National Initiative Debuts Feb. 19 in 133 AT&T Stores in 37 States, Highlighted by Experiential Event Feb. 27 at the AT&T Flagship Store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile
DALLAS and MIAMI, Feb. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For most, tropical breezes and beaches are out of reach during the peak of winter – but AT&T, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Carnival Corporation & plc are making it easier to access sun and fun on the high seas. Starting tomorrow, customers can walk in select AT&T stores and experience a fully immersive virtual reality cruise experience.
Kicking off in 133 AT&T stores across 37 states, customers can trial a unique experience on the Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus. Store visitors can walk up to the Gear VR demo, put on the headset and be surrounded by the sights and sounds of a warm and sunny cruise vacation. The virtual reality content is first-of-its-kind and exclusively developed by Carnival Corporation and its 10 global cruise line brands.
Samsung Gear VR1 – designed to accelerate virtual reality into the mainstream – provides an untethered, fully-immersive experience with 360-degree content for an extremely high quality mobile VR experience. Built to work with Samsung's Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and Note5, the Gear VR headset lets people enjoy an ever-growing library of premium and entertaining games, apps, photos and videos.
Consumers will also be able to enter a sweepstakes to win one of 10 seven-day cruises on Carnival Corporation's Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line brands by checking the virtual reality experience and sign up via an in-store tablet or by visiting www.vrcruisewlcl.com. The sweepstakes is available Feb. 19 to Mar. 11.
"Our customers know they can come to an AT&T store to experience the future of a connected life. The Samsung Gear VR is awesome, especially with this great content from Carnival. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to show it off," said Brian Shay, president, Retail Sales and Distribution, AT&T.
"Samsung Gear VR delivers an innovative way for people to transport themselves to far-away locations from around the world," said Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America. "Now, people can immerse themselves into a one-of-a-kind cruise line adventure, powered by virtual reality. We are excited to work with the premier brand in leisure travel to bring the complete cruise line experience to AT&T's stores across the U.S."
"Globally, the growing popularity of cruising vacations is far outpacing land-based vacations, by a 23 percent margin," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation, the world's largest leisure travel company. "But there are still many people who have not had a chance to enjoy the one-of-a-kind experience we provide with one of our 10 cruise line brands. With most of the U.S. dealing with winter weather, the timing for this launch is designed to give people a fully immersive look at why cruising is a great vacation – and helps remind them to think about going on a cruise when planning their next vacation."
AT&T In-Store Experience
The in-store virtual reality display uses the Samsung Gear VR headset. The headset has a wide field of view and precise head tracking for a great VR experience. The VR content, developed by Carnival Corporation, highlights decks, staterooms, entertainment venues and other exciting features. It showcases ships from the company's Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line brands and beach and excursion offerings in Barcelona, Mexico and other popular destinations. The experience and Carnival promotion will be in 133 AT&T stores – a full list of participating AT&T locations is available here: http://www.vrcruisewlclredemption.com/locations/. About 1100 more will have the content available on a Gear VR headset for demo by customers.
Chicago Activation with Glass Bodied Truck & Street Team to Spread the Word
On February 27 at AT&T's flagship store, located at 600 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago's renowned Magnificent Mile. Customers will be treated to a variety of exciting offerings to transport them to warm cruise vacation in the middle of their day, including a mocktail bar, caricature station, hand massages, a photo booth and even a live DJ.
Additionally, visitors to the store will be able to step into a state-of-the-art "VR Lounge," a simulation of the deck of a luxury cruise ship at sea featuring lounge chairs and palm trees that complete the virtual reality adventure. Sensory inflection points will add to the experience, including heat and ocean breezes specially timed to match the unique VR program.
Chicagoans may also see a Carnival Corporation glass-bodied truck driving around the local streets from Feb. 21 to Feb. 27, featuring models and brand ambassadors on a "traveling cruise ship deck" complete with lounge chairs, bartenders and palm trees amid the winter cold. A street team of brand ambassadors sporting captain's jackets and cruise attire will also hit the streets of Chicago to engage people about finding warmer weather on a cruise vacation. The campaign is part of the initiative to introduce to potential cruisers that "your perfect vacation awaits."
Details on Sweepstakes for 10 Free Cruise Vacations & In-Store Discounts
As part of the ongoing promotion, consumers can enter a Carnival complementary sweepstakes via an in-store tablet or on online at www.vrcruisewlcl.com. Participants will be eligible to win one of 10 seven-day cruises onboard Carnival Corporation's Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line brands. Contest rules are available at http://www.vrcruisewlcl.com/terms-and-conditions/.
If a customer purchases Samsung's GS6, GS6 Edge, GS6 Edge+ and Note 5 smartphones at one of the key 133 AT&T locations during the promotion, they will be eligible for onboard credit for a future cruise. It's valid within the next year on select Carnival Corporation brands – Carnival Cruise Line: $25 toward a 3-5 day cruise or $100 toward a 6+ day cruise; Holland America Line: $100; Princess Cruises: $100.
Offer ends March 24, 2016. Req's installment agmt & elig. svc. Tax due at sale. If svc cancelled device balance is due. Get onboard credit within 60 days after register and submit proof of purchase to Carnival. Credit provided by Carnival and subject to its own terms & conditions. Charges & restrictions apply. See a participating store for offer details.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, mobile, high speed Internet and voice services. We're the world's largest provider of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. We offer the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider*. And we help businesses worldwide serve their customers better with our mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.
Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at http://about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.
© 2016 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
*Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and data roaming; LTE roaming; voice roaming; and world-capable smartphone and tablets in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier. International service required. Coverage not available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be limited/restricted in some countries.
About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA delivers a broad range of digital consumer electronics, IT and home appliance products. Samsung is the market leader for HDTVs in the U.S and America's fastest growing home appliance brands. To discover more of the award-winning products you love with Samsung, please visit www.samsung.com and for the latest Samsung news, please visit news.samsung.com/us and follow on Twitter @SamsungNewsUS.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) is the largest leisure travel company in the world, and among the most profitable and financially strong in the industry. With a portfolio of 10 cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 99 ships totaling 216,000 lower berths with 17 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2016 and 2020. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.fathom.org, www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com, www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com, www.pocruises.com.au and www.pocruises.com.
Corporation Virtual Reality Sweepstakes Official Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
Sweepstakes Period: The Virtual Reality Sweepstakes (the "Sweepstakes") begins on February 19, 2016 and ends March 11, 2016 (the "Sweepstakes Period"). Times to enter the Sweepstakes are based on the method of entry. Entries made in a Store shall be subject to the participating Store's operating hours during the Sweepstakes Period. Entries through the Site shall be permitted during the Sweepstakes Period beginning at 12:00:00 A.M. (U.S. Eastern) on February 19, 2016 and ending at 11:59:59 P.M. (U.S. Eastern) on March 11, 2016. Entries by mail shall be subject to the terms below.
Who May Enter: THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WHO ARE 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. The following persons are not eligible to enter the Sweepstakes: (a) employees or officers of Carnival Corporation ("Sponsor"), Carnival plc, or their respective affiliates or subsidiaries; (b) employees or officers of AT&T Mobility, LLC, or its affiliates, parent company or subsidiaries; (c) employees or agents of any organizations directly involved with this Sweepstakes; (d) immediate family members (parent, child, sibling and spouse of each) and persons living in the same household as the persons identified in (a) through (c) above.
Full terms and conditions available here: http://www.vrcruisewlcl.com/terms-and-conditions/
1 "Read and follow warnings and instructions with the Headset before use. The Headset should be calibrated before each use. Not for use by children under 13. A virtual reality experience may trigger health reactions. See a doctor before use if you have a history of seizures. Stop use if you experience health reactions."
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SOURCE AT&T Inc.
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