The folks over at PlanetInAction.com have just released a stunning bit of work for CleanCruising.com.au.
Clean Cruising tasked them with finding an innovative way to show the itineraries for thousands of cruises — nearly 6000 in all. Using Google Earth, combined with 3D models of each ship, PlanetInAction has done just that. They have hand-built models for dozens of cruise ships, all with amazing detail and accuracy.
Now that the ships are rendered and the technical challenges resolved, they’ve started building out some of the itineraries. To see them in action, check out the 42 night Cherry Blossom Cruise (seen below) or the 7 night Western Caribbean Cruise, or just watch the video below:
The actual Google Earth tours are not yet available, but they hope to release them soon. In the meantime, you can watch the high-res videos of the tours at the links above. Below is a tour of the “Oasis of the Seas”, the largest cruise ship in the world. We covered her journey from Finland to Florida last month, and below is a video that walks you through the 3D model of the ship.
This is a very cool use of Google Earth, 3D models and the tour feature. I could see this (or something similar) becoming a default layer in Google Earth someday. For now, enjoy the HD videos they’ve released.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
Awesome! That looks like it will not only be fun to play with but if one were to take a cruise they will get a better insight to their trip. I hope to see more programs like this.
You have missed linked Cleancrusing.com. You have http://www.cleancrusing.com it should be cleancrusing.com.au like you have in the second link.
Good catch, John! Fixed.
when will they have more cruise ship models in google earth ships.