Leading shipbuilders Fincantieri and Meyer Werft to each build next-generation cruise ships for Carnival Corporation through two separate, long-term partnerships Groundbreaking new ship design will be the most efficient in company history and will further accelerate efforts to deliver an unparalleled cruising experience to millions of guests

MIAMI (March 26, 2015) – Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest travel and leisure company, today signed two strategic memorandums of agreement that will add a total of nine new cruise ships to the company’s industry-leading fleet over a four-year period from 2019 - 2022. The shipbuilding agreements, which include options for additional 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 will each build new ships based on Carnival Corporation’s next-generation ship designs, which will produce the most efficient ships in the company’s history. The new ships are expected to serve established cruise markets in North America and Europe, as well as newer markets, including China. Each new ship will be specifically designed and developed for the brand and guests it will serve, and support the company’s overall goal of exceeding guest expectations and further elevating every aspect of the guest experience.

“We’re excited to take this next step in our fleet enhancement plan with these two new agreements that are consistent with our long-term strategy of measured capacity growth over time,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation. “Our goal as a company is to exceed the expectations of every guest on every ship every day, and these new ships will further enable us to do just that. These will be the most efficient ships we have ever built and the great guest experience will create even more excitement around cruising – helping new cruisers realize the superior vacation experience and value that cruising offers versus land-based vacations.”

Fincantieri, the world's largest cruise ship building company, will develop and construct five ships at its shipyards in Monfalcone and Marghera, Italy.

“I am extremely proud on this truly memorable day for us. Today's announcement provides us with a long-term strategic prospective, and reinforces the extraordinary partnership between us and Carnival Corporation, developed over time thanks to the confidence the group has always shown in us, which we assure will be once again well placed,” said Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri. “This agreement reflects the exceptional business vision of the world's most important cruise operator, and our readiness and flexibility in interpreting its demands.”

Bono added: “This agreement is the best reward for our hard work over all these years, and in fact, our organizational, design and production skills have allowed us to consolidate our market leadership, confirming us at the top of such an exclusive and complex industry.”

Meyer Werft, a leading global shipbuilder founded in Germany in 1795, will build its four ships at its shipyards in Papenburg, Germany, and Turku, Finland. Now in its seventh generation of family ownership, Meyer Werft has become well known for constructing large, modern and sophisticated cruise ships, including 39 luxury ships the company has built for its customers around the world.

Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft, said: “We are very happy and honored that Carnival Corporation trusts our strength to bring this ambitious newbuilding program to life in Turku and Papenburg.”

As part of each company’s long-term strategic partnership with Carnival Corporation, additional new ship orders are being explored over the coming decade.

Additional information on Carnival Corporation’s cruise ship design, and which of the company’s nine leading global brands will add these next-generation vessels to their fleets will be made available at a later date.

Carnival Corporation’s fleet enhancement strategy will add two new ships to its fleet in 2015 and remove four ships from the fleet. P&O Cruises UK officially launched Britannia, the largest ship ever designed exclusively for Britain, in a majestic naming ceremony earlier this month. Later this year, the AIDA Cruises fleet will welcome AIDAprima, which is expected to be one of the most technically advanced and sustainable cruise ships ever built.

In addition to these new ships, Carnival Corporation continues to enhance its guest experience on existing ships. The overall fleet enhancement strategy combines new ship builds with an ongoing program to further elevate guest experience across the company’s existing fleet and nine brands.

About Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).

Re-Attraction and Conversion create a new shipbuilding experience

The reattraction and design of the visitor centre at Meyer Werft has been ongoing since November 2014, although the planning and design ac-tivities began already in 2012. Meyer Werft, Papenburg Tourismus and the Bremen company 'Erlebniskontor' devised the conceptual plan for the redesign.

Visitors to the MEYER WERFT visitor centre can now look forward to a new world of experience. The modern shipbuilding process is presented in a total of nine exhibition areas, laid out over an area of 3,500 m2. The tour of the new experience world lasts for about two hours and commences with an information film about MEYER WERFT. Visi-tors are then immersed in the history of the shipyard, accompanied by a visitor guide. The sea of small ocean giants shows visitors twenty model ships at a scale of 1:100, all built by this tradition-rich company. The highlight is the interactive maritime map, which shows in real time where each of the ships, built in the MEYER WERFT shipyard, is currently located.

The shipyard theme area presents the company itself, which meanwhile operates in-ternationally, and its sites, and explains its importance to Papenburg and the surround-ing region. Visitors experience 3D construction techniques on an oversized screen dis-playing a CAD drawing of a pipe unit, which becomes reality behind the monitor.

They can also discover the inside of a faithfully reproduced block, and learn the princi-ples of block construction. The main highlight is the chance to glimpse inside shipbuild-ing hall 6, in which a cruise ship is actually being built.

With the three original cabins of various cruise ships and a range of exhibits based on the themes of restaurants and entertainment, the shipping companies Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Royal Caribbean International (RCI), Disney Cruise Line and TUI Cruises give visitors their first fascinating taste of a range of different cruise ships. In the ship details area, an original-size pod engine is on display, illustrating the ex-traordinary dimensions encountered in cruise ships.
In the Ems exhibition area, visitors can experience the float out of a huge ocean liner and its spectacular passage through the Ems, with an impressive media installation on floor screens along with a wall projection. Finally, they arrive in the visitor centre shop, where they can conclude their visit searching out the perfect souvenir.

Currently, the Norwegian Escape is under construction for the Norwegian Cruise Line shipping company. Its undocking and Ems passage are planned for the autumn of 2015. MEYER WERFT already has orders taking it up to the year 2019. Its orders over the next five years include four cruise ships for NCL (USA), two cruise ships for RCL (USA) and two cruise ships for Star Cruises (Asia).

Ems Conveyance of Anthem of the Seas is plant for Tuesday- 10, 2015

Ems Conveyance of Anthem of the Seas is plant for Wednesday - 11, 2015