Carnival Corporation & plc Exercises Option for New 130,000-Ton Ship for Carnival Cruise Lines
3,652-Passenger Vessel Set to Debut in Summer 2010
MIAMI, Dec. 18, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK) today announced that it has exercised an option for a new 130,000-ton ship for its Carnival Cruise Lines brand.
The new vessel, which will have 3,652 lower passenger berths, will be built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri at its Monfalcone yard at an estimated all-in cost of 565 million euros. The ship is scheduled for delivery in summer 2010.
The vessel will be a sister ship to a previously announced 130,000-ton ship slated to enter service in fall 2009 that will begin a new class for the line. The two sister ships will be the largest ever constructed for Carnival Cruise Lines.
"Carnival Cruise Lines remains the undisputed leader in contemporary cruising and these new ships represent the most spacious and innovative design ever created for a Carnival 'Fun Ship,'" said Bob Dickinson, Carnival president and CEO. "In addition to introducing a host of new and exciting facilities and features, this groundbreaking class of ship will enable us to build upon our distinction as world's most popular cruise line," he added.
With today's announcement, Carnival Cruise Lines now has four new ships on order or under construction with Fincantieri representing a combined 13,284 total lower berths.
Corporate-wide, Carnival Corporation & plc now has 19 new ships on order - - 13 of which are being constructed by Fincantieri.
Commented Enrico Buschi, Fincantieri merchant ship general manager, "Once again the excellent relationship between industry leaders Carnival Corporation & plc and Fincantieri is underlined. We wish that such a strong relationship may continue with the same success in the future. The Carnival group operates some of the world's best known cruise brands and we are truly pleased that the company has placed its trust in Fincantieri's expertise one more time."
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe and Australia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic, and P&O Cruises Australia.
Together, these brands operate 81 ships totaling approximately 144,000 lower berths with 19 new ships scheduled to enter service between March 2007 and summer 2010. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, Holland America Tours and Princess Tours. 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&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information is available on-line at www.carnivalcorp.com and www.carnivalplc.com.
SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc
CONTACT: Media, US, Tim Gallagher of Carnival Corporation & plc,
+1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000, or UK, Ruban Yogarajah of Brunswick Group,
+44-0-20-7404-5959, or Investor Relations, US-UK, Beth Roberts of Carnival
Corporation & plc, +1-305-406-4832
