Iberojet News

multi-ship cruise brand serving the Spanish market. percent. and is expected to be accretive to results in 2008. Carnival group. Cruise Lines' fleet, will be transferred to the new Iberocruceros company. service in late spring 2008. headquartered in Madrid. CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc's Costa Cruises unit. include Orizonia CEO Gabriel Subias. The three Iberocruceros ships will fly the Italian flag. for these vessels will be announced shortly.

Fitch Ratings affirmed Carnival Corp.'s issuer default rating, bank credit facility and senior unsecured debt at an investment grade of "A-," due to its strong liquidity position. The rating service also affirmed the Miami-based company's short-term debt at "F2," which indicates a relatively low credit risk. Fitch said possible negative influences include cyclical softness in Caribbean demand, Carnival's shareholder-friendly capital allocation decisions, a potential consumer-driven economic slowdown, and volatile fuel prices. Fitch said that the company's recent joint venture agreements with European tour operator TUI AG and Spanish travel company Iberojet, as well as its proposed sale of the Windstar Cruises brand, are unlikely to affect its ratings.

Carnival Corporation & plc and Orizonia Corporación, Spain’s largest travel company which operates its own cruise fleet under its Iberojet division, announced the signing of a letter of intent to form a joint venture to operate and expand the existing Iberojet Cruceros brand in Spain. Iberojet Cruceros operates two modern cruise ships, the 834-passenger Grand Voyager, built in 2000, and the 1,196-passenger Grand Mistral, constructed in 1999, which represent the newest ships in the contemporary Spanish cruise market. The new joint venture would eventually be comprised of a multi-ship fleet serving the rapidly expanding Spanish vacation sector. Under the proposed agreement, the two existing vessels would be transferred to the joint venture company.