Carnival Signs Letter for New $709.1 Million Ship

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Carnival Signs Letter for New Ship

Carnival Signs Letter of Intent to Order New $709.1 Million Ship for Its P&O Cruises Brand

MIAMI (AP) -- Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise operator, said Wednesday that it signed a letter of intent to purchase a new ship for its P&O Cruises brand for approximately $709.1 million.

The 116,000-ton vessel will be made by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. The ship's exterior will be similar to P&O Cruises Ventura, Carnival said.

The ship will bring P&O Cruises fleet total to seven and Carnival's new ship order total to 20.

"This latest order results from the strong continuing growth of the cruise market in the United Kingdom," P&O Cruises Managing Director David Dingle said in a statement.

The ship is set to be delivered in the spring of 2010.

The new vessel's construction delays the delivery date of a 130,000 ton newbuild for Carnival Cruise Lines announced last month. The Carnival ship will enter service in the spring of 2011 instead of the summer of 2010.

"It had been our intention all along to schedule delivery of the P&O Cruises ship for 2010 and the Carnival Cruise Lines vessel for 2011. However, because we completed the agreement for the Carnival newbuild first, we temporarily placed it in the first available shipyard slot pending finalization of the P&O Cruises agreement," Carnival Chairman and Chief Executive Micky Arison said in a statement.

Shares of Carnival rose $1.56, or 3.2 percent, to $50.61 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.