Carnival Corporation & plc Adds Admiral Sir Jonathon Band to Boards of Directors, Announces Quarterly Dividend

MIAMI, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At the annual shareholders meeting of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) held yesterday in Coral Gables, Fla., shareholders elected a new member to the company's boards of directors - Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, recently retired First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff of the British Navy.

Band, 60, will serve in a non-executive capacity on Carnival Corporation & Carnival plc's 14-member boards, effective immediately. He will also serve on the Health, Environmental, Safety & Security (HESS) Committees of each of the boards of directors.  

Additionally, Ambassador Richard Capen is retiring from the board of directors after 16 years of service.

"Admiral Sir Jonathon Band is an excellent addition to our board, possessing extensive experience in myriad maritime issues from his distinguished career that spanned more than four decades," said Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO.  "At the same time, I would also like to thank and acknowledge the contributions of Richard Capen during his long tenure as a member of our board," he added.

Admiral Sir Jonathon Band GCB ADC, recently retired from the British Navy after 42 years of service.  Sir Jonathon's service in the British Navy since his graduation from Exeter University until his retirement has provided him with extensive experience in maritime and security matters.  In 2006, he was appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the most senior officer position in the British Navy, and in 2008 he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).  He was also appointed Aide-de-Camp (ADC) by Queen Elizabeth II.

Carnival Corporation & plc's boards of directors also approved a quarterly dividend to holders of Carnival Corporation common stock and Carnival plc ordinary shares of $0.10 per share.  The boards approved a record date for the quarterly dividend of May 22, 2010, and a payment date of June 11, 2010.

Holders of Carnival Corporation common stock and Carnival plc ADSs will receive the dividend payable in U.S. dollars.  The dividend for Carnival plc ordinary shares will be payable in U.S. dollars or sterling.  In the absence of instructions or elections to the contrary, holders of Carnival plc ordinary shares will automatically receive the dividend in sterling.  Dividends payable in sterling will be converted from U.S. dollars at the exchange rate quoted by the Bank of England in London at 12 noon on June 1, 2010.  Holders of Carnival plc ordinary shares wishing to receive their dividend in U.S. dollars or participate in the Carnival plc Dividend Reinvestment Plan must elect to do so by May 22, 2010.

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe and Australia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, The Yachts of Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Ibero Cruises, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia.

Together, these brands operate 95 ships totaling more than 186,000 lower berths with 10 new ships scheduled to be delivered between May 2010 and May 2012. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc