General News

Carnival Corporation & plc Exercises Option for New 130,000-Ton Ship for 
                             Carnival Cruise Line

                 3,652-Passenger Vessel Set to Debut in Summer 2010

    MIAMI, Dec. 18 -- 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
    -0-                             12/18/2006
    /CONTACT:  Media, US, Tim Gallagher of Carnival Corporation & plc, 
[phone], ext. 16000, or UK, Ruban Yogarajah of Brunswick Group, 
[phone], or Investor Relations, US-UK, Beth Roberts of Carnival 
Corporation & plc, [phone]/
    /Web site:  http://www.carnivalcorp.com
                http://www.carnivalplc.com /
    (CCL CUK)