Press Release: Carnival Corporation
December 8, 2000
MIAMI, FL -- Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) has announced that its Carnival Cruise Lines unit will transfer its
1,022-passenger Tropicale to sister company Costa Cruises in February 2001.
Prior to its delivery to Costa, the 36,674-ton vessel will complete its current schedule of 10-day Panama Canal
cruises from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which end Feb. 10, 2001. After that, Costa will immediately reposition the
Tropicale to Genoa, Italy, for an extensive refurbishment and refit before placing the vessel into European service.
Once the work is complete, the vessel will assume the physical characteristics and on-board ambiance of a typical
Costa ship.
``We've said all along that Costa will be our primary platform for expanding our European business and the transfer
of the Tropicale is consistent with that strategy,'' said Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation chairman and CEO.
As a result of its transfer to Costa, the Tropicale will not operate its two- and three-day Bahamas cruises from
Port Canaveral, Fla., scheduled to begin March 26, 2001. Guests booked on those cruises are being contacted by
Carnival and will be offered full refunds plus a $100 per cabin future cruise certificate redeemable on any of
the line's three-, four- or five-day voyages in 2001.
The transfer of the Tropicale to Costa is just the latest effort by Carnival to expand the Italian cruise operator's
fleet. Since Carnival's acquisition of a 50 percent interest in Costa in 1997 (increased to 100 percent ownership
earlier this year), Costa has added the 86,000-ton Costa Atlantica and will expand capacity with the launch of
another 86,000-ton vessel and two 105,000-ton cruise ships between now and 2004. ``The addition of the Tropicale
is part of our overall expansion plans for Costa and we will continue to explore new ways to increase the company's
presence in the fast-growing European market,'' said Arison.
The Tropicale entered service in 1982 as the first new cruise ship built in nearly a decade and served as the prototype
on which Carnival's three ``Holiday-class'' vessels were based. Many of the Tropicale's features, such as Carnival's
trademark red, white and blue winged funnel and some of the largest cabins in contemporary cruising, are employed
in the line's new ship projects today.
Carnival Corporation is comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, the world's largest cruise line based on passengers
carried, Holland America Line, Windstar Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, and Costa Cruises. Combined,
Carnival Corporation's various brands operate 48 ships in the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe and other worldwide destinations.
Additional information can be obtained via Carnival Corporation's Web site at www.carnivalcorp.com
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SOURCE: Carnival Corporation