Existing Carnival Corp. Vessel to Launch TUI Cruise in 2009

Carnival Corp. will transfer a ship from one of its 10 cruise brands to launch the new cruise line being formed by Carnival and German tour operator TUI, Carnival said today.

On its second quarter earnings calls with investors, Carnival said that due to a delay in closing the joint venture transaction between Carnival and TUI, the world’s largest tour operator, it had lost the 2010 delivery slot at Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente yard the line had previously announced would be used to build a new ship for the TUI cruise line.

Carnival COO Howard Frank said during the call that due to regulatory requirements, the transaction is now expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, behind the companies’ original expectation that it would close in the first half of this year.
As a result, Frank said that Carnival would transfer an existing Carnival Corp. vessel to launch the new TUI Cruise brand in 2009, ahead of its intended brand launch.

Carnival CEO Micky Arison would not say what ship would be transferred or from what brand, but said it would be a “relatively modern” one. He said that Carnival and TUI had been prepared for such a transfer in case the closing of the joint venture was delayed.

Carnival also said it expects to close its joint ventures with Spain’s Iberojet in the second half of 2007. Carnival previously said that it would transfer two Carnival ships to launch that venture.