Carnival Cruise Enters Strategic Partnership To Add 9 Cruise Ships Over Next 4-Years

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest travel and leisure company, today signedtwo strategic memorandums of agreement that will add a total of nine newcruise ships to the company's industry-leading fleet over a four-year periodfrom 2019 - 2022. The shipbuilding agreements, which include options foradditional ship builds in the coming years, are subject to several conditions,including satisfactory financing.Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A and German shipbuilder Meyer Werft willeach build new ships based on Carnival Corporation's next-generation shipdesigns, which will produce the most efficient ships in the company's history.The new ships are expected to serve established cruise markets in NorthAmerica and Europe, as well as newer markets, including China. Each new shipwill be specifically designed and developed for the brand and guests it willserve, and support the company's overall goal of exceeding guest expectationsand further elevating every aspect of the guest experience."We're excited to take this next step in our fleet enhancement plan with thesetwo new agreements that are consistent with our long-term strategy of measuredcapacity growth over time," said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of CarnivalCorporation. "Our goal as a company is to exceed the expectations of everyguest on every ship every day, and these new ships will further enable us todo just that. These will be the most efficient ships we have ever built andthe great guest experience will create even more excitement around cruising –helping new cruisers realize the superior vacation experience and value thatcruising offers versus land-based vacations."Fincantieri, the world's largest cruise ship building company, will developand construct five ships at its shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy."I am extremely proud on this truly memorable day for us. Today's announcementprovides us with a long-term strategic prospective, and reinforces theextraordinary partnership between us and Carnival Corporation, developed overtime thanks to the confidence the group has always shown in us, which weassure will be once again well placed," said Giuseppe Bono, CEO ofFincantieri. "This agreement reflects the exceptional business vision of theworld's most important cruise operator, and our readiness and flexibility ininterpreting its demands."Bono added, "This agreement is the best reward for our hard work over allthese years, and in fact, our organizational, design and production skillshave allowed us to consolidate our market leadership, confirming us at the topof such an exclusive and complex industry."Meyer Werft, a leading global shipbuilder founded in Germany in 1795, willbuild its four ships at its shipyards in Papenburg, Germany, and Turku,Finland. Now in its seventh generation of family ownership, Meyer Werft hasbecome well known for constructing large, modern and sophisticated cruiseships, including 39 luxury ships the company has built for its customersaround the world.Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft, said, "We are very happy andhonored that Carnival Corporation trusts our strength to bring this ambitiousnewbuilding program to life in Turku and Papenburg."As part of each company's long-term strategic partnership with CarnivalCorporation, additional new ship orders are being explored over the comingdecade.Additional information on Carnival Corporation's cruise ship design, and whichof the company's nine leading global brands will add these next-generationvessels to their fleets will be made available at a later date.Carnival Corporation's fleet enhancement strategy will add two new ships toits fleet in 2015 and remove four ships from the fleet. P&O Cruises UKofficially launched Britannia, the largest ship ever designed exclusively forBritain, in a majestic naming ceremony earlier this month. Later this year,the AIDA Cruises fleet will welcome AIDAprima, which is expected to be one ofthe most technically advanced and sustainable cruise ships ever built.In addition to these new ships, Carnival Corporation continues to enhance itsguest experience on existing ships. The overall fleet enhancement strategycombines new ship builds with an ongoing program to further elevate guestexperience across the company's existing fleet and nine brands.