwartz, executive producer for Livestream.com.

During the broadcast, Cruise Critic members and the general public interacted live with the host, posting questions on Facebook and the Cruise Critic message boards. One viewer of the broadcast commented on Facebook: "Everything came to a standstill ... had to watch... Thanks so much for taking the time to bring us closer to Oasis. 12/12 sailing for me. I simply cannot wait!"

Viewers got unique insights into the ship's features during the broadcast from Royal Caribbean's Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of Hotel Operations, and Ken Muskat, vice president of Sales, who were interviewed live by Cruise Critic.

The "Oasis of the Seas" video tour exemplified Livestream's affordable turnkey mobile broadcasting package, with back-end support and cutting-edge creative vision, that allows media outlets and major corporations to harness the power of real-time interactive video streaming to engage potential new customers and strengthen relationships with existing customers.

"Live video is a vital element in the video mix offered by companies on the Internet today, and CruiseCritic.com has raised the bar for the travel industry by successfully executing this broadcast with Livestream," said Max Haot, Livestream's CEO.

To watch the replay go to www.livestream.com/cruisecritic < http://www.livestream.com/cruisecritic >

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About Cruise Critic

Cruise Critic is an online cruise guide offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travelers, from first-time cruisers to avid cruisers. The site features professional reviews and member reviews of over 350 ships, and hosts an active community where travelers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers.

Launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet. The Independent Traveler, Inc. is a subsidiary of TripAdvisor® LLC, which is an operating company of Expedia.

Cruise Critic and The Independent Traveler are either trademarks or registered trademarks of The Independent Traveler, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners. © 2009 The Independent Traveler, Inc. All rights reserved.

About Livestream

Livestream (www.livestream.com - formerly Mogulus) provides everything needed to easily webcast live, build an engaged audience and monetize these efforts. Founded in 2007, the company is based in New York and includes Gannett Co. as a minority shareholder and investor.

Producers can use Livestream to create live, linear and on-demand Internet television to broadcast anywhere on the Web through a single embeddable player widget. The service comes in two flavors: Free (ad-supported) and Premium (ad-free, white-label and higher-quality). Unique features include the ability to mix multiple live cameras, overlay graphics, and desktop streaming with 3D effects.

SOURCE Livestream

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