CELEBRITY CRUISES ,ORDERS NEW CRUISE SHIP

[JoeyandDavid]

CELEBRITY CRUISES, ORDERS NEW CRUISE SHIP

LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE NEW CLASS

MIAMI -- July 12, 2005 – Celebrity Cruises will build a new cruise ship and launch a new class of landmark ships, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and German shipbuilder Meyer Werft announced today after signing a letter of intent. Celebrity also has an option for a second ship. The agreement is subject to customary conditions being satisfactorily met.

Celebrity incorporates many features typically associated with luxury cruising in its new ship. More than 90 percent of the ship’s staterooms are outside cabins, and more than 90 percent of those rooms have balconies.

The standard stateroom on this ship is much larger than the standard stateroom in the cruise industry. The average standard stateroom on Celebrity’s new ship is 215 square feet.

Other distinctive features are planned for the new design and will be announced in coming months. Their inclusion on the ship, like the added balconies and larger staterooms, is the result of Celebrity’s close dialogue with its guests and trade partners.

The new ship, Celebrity’s first wide-body construction, has a volume of 117,000 gross registered tons, and length and width of 1,033 feet by 121 feet, making it a post-Panamax vessel. The 1,425-stateroom ship accommodates 2,850 guests (double occupancy) and 1,250 crew.

“Today’s announcement clearly demonstrates the company’s continuing commitment to the growth and innovative development of the Celebrity brand, “said Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises. “It also strengthens our hand in delivering the incredible service and amenities and the phenomenal cruise experience Celebrity is known for.â€Â

“We are excited to be collaborating with Celebrity on this new, breakthrough design and its market-leading innovations,†said Meyer Werft Managing Partner Bernard Meyer. “It has taken us many months to develop a strong, working prototype and this next-generation of ships is truly extraordinary.â€Â

The company expects delivery of the new ship in Fall 2008. It estimates the all-in cost of the ship to be approximately $225,000 per berth. The exercise date for the second ship is March 15, 2006, subject to certain conditions.

With today’s new ship and current ship orders, the company predicts fleet capacity to increase by 2.8 percent in 2006, 7.4 percent in 2007, and 7.2 percent in 2008.

Celebrity Cruises is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., a global cruise vacation company, which also operates Royal Caribbean International. The company has a combined total of 29 ships in service, two under construction and one on firm order. The company also offers unique land-tour vacations in Alaska, Canada and Europe through its cruise-tour division. Additional information can be found on www.celebrity.com, www.royalcaribbean.com or www.rclinvestor,com.

[JoeyandDavid]

I was impressed with the fact with the new ship and current ship orders, the company predicts fleet capacity to increase by 2.8 percent in 2006, 7.4 percent in 2007, and 7.2 percent in 2008.

However

But was not pleased with the fact: The 1,425-stateroom ship accommodates 2,850 guests (double occupancy) and 1,250 crew. I don’t like the crew to passenger ratio.

Only time will tell if my concerns are warranted.

[Shari2]

I like the size of the new staterooms. They will be 215 square feet. Our balcony room on Infinity was around 170 square feet. I'm excited that they're building a new ship and maybe more. I'm not sure about the bigger ships either. The Infinity is around 90,000 GRT, and that's the biggest that I've been on. I do hope they can keep the feeling of not being crowded or having lines for everything and keep the on-board service and great food that they're known for.

[JoeyandDavid]

Hi Shari,

Its my undersatnding that the same ship builder that did the Century Class will be doing this new version.

[Dan]

Doesn't seem out of line to me. Gone are the 2:1 pax to crew ratios on mass line cruises. The Carnival Victory had fewer crew members than that, and it carries around the same number, and more since Carnival will have more 3rd/4th berths filled than Celebrity probably will.

Same thing with the Grand Princess. It has 1100 crew to 2600 pax (double). We thought service was great, other than trying to order a drink in the Horizon court. And that wasn't a lack of staff, just a lack of ambitious staff at the time. And in fact, if the Cruises Only website is accurate, the Caribbean Princess only has 42 more crew members for 500 more passengers LOL.

And don't forget, not all crew are part of the hotel services. That number also includes the ship's operations personnel, which there doesn't need to be as many nowadays with the automated systems the new ships have. And part of the job of junior crew members is to service the crew themselves. Less crew means less crew required to service the crew, if you follow that LOL.

[Shari2]

Joey...I have heard that also. I do remember that Zenith was built in Germany. I would imagine that they will not want to use the Mermaid pods again. They have had so much trouble with them on the M-class ships.