Carnival plc Exercises Option For New 92,700-To...

Carnival Corporation & plc Exercises Option for New 92,700-Ton Ship for Costa 
                                   Cruises 
                                        
         Extends Option for New 86,000-ton Holland America Line Ship 
 
    MIAMI, Dec. 12 -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK) 
today announced that it has exercised an option for a new 92,700-ton cruise 
ship for Italian cruise operator Costa Cruises. 
    Additionally, the company has extended the option for a previously 
announced 86,000-ton ship for Holland America Line. 
    The new Costa ship, which is scheduled for delivery in March 2010, will 
have 2,260 lower passenger berths and will be built by Italian shipbuilder 
Fincantieri at its Marghera shipyard at an all-in cost of approximately  
420 million euros. It will be a sister ship to a previously announced  
92,700-ton Costa vessel which is scheduled to enter service in spring 2009. 
    With today's announcement, Costa has four new ships on order with a 
combined capacity of 10,520 lower berths. Once those vessels are introduced, 
the Costa fleet will have a total of 15 ships. 
    "Europe is one of the world's fastest growing cruising areas and Costa is 
the region's preeminent cruise operator.  Continuing to invest in new ship 
construction will enable Costa to maintain its leadership position within the 
region while providing new and innovative on-board facilities and features for 
its guests," said Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO.  
    Added Pier Luigi Foschi, chairman and CEO of Costa Cruises, "With this new 
ship order, Costa reaffirms its long-term successful association with 
Fincantieri and its continued role in the development of the Italian economy.   
We expect this new ship to be highly popular with its many innovative 
facilities, including a double-deck-high magradome, Samsara spa, Samsara on-
board life style concept and other state-of-the-art features." 
    Carnival is also extending the option for a new 2,044-passenger Holland 
America Line ship which, if the option is exercised, would be built by 
Fincantieri and enter service in late 2010. The 86,000-ton Panamax vessel 
would be the second in the line's new Signature class. The first in the 
series, the Eurodam, will be delivered in June 2008. 
    With the addition of the new Costa ship, Carnival Corporation & plc has 18 
new ships on order, 12 of which are being built by Fincantieri. 
    Giuseppe Bono, chief executive officer of Fincantieri, added, "This new 
order, which is a further endorsement of our role as reference builder for the 
Carnival group and our position as the sector's world leader, marks for both 
Costa and ourselves the successes of the past and the important achievements 
which we shall reach together."  He added, "This order, which extends our 
shipyards' workload until 2010, confirms once again that our company can rely 
on a sound financial framework." 
    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 18 new ships scheduled to enter service between March 2007 
and spring 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  
    -0-                             12/12/2006 
    /CONTACT:  Media, US, Tim Gallagher, [phone], ext. 16000, or 
Investor Relations, US-UK, Beth Roberts, [phone], both of Carnival 
Corporation & plc; or Media, UK, Ruban Yogarajah of Brunswick Group,  
[phone]/ 
    /Web site:  http://www.carnivalcorp.com 
                http://www.carnivalplc.com / 
    (CCL CUK)