Carnival Cruises 2008 Annual Report Download - page 3

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PART I
Item 1. Business.
A. General
Carnival Corporation is incorporated in Panama, and Carnival plc is incorporated in
England and Wales. Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc operate a dual listed company
("DLC"), whereby the businesses of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are combined
through a number of contracts and through provisions in Carnival Corporation's articles of
incorporation and by-laws and Carnival plc's memorandum of association and articles of
association.
Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are both public companies, with separate stock
exchange listings and their own shareholders. The two companies operate as if they are a
single economic enterprise, with a single executive management team and identical Boards of
Directors, but each has retained its separate legal identity. See Note 3, "DLC Structure"
to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Exhibit 13 to this Form 10-K. Together with
their consolidated subsidiaries Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are referred to
collectively in this Form 10-K as "Carnival Corporation & plc," "our," "us," and "we."
We are the largest cruise company and one of the largest vacation companies in the
world. We have a portfolio of widely recognized cruise brands and are a leading provider of
cruises to all major vacation destinations. See Part I, Item 1. Business. B. - "Cruise
Operations" for additional information.
As of January 28, 2009, the summary by brand of our passenger capacity, the number of
cruise ships we operate, and the primary areas in which they are marketed is as follows:
Cruise Passenger Number of Primary
Brands Capacity(a) Cruise Ships Market
Carnival Cruise Lines 52,286 22 North America
Princess Cruises ("Princess") 37,532 17 North America
Costa Cruises ("Costa") 23,196 12 Europe
Holland America Line 21,088 14 North America
P&O Cruises 11,998 6 United Kingdom
AIDA Cruises ("AIDA") 7,812 5 Germany
Cunard Line ("Cunard") 4,572 2 United Kingdom and North America
Ibero Cruises ("Ibero") 3,570 3 Spain and Brazil
Ocean Village(b) 3,286 2 United Kingdom
P&O Cruises Australia 3,076 2 Australia and New Zealand
The Yachts of Seabourn ("Seabourn") 624 3 North America
169,040 88
(a) In accordance with cruise industry practice, passenger capacity is calculated based
on two passengers per cabin even though some cabins can accommodate three or more
passengers.
(b) The Ocean Village brand will be phased-out with the transfer of both ships to P&O
Cruises Australia in November 2009 and November 2010.
As of January 28, 2009, we had signed agreements with three shipyards providing for the
construction of 17 additional cruise ships scheduled to enter service between March 2009 and
June 2012. These additions are expected to result in an increase in our passenger capacity
of 38,056 lower berths. The net impact of these additions is a 22.5% increase in passenger
capacity as compared to our January 28, 2009 passenger capacity. It is possible that some
of our other older ships may be sold or retired during the next few years, thus reducing the
size of our fleet over this period. Alternatively, it is also possible that we could order
more ships, which could enter service as early as 2012, or acquire more ships, thus
increasing the size of our fleet over this period. See Part I, Item 1. Business. B. "Cruise
Operations – Ship Information" and Note 6, "Commitments" to our Consolidated Financial
Statements in Exhibit 13 to this Form 10-K for additional information regarding our ship
commitments.
In addition to our cruise operations, we own Holland America Tours and Princess Tours,
the leading cruise/tour operators in the State of Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada,
which primarily complement their respective cruise operations and own substantially all of
the assets noted below. These tour companies currently market and operate:
• 16 hotels or lodges in the state of Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada, with
3,500 guest rooms;