General News

Carnival Corporation & plc Exercises Option for New 86,000-Ton Ship for 
                             Holland America Line 
 
        2,100-Passenger Vessel Scheduled to Enter Service in Fall 2010 
 
    MIAMI, June 11  -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK)
today announced that it has exercised its option for a new 86,000-ton vessel
for its Holland America Line brand. 
    The new 2,100-passenger ship will be built by Italian shipbuilder 
Fincantieri at its Marghera shipyard at an estimated all-in cost of euro 425 
million. Delivery is scheduled for fall 2010.  
    Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO, said, "Holland 
America Line is performing very well and its growth is consistent with our 
business strategy for the premium segment of our business which seeks to 
capitalize on the increasing affluence of the baby boomer generation. The 
exercise of this option is another opportunity to strengthen Holland America's 
position as the leading premium cruise brand in the world."  
    Stein Kruse, Holland America Line's president and CEO, noted that the new 
vessel will be a sister to the Eurodam which is already under construction at 
Fincantieri and due to debut in summer of 2008. Eurodam's size has been 
increased slightly since originally announced and both ships will have a 
lower-bed capacity of 2,100. "These two elegant vessels will embody the many 
on-board amenities that Holland America Line first introduced to cruising as 
part of our very successful 'Signature of Excellence' initiative. Those 
amenities have uniquely positioned the Holland America vacation experience 
while building upon our distinction as a leader in premium cruising," Kruse 
said.  
    Kruse added that the two ships, to be the largest in Holland America's 
fleet, will maintain the brand's commitment to mid-sized vessels, larger 
staterooms, and richly appointed dining areas, lounges and other public rooms. 
"The addition of these two ships represent a 23 percent increase in our 
capacity over the 2008 through 2010 time period and will allow us to continue 
our premium leadership position and achieve a greater share of the growing 
cruise market," he said.  
    The new vessel will continue the evolution of the Holland America Line 
brand with features that will include a topside 144-seat specialty restaurant, 
a diversity of live music and entertainment facilities, outside-view glass 
elevators at mid-ship, and an expanded Greenhouse Spa and Salon with thermal 
suites and hydro-pool. 
    Of the new ship's 1,050 staterooms, 85 percent will offer an ocean view 
and 67 percent will feature private verandahs. All staterooms will offer plush 
Mariner's Dream beds, flat panel TVs and DVD players. 
    The vessel will feature such popular Holland America Line facilities as 
the Crow's Nest Lounge, Explorations Cafe, Pinnacle Grill and the innovative 
Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine Magazine, offering cooking 
demonstrations and classes in state-of-the-art show kitchens.   
    With today's announcement, Carnival Corporation & plc has 17 new ships on 
order, 12 of which are being constructed by Fincantieri.   
 
    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, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Ocean 
Village, P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia. 
    Together, these brands operate 82 ships totaling 155,000 lower berths with 
17 new ships scheduled to enter service between December 2007 and June 2011. 
Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Tours and Princess 
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&P 500 and the FTSE 
100 indices. 
 
SOURCE  Carnival Corporation & plc 
    -0-                             06/11/2007 
    /CONTACT:  Media, Tim Gallagher of Carnival Corporation & plc,  
[phone], Ext. 16000; Rose Abello of Holland America Line,  
[phone]; Richard Jacques or Sophie Brand of Brunswick Group,  
[phone]; or Investor, Beth Roberts of Carnival Corporation & plc, 
[phone]/ 
    /Web site:  http://www.carnivalcorp.com / 
    (CCL CUK)