Carnival Corporation & plc and TUI AG Sign Letter of Intent to Form Joint Venture for Large-Scale German Cruise Operation

Miami and Hanover, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Joint Venture to Operate Existing AIDA Cruises Brand and Launch
New TUI Cruises Brand in Germany

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK), the
largest cruise vacation group in the world, and TUI AG (DE: TUAG00),
the world's largest tour operator, today announced the signing of a
letter of intent to form a joint venture company to develop, market
and operate two cruise brands - Carnival's existing AIDA Cruises and
a new TUI Cruises brand - both designed for the German-speaking
holiday market.

AIDA, the German affiliate of Costa Crociere S.p.A., is currently
the market leader in Germany with its "club resort" cruise concept
aimed at younger, more active passengers. AIDA currently operates a
four-ship fleet, with four additional ships under construction at
Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard and scheduled for delivery between
2007 and 2010.

Under the proposed joint venture agreement, a new TUI Cruises
brand, which will target a different segment of the German cruise
market, will be developed. It is expected that the first TUI branded
ship, with an estimated 3,000 passenger berths, will be delivered in
spring of 2010.

The new joint venture company will be managed under the direction
of Pier Luigi Foschi, chairman and CEO of Carnival's Costa Cruises
unit, who currently oversees Carnival's German operations, including
AIDA. Michael Thamm, president of AIDA Cruises, based in Rostock,
Germany, will become president of the new joint venture company.

Under the proposed transaction, TUI will initially purchase five
percent of the joint venture in 2007 and is expected to purchase
another 20 percent in 2010. For purposes of this transaction, AIDA's
business was valued at euro 1.9 billion for inclusion in the joint
venture, which will be formed with euro 600 million of indebtedness.
The purchase price will be paid to Carnival in cash at the closing of
each transaction based on a net equity value of euro 1.3 billion.
When the initial five percent purchase closes in 2007, Carnival
expects to record a pre-tax gain of approximately euro 60 million
(US$80 million). Another gain will be recorded under U.S. accounting
principles at the time of closing of the subsequent 20 percent
purchase in 2010.

Apart from the aforementioned gains, Carnival expects the
transaction to be neutral to earnings on an annualized basis for the
12-month period following the transaction closing.

"TUI is a highly diversified and experienced company in the
European travel and tourism sector and has extensive brand awareness
throughout Europe, particularly in Germany," said Micky Arison,
Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO. "By combining TUI's
strengths with Carnival's tremendous experience in building,
operating and marketing cruise ships, we are creating an excellent
platform for growth in the rapidly expanding German cruise market."

Added Dr. Michael Frenzel, CEO of TUI AG, "With AIDA Cruises,
Carnival has already set up a successful and profitable model in the
German cruise market. By entering into this joint venture and
benefiting from Carnival's unrivaled expertise, we are able to put
the TUI Cruises brand on water. Together, AIDA and TUI Cruises will
provide ideal offers to an even larger potential of cruise customers
in this commercially highly interesting segment."

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2007
pending approval of both companies boards of directors, all necessary
regulatory approvals, customary due diligence and the execution of
definitive agreements.

About Carnival Corporation & plc

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

Together, these brands operate 81 ships totaling approximately
144,000 lower berths with 18 new ships scheduled to enter service
between March 2007 and spring 2010. Carnival Corporation & plc also
operates the leading tour companies in Alaska 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 the FTSE
100 indices.

Additional information is available on-line at
www.carnivalcorp.com and www.carnivalplc.com.

About TUI AG

The TUI Group is the European market leader in tourism and one of
the top five players in global container shipping. The tour operators
of TUI trade in 17 European countries and in 2005 sold the Group's
products to around 21 million customers. TUI encompasses all in all
about 3,200 travel agencies, 7 airlines with more than 100 aircraft
and 35 incoming agencies. Its hotel portfolio is made up of 279
hotels with approximately 164,000 beds in 30 countries.

TUI provides its customers with complete holidays from a single
source - from booking in a TUI travel agency, flights with one of the
World of TUI airlines, accommodation in the Group's own hotels and
customer-care by the Group's own incoming agencies.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary Hapag-Lloyd, headquartered in
Hamburg, Germany, TUI operates one of the world's leading container
shipping companies with more than 140 container ships. Under the
brands of Hapag-Lloyd in Germany and Thomson in the UK, TUI also
operates a fleet of nine cruise liners. The Hapag-Lloyd cruise ship
division is the leading "premium and luxury cruise" tour operator in
German-speaking countries. The four cruise liners including the
5-star-plus "MS Europa" are at home on all the world's oceans.

In the 2005 financial year, more than 60,000 employees achieved a
turnover of more than EUR 19 billion. Over 70 percent of this was
generated by the tourism division.

Web site: http://www.carnivalcorp.com
http://www.carnivalplc.com

ots Originaltext: Carnival Corporation & plc
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
MEDIA CONTACTS, Tim Gallagher of Carnival Corporation & plc (US),
+1-305-599-2600, ext. 16000; or Ruban Yogarajah of Brunswick Group
(UK), +44-0-20-7404-5959; or Fabrizia Greppi of Costa Cruises,
+39-010-5483-523, or +39-010-5483-903; or Hansjorg Kunze of AIDA
Cruises, +49-381-444-8020; or Kuzey Alexander Esener of TUI AG,
+49-511-566-1487, or +49-511-566-4569; or INVESTOR RELATIONS, Beth
Roberts of Carnival Corporation & plc, +1-305-406-4832


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