Carnival Corporation & plc Signs Agreement to Build and Operate Cruise
Terminal in Roatan, Honduras
Development of Two-Berth Facility Expected to Start This Fall
MIAMI, March 13
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) has signed an
agreement to build and operate a cruise terminal on the island of
Roatan, Honduras.
Development of the facility - to be called "Mahogany Bay - Roatan" -
is expected to start in fall 2007 and be completed by summer 2009 at a
cost of $50 million.
The cruise facility will be situated on 20 acres on the Roatan
waterfront and will consist of a two-berth cruise terminal capable of
accommodating super post-Panamax vessels and up to 7,000 passengers
daily.
Partnering with Carnival on the project is Jerry Hynds, a local
business leader and a member of the Honduran Congress. He is also the
owner of Coral Cay, a resort property located adjacent to the planned
port facility.
Within five years of operation, "Mahogany Bay - Roatan" is expected to
host 225 cruise ship calls and 500,000 passengers annually.
Adjacent to the facility will be a 35,000-square-foot Welcome Center
including retail shops, restaurants and bars, along with a
60-foot-high lighthouse, a lagoon with cascading waterfalls, and a
nature trail.
A transportation hub with the ability to accommodate taxis, rental
cars and tour buses is also planned. A variety of shore excursion
opportunities, to be provided by local tour operators, are being
developed, as well.
A tropical island distinguished by a lush landscape of rugged
mountains with beautiful white-sand beaches, crystal clear waters, and
colorful coral reefs, Roatan is a 165-square-mile island located 40
miles north of Honduras in the southwestern Caribbean Sea.
The island is currently featured on the western Caribbean itineraries
of Carnival Corporation & plc brands Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland
America, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, and P&O Cruises. The new
"Mahogany Bay - Roatan" facility will further enhance guests'
shoreside experience on the popular island destination.
The new Roatan project continues Carnival Corporation & plc's efforts
at developing Caribbean ports to provide consumers with an even
greater variety of destination choices within the region. These
include the new Grand Turk Cruise Center, which in its first year in
operation hosted nearly 300,000 passengers.
"The Caribbean remains the world's number one cruise destination and
Carnival Corporation & plc is always looking for ways to capitalize on
many distinct attributes that make the region so attractive to
consumers. 'Mahogany Bay - Roatan' is designed to build upon the
success of our other projects by providing cruise ship guests with an
unparalleled landside experience, with modern facilities and wide
range of shore excursion choices, along with opportunities to explore
this fascinating and beautiful island," said Giora Israel, Carnival
Corporation & plc's vice president of strategic planning.
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 82 ships totaling 147,000 lower berths
with 19 new ships scheduled to enter service between April 2007 and
June 2011. 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.