CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES OVERVIEW:

Carnival offers a choice of itineraries, from two- to 17-days, to worldwide destinations, including the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, Bermuda, Europe, New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

The line, which was formed in 1972, is celebrating over 38 years of offering its passengers fun. However, "Today's Carnival" is a vastly different company than the one started from humble beginnings three decades ago. Carnival was launched with a converted Transatlantic ocean liner and a dream of entrepreneur Ted Arison, a pioneer in the modern-day cruise industry, who set out to realize his vision of making a vacation experience once reserved for the very rich accessible to the average person. The rest, as they say, is history.

"Today's Carnival"

Carnival Cruise Lines continues to redefine contemporary cruising with "Today's Carnival," a term coined by the line to describe its commitment to enhancing all aspects of the "Fun Ship" vacation experience, keeping the product fresh and exciting for its guests.

A "Fun Ship" cruise is significantly different than from just a few years ago. Guests may now enjoy upgraded cuisine and new and expanded facilities, as well as a greater variety of on board activities and shore excursions.

"Today's Carnival" has also resulted in the introduction of fleetwide Internet cafés where guests can access e-mail and Web sites, obtain news updates and send video postcards to friends and family back home. One of the improved features of "Today's Carnival" is in-cabin amenities baskets, which are available on all ships and offer a wide variety of brand-name products for men and women. Additionally, plush terrycloth bathrobes are available for guest use in all ocean-view accommodations.

New and expanded facilities have also been added. These include a spectacular outdoor wrap-around promenade, a wedding chapel, a reservations-only supper club serving delectable plates of seafood melodies and suculant steaks.

The Fantasy-class "Fun Ships" which include the Fantasy, Ecstasy, Sensation, Fascination, Imagination, Inspiration, Elation and Paradise, has undergone a revitalization project called "Evolutions of Fun".

Total Choice Dining^SM

Carnival considers dining to be the highlight of any "Fun Ship" vacation and "Today's Carnival" has resulted in a diversity of new dining options and enhancements. Carnival's Total Choice Dining^SM is one of the cruise industry's most comprehensive dining program offering the widest variety of formal and casual options at sea.

In addition to revamped lunch and dinner menus and expanded wine lists, Carnival ships feature such innovations as 24-hour pizzerias and the "Seaview Bistro" for alternative dinnertime service. Carnival's popular Lido-area eateries, which offer full breakfast and lunch buffets, now include meat-carving and pasta stations, expansive salad bars and, on some ships, a New York-style deli, plus Asian and Italian specialty venues.

Carnival's 24-hour room service menu has also been expanded to include an even greater variety of freshly made items delivered to guests' cabins any time of the day or night. Patisseries, offering specialty coffees and sweets, and sushi bars featuring authentic Asian delicacies, are now available on a number of ships, as well. Carnival's legendary midnight buffets have also been updated to reflect consumers' changing palates, incorporating lighter fare to complement the diversity of hot and cold items available each night.

Amenities

With demand for dedicated shipboard meeting space continuing to grow, Carnival has incorporated purpose-built 1,100-square-foot conference centers on the Elation, Paradise, Carnival Spirit and Carnival Pride. A significantly larger conference room featuring stadium-style seating and a host of state-of-the-art features are also available on the Fantasy. She, along with sister ship Ecstasy, have also been refitted to house "Formality Shops," which are patterned after similar facilities on Carnival's three 100,000-plus-ton "Destiny-class" vessels and offer tuxedo rentals, floral arrangements and fine chocolates, along with cookbooks and other "Fun Ship" mementos.

Entertainment options have also become more varied, with dazzling revues featuring high-tech video projections, lasers, pyrotechnics, and elaborate sets and costumes presented in multi-decked show lounges, some of which can accommodate up to 1,500 guests.

Spa Carnival

Responding to the needs of today's health-conscious consumers, Carnival has updated its array of exercise equipment and pampering treatments available within its fleetwide "Spa Carnival" program, which features some of the largest floating health clubs in the world.

Getting or staying in shape is an important component of a well-rounded vacation experience for today's health-conscious vacationers. And, to meet this growing trend, Carnival's fleetwide "Spa Carnival" program features some of the largest and most elaborate health clubs at sea, including 15,000-square-foot facilities on the line's 100,000-plus-ton "Destiny-class" vessels.

Thirteen of the line's ships house spas of at least 12,000-square-feet and all Carnival ships offer a full gym complete with the latest exercise equipment and free weights, weight circuit classes, which challenge participants on the various machines, at least three swimming pools. Also available are workout classes offered at different interest and activity levels, everything from high- and low-impact aerobics classes to step, aqua and senior aerobics or even specialized calisthenics, relaxation and stretching sessions.

Additionally, all the ships feature a wide variety of sophisticated Keiser progressive resistance exercise machines, whirlpools, saunas and steam rooms. For those guests who want to exercise in the fresh sea air, Carnival also offers organized mile-long walks on the ships' upper decks or one-eighth-mile jogging tracks which are featured on the line's "Fantasy-," "Destiny-" and "Spirit-class" vessels.

The facilities offer guests a variety of ways to pamper themselves, including several soothing "European-style" therapies. Treatments range from the conventional -- full-body massages, seaweed wraps and mud packs -- to the exotic, with therapies such as the Ionithermie Superdetoxification Treatment, a 90-minute therapeutic slimming treatment that utilizes a cleansing algae concentrate, and La Therapie, a "bio-technical" facial that combines organic gels and creams with low-level electronic stimuli to leave guests feeling relaxed, re-energized and refreshed.

Several ships also feature "virtual bicycles" in which guests "tour" a variety of routes, including mountain pathways and snow-covered trails. Also available are hydrotherapy baths, unique to "Destiny-class" vessels, which consist of a personal Jacuzzi-like tub where seaweed, aroma therapy, special oils and other ingredients create a soothing, rejuvenating sensation.

Continuing Carnival's commitment to healthier lifestyles is the line's "Carnival Spa Fare," designated by a special menu symbol indicating that the dish is lower in fat, sodium, cholesterol and calories. Poultry and meats are broiled or roasted, salads are prepared with low-fat or fat-free dressings and desserts with sugar substitutes. Vegetarian dishes are available at each meal, as well.

Camp Carnival

With the dramatic increase in family cruising -- a record 350,000 kids are expected to sail on the "Fun Ships" this year alone -- Carnival continues to expand the myriad activities, amenities and facilities of "Camp Carnival," the industry's top-rated children's program. Recent enhancements include high-tech play areas featuring computer labs and indoor climbing mazes, as well as updated children's menus and a new turn-down service providing kids with freshly baked cookies on the first and last night of their voyage.

Shore Excursions

Shore excursions have also been expanded to keep pace with today's active lifestyles, with adventure-type tours such as kayaking, scuba diving, championship golf and flightseeing, as well as more traditional activities as nature walks and city tours.

Carnival has also expanded its fleetwide golf program, which includes courses in the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico, Belize, Key West and Hawaii.

"Fun Card"

Carnival features a "Fountain Fun Card," providing unlimited soft drinks for children throughout the duration of their cruise. The adult "Fountain Fun Card," purchased once on board and valid at any bar, restaurant or lounge in the Carnival fleet, offers guests the convenience of purchasing sodas at one, all-inclusive price, ranging from $14.95 for three-day cruises to $29.95 for seven-day voyages. Children's cards range in price from $9 for three-day voyages to $19.95 for seven-day departures. All prices include gratuities.

The "Fountain Fun Card" program is available on "Fun Ships" which operate voyages from three- to 17-days in length to the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, the Panama Canal, New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

Guests With Special Needs

Carnival is dedicated to offering the finest cruising experience to its guests with disabilities and special needs. The line's ships provide a quality of service and a variety of accessible features for guests with special needs.

Some of these features include accessible staterooms with wide entry doors, accessible closet rods, shelves, safe, telephones and desks; and bathrooms with roll-in showers and grab bars. (Additionally, when requested by guests prior to boarding, portable TTY kits are available for the stateroom.)

All showrooms, lounges and dining rooms have accessible seating areas. Carnival Spas offer accessible gym equipment and guests unable to access onboard spas, may request to have a spa representative render services in their cabin.

Carnival Cruise Lines is a member of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Holland America Line, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises. Together, these member lines share a commitment to quality and value, offering cruise vacations that appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets and sail to the some of the world's most exciting destinations.