Costa Cruises launches a new iPhone application and two news mobile sites to give travellers a sneak preview of its ships, before they embark on their trip of a lifetime.

Designed for the fleet’s 14 ships, the app can be downloaded free from the Apple Store and iTunes and is available in six languages: English, Italian, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

Using the main and most popular iPhone multimedia functions each ship can be visited and examined with a 360° full-screen real virtual tour, plus photo galleries and descriptions: cabins and suites, wellness areas, deck lidos, bars, restaurants, works of art, as well as hi-tech features like the Grand Prix and golf simulators, swimming pools with sliding roofs and giant screens and 4D cinemas.

The clever device includes an interactive geolocalisation system which allows travellers to follow their dream trip. The position of all the ships in the fleet can be displayed on a map at any time and webcams on the stern and the bow enable keen cruisers to follow the entire journey day after day, in real time.

The brand new mobile sites allow holidaymakers to access Costa Cruises’ Mediterranean and Dubai itineraries and can be accessed from the latest generation mobile phones.

While surfing the two mobile sites, the ships are the main points of reference and multimedia contents include videos, photo galleries and fact sheets. Site surfers can also obtain detailed information about itineraries and pictures of each port of call. Two special sections are dedicated to prices and reservations.

Costa Cruises has been sailing to the Mediterranean for more than 60 years. The company’s two flagships, Costa Concordia and Costa Serena will sail seven-day cruises in the summer of 2010, the first being in the western Mediterranean and the second in the eastern Mediterranean.

Costa Cruises was the first in world to offer cruises to Dubai, in the winter of 2006-07. Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa, the fleet’s high-end sister ships will offer seven-day cruises in the Arabian Gulf next winter.