Carnival Cruise Line’s Web Site #1 in Cruise Industry

MIAMI – Carnival.com is the cruise industry’s top-rated Web site according to a recent survey by CruiseCritic.com, the leading on-line cruise community.

Among the thousands of CruiseCritic.com members who participated, the overwhelming majority cited carnival.com as their cruise line Web site of choice.

“We’ve made a significant investment to create the most comprehensive, user-friendly Web site in the cruise industry and to receive this acknowledgement from the members of CruiseCritic.com – comprised of knowledgeable and experienced cruise enthusiasts – is a gratifying endorsement of these efforts,” said Bob Dickinson, Carnival president and CEO.

Added CruiseCritic.com Editor Carolyn Brown, “Cruise line Web sites are very important to CruiseCritic.com members who are experienced, tech-savvy travelers and rely heavily on the Internet to research their cruise vacation options. Our members find carnival.com not only visually appealing but also extremely easy to navigate, offering helpful resources to plan their cruise and interactive tools that enable them to purchase shore excursions, bon voyage gifts and other items before departure.”

Carnival’s top ranking in the CruiseCritic on-line poll follows last week’s announcement that carnival.com was the most visited cruise line site on the Internet, according to statistics from Hitwise, a leading Internet tracking organization.

Carnival.com, which underwent a significant upgrade last year, offers a host of user-friendly features such as easy-to-use destination maps, guest video testimonials, an enhanced meeting and incentive cruise section, and an interactive listing of the line’s 19 embarkation ports.

Carnival Cruise Lines was also the first cruise line to create its own social networking community and group planning Web site, CarnivalConnections.com, which features an innovative electronic invitation tool, real-time guest-written message boards and ship reviews.

Carnival also offers a comprehensive travel agent Internet portal, bookccl.com, which serves as a valuable resource for agents’ sales and marketing needs, with such features as an on-line training program and more than 1,000 Web pages of graphics, content and information.

Carnival is the most popular cruise line in the world with 21 “Fun Ships” operating three- to 16-day voyages to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe and the Greek Isles.

The line currently has four new ships on order – the 110,000-ton Carnival Freedom, slated to debut in Europe March 5; the 112,000-ton Carnival Splendor, scheduled to enter service in July 2008; and the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream and Carnival Magic – to be the largest “Fun Ships” ever constructed -- scheduled for delivery in October 2009 and June 2011, respectively.

For additional information on Carnival’s “Fun Ship” vacations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.

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