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Carnival Corporation & plc Reports Impact of British Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund Court Ruling; Technical Problem With P&O Cruises Australia Ship To Impact Second Quarter Earnings

MIAMI, March 30, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc's(NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK) first quarter 2005 earnings press release datedMarch 21, 2005 stated that the company expected a court decision on March 22,2005 on how to allocate a fund deficit in the British Merchant Navy OfficersPension Fund (MNOPF) among participating employers in the fund. The courtannounced its decision on March 22. Notwithstanding the court's decision,there are a number of uncertainties remaining as to the company's portion ofthe fund's ultimate deficit. Therefore, under U.S. GAAP, any deficit will berecorded by the company as amounts are invoiced by the fund's trustee, whichis currently expected to be over a period of at least 10 years. The companyexpects the full year 2005 diluted earnings per share impact for the company'sportion of this deficit will be less than $0.01.

Carnival Corporation & plc became a participating employer in the MNOPFmultiemployer pension plan primarily as a result of its merger with P&OPrincess and thereby, assumed the P&O Princess MNOPF obligation. Inaccordance with the court's March 22 ruling and other factors, and assumingall the other participating employers are able to pay their share of the MNOPFdeficit, the company believes its share of the ultimate deficit could be inthe range of $25 million to $90 million. The MNOPF deficit is more fullydiscussed in note 13 to the company's 2004 annual financial statements.

The company has also been advised by its P&O Cruises Australia unit thatits 46,000-ton, 1,200-passenger Pacific Sky has experienced a technicalproblem with a gearbox that will require dry-docking to complete the repair.The ship is expected to be out of service for approximately two months andwill impact second quarter 2005 diluted earnings per share by approximately$0.02. The Pacific Sky is expected to re-enter service on June 4, 2005.

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in theworld, with a portfolio of 12 cruise brands in North America, Europe andAustralia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, PrincessCruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises,Cunard Line, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic, and P&O CruisesAustralia.

Together, these brands operate 78 ships totaling more than 134,000 lowerberths with 12 new ships scheduled for delivery between July 2005 and April2009. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates the leading tour companies inAlaska 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 theFTSE 100 indices.

Cautionary note concerning factors that may affect future results

Some of the statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions withrespect to Carnival Corporation & plc, including some statements concerningfuture results, outlook, plans, goals and other events which have not yetoccurred. These statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbors fromliability provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You can find many, but not all, ofthese statements by looking for words like "will," "may," "believes,""expects," "anticipates," "forecast," "future," "intends," "plans," and"estimates" and for similar expressions. Because forward-looking statementsinvolve risks and uncertainties, there are many factors that could causeCarnival Corporation & plc's actual results, performance or achievements todiffer materially from those expressed or implied in this earnings release.Forward-looking statements include those statements which may impact theforecasting of earnings per share, net revenue yields, booking levels,pricing, occupancy, operating, financing and/or tax costs, costs per availablelower berth day, estimates of ship depreciable lives and residual values,outlook or business prospects. These factors include, but are not limited to,the following: risks associated with the DLC structure, including theuncertainty of its tax status; general economic and business conditions, whichmay impact levels of disposable income of consumers and the net revenue yieldsfor cruise brands of Carnival Corporation & plc; conditions in the cruise andland-based vacation industries, including competition from other cruise shipoperators and providers of other vacation alternatives and increases incapacity offered by cruise ship and land-based vacation alternatives; risksassociated with operating internationally; the international political andeconomic climate, armed conflicts, terrorist attacks and threats thereof,availability of air service, other world events and adverse publicity, andtheir impact on the demand for cruises; accidents and other incidentsaffecting the health, safety, security and vacation satisfaction ofpassengers, including machinery and equipment failures, which could cause thecancellation of a cruise or a series of cruises; changing public and consumertastes and preferences, which may, among other things, adversely impact thedemand for cruises; the ability of Carnival Corporation & plc to implement itsshipbuilding programs and brand strategies and to continue to expand itsbusiness worldwide; the ability of Carnival Corporation & plc to attract andretain qualified shipboard crew and maintain good relations with employeeunions; the ability to obtain financing on terms that are favorable orconsistent with Carnival Corporation & plc's expectations; the impact ofchanges in operating and financing costs, including changes in foreigncurrency and interest rates and fuel, food, payroll, insurance and securitycosts; changes in the tax, environmental, health, safety, security and otherregulatory regimes under which Carnival Corporation & plc operates; continuedavailability of attractive port destinations; the ability to successfullyimplement cost improvement plans and to integrate business acquisitions;continuing financial viability of Carnival Corporation & plc's travel agentdistribution system and air service providers; and unusual weather patterns ornatural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes.

Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction ofactual results. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law orany relevant listing rules, Carnival Corporation & plc expressly disclaims anyobligation to disseminate, after the date of this release, any updates orrevisions to any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change inexpectations or events, conditions or circumstances on which any suchstatements are based.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc

CONTACT: Media, U.S., Tim Gallagher of Carnival Corporation & plc,+1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000, or U.K., Sophie Fitton or Sarah Tovey,+011-44-20-7404-5959, both of Brunswick Group, for Carnival Corporation & plc;or Investor Relations, U.S. and U.K., Beth Roberts of Carnival Corporation &plc, +1-305-406-4832

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