HANOVER, Germany and MIAMI, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TUI AG and
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. announced today they will launch a new joint
venture serving the German cruise market. The new company, TUI Cruises, will
begin service with one ship, in early 2009, and grow quickly with two
newbuilds planned for 2011 and 2012. Sales and marketing will commence
earlier in Spring 2008. Both partners will hold a 50 percent interest in the
joint venture, which is subject to regulatory and board approvals before
completion.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071210/CLM045 )
The first ship to operate under the TUI Cruises brand will undergo
renovations before entering service. Once deployed, it will not only enhance
the German cruise market, but also meet the sophisticated needs of German-
speaking customers seeking a contemporary/premium cruise experience. The
onboard product will be custom-tailored to German tastes, and encompass food,
entertainment and amenities. German will be the language used onboard as well.
"We are very pleased by our new partnership and our new partner," said TUI
AG CEO Dr. Michael Frenzel. "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is truly a leader in
the cruise vacation industry, and TUI Cruises will greatly benefit from its
expertise. By collaborating with Royal Caribbean, we gain access to a very
profitable growth market, a year earlier than we had envisioned," he added.
"We are thrilled to partner with a company as highly regarded as TUI AG,"
said Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain. "The alliance
greatly advances our global strategy. It also aligns us with TUI AG, the most
powerful brand in European tourism," he added.
Plans call for the new cruise line to be based in Hamburg, Germany.
Industry executive Richard Vogel, who has worked extensively on the project,
is expected to be named CEO of TUI Cruises after the transaction is approved.
TUI AG is an internationally active group that, since 2005, has been
concentrating on the two growth sectors of tourism and shipping. In both these
sectors, TUI commands a leading market position, it is namely number one among
the European tourism companies and number five in the world of container
shipping. The company's consolidated revenues and number of employees for the
year ended December 31, 2006 was � 20.9 billion and 54,000, respectively. With
effect from September 2007, TUI AG has merged its tourism activities - with
the exception of its hotel business, - with the British travel group First
Choice Holidays PLC into TUI Travel PLC. TUI holds 51 percent in this new
entity, which is listed at the London Stock Exchange.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that
operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara
Cruises and CDF Croisieres de France. The company has a combined total of 35
ships in service and seven under construction. It also offers unique land-
tour vacations in Alaska, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin and South
America and New Zealand. Additional information can be found on
www.royalcaribbean.com www.celebrity.com; www.pullmantur.com
www.azamaracruises.com or www.rclinvestor.com
Note: A photo of TUI AG CEO Michael Frenzel and Royal Caribbean Cruises
Ltd. Chairman and CEO Richard Fain can be found at www.tui-group.com in
Germany or at
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ourCompany/pressCenter/pressReleases.do.
SOURCE Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
CONTACT: Uwe Kattwinkel, +49-511-566-1408, uwe.kattwinkel@tui.com, or
Robin Zimmerman, +49-511-566-1488, robin.zimmerman@tui.com, both of TUI AG; or
Lynn Martenstein, +1-305-539-6570, lmartens@rccl.com, or Michael Sheehan,
+1-
305-539-6572, msheehan@rccl.com, both of Royal Caribbean
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071210/CLM045
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN5
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Web site: http://www.royalcaribbean.com
http://www.tui-group.com
(RCL)
