Press Release: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
January 2, 2002
MIAMI,FL -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL; ``Royal Caribbean'') Dec. 27 mailed its proxy statement to
its shareholders in relation to its proposed dual-listed company combination with P&O Princess plc (``P&O
Princess''). The proxy statement contains the recommendation of the board of directors of Royal Caribbean to its
shareholders to vote for the proposed DLC merger with P&O Princess.
Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean, said the benefits detailed in the proxy
statement underscore the strategic rationale behind the proposed merger of the two leading cruise vacation operators.
Shareholders of the two companies will vote on the proposed merger on February 14, 2002. Royal Caribbean shareholders
of record on December 17, 2001 will be entitled to vote at its Special Meeting. Two of the major shareholders of
Royal Caribbean have entered into voting agreements to vote shares representing at least 44.5% of the outstanding
shares of Royal Caribbean in favor of the proposed merger.
The proxy statement includes an update on Royal Caribbean's recent business trends. Over the past six weeks the
company has seen a steadily improving trend in pricing. ``We are very encouraged by the continually improving trend
in bookings, and especially the reduction in price discounting,'' said Fain.
Fain, also chairman and chief executive officer-designate of the combined group, said, ``This is a terrific opportunity
for both P&O Princess and Royal Caribbean to combine to become a leading provider of cruises to all major destinations.
I am convinced that the merger we have agreed to with P&O Princess will provide both sets of shareholders significant
long-term value.''
Royal Caribbean intends to file the proxy statement, together with certain other documents referred to therein,
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity
Cruises, and Royal Celebrity Tours. Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have a combined total of
23 ships in service and six under construction or on firm order. Royal Celebrity Tours operates land-tour vacations
in Alaska utilizing the world's largest glass-domed railcars. Additional information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com,
http://www.celebritycruises.com or http://www.rclinvestor.com.
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may
cause the actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and
business conditions, changes in cruise industry competition, reduced consumer demand for cruises as a result of
any number of reasons, including armed conflict or political instability, availability of air service, the delivery
schedule of new vessels, changes in interest rates or oil prices and other factors described in further detail
in Royal Caribbean's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.