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Cruise line lauded for its fuel conservation and waste reduction efforts

In recognition of its measurable efforts to reduce its environmental footprint both at sea and in port, Holland America Line has been selected as the 2010 Marine Environmental Business of the Year by the Port of Seattle and the Seattle Propeller Club.

"We applaud and congratulate Holland America Line in winning the 2010 Marine Environmental Business of the Year Award," said Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani. "Their efforts at using shore power while at berth in Seattle contribute greatly to our Puget Sound Clean Air Strategy and help make Northwest ports the Green Gateway."

Noting the company's detailed ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) plan that governs its fleet-wide efforts, the Port praised Holland America Line for its energetic efforts to reduce its impact on the port and the surrounding community through efficient energy management strategies and responsible management of wastewater discharges.

"We are honored to receive this award and thank the Port of Seattle for recognizing our efforts in environmental stewardship," said Stein Kruse, president and chief executive officer. "Being selected for this award is a testament to our ongoing commitment to preserving the environment both locally and around the world."

Reducing Fuel Consumption and Emissions

In the last three years Holland America Line challenged its ships to operate at 98 percent of their fuel budget, and in each of those years the ships consumed 96 percent of their fuel budget. Ships based in Seattle during the Alaska cruise season from May through September eliminate diesel engine emissions through a combination of fuel conservation and shore power usage.

Other successful fuel reduction strategies include selecting itineraries that allow optimum vessel speed between port calls to minimize fuel use and maintaining equipment according to specifications.

The company also shares best practices and monthly fuel-use data to encourage competition between vessels to become more efficient.

A Decade-long Partnership

Holland America Line ships have been calling at the port of Seattle since the early 1970s. In May 2002, Holland America Line began basing ships in Seattle for Alaska cruises and began its partnership with the Port to increase tourism into the region. Over the last seven years, its operations have generated more than $2.5 billion for the Seattle area alone. In 2010, the company adds another ship to sail Alaska cruises for a total of four ships based in Seattle sailing 69 cruises from May through September.

Holland America Line's fleet of 14 ships offers nearly 500 cruises to 320 ports in more than 100 countries, territories or dependencies.  Two- to 108-day itineraries visit all seven continents, and highlights include Antarctica, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal.  A 15th ship, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, is scheduled to join the fleet on July 4, 2010.

The highest-rated premium cruise line in the world, Holland America Line is a member of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line and Costa Cruises.  Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, these lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets.  The World's Leading Cruise Lines offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.

Cunard, Regent and SeaDream Are Top Rated, Respectively, for Large, Mid-Size and Small Ships While Royal Caribbean, Crystal and Windstar are Most Popular in Each Size Category

Carnival Wins for Budget Travel and Singles; Disney for Families, Nightlife and Entertainment

When it Comes to Top Itinerary Choices, Romance, Shopping, Spas and Casinos, Cunard Sweeps

Zagat released the results of its first Cruise Line survey today. The survey, conducted on ZAGAT.com, covers 22 major cruise lines as voted on by 2,379 regular cruise-goers who had taken 9.5 trips, each averaging nine days. All told the surveyors had taken a total of 22,700 separate cruises.

"The survey reveals what the cruise line industry is doing plenty right, but that there's still room for improvement," said Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. "Hopefully, these new results will help consumers during a time when making informed decisions is more important than ever."

Background: The cruise lines in the survey were categorized as follows: Large Ships (1,500+ passengers), Mid-Size Ships (200 to 1,500) and Small Ships (less than 200), based on the average size of the ships in its fleet. Each line was then rated on Zagat's signature 30-point scale for five aspects of its performance: (1) Cabins, (2) Service, (3) Dining, (4) Facilities and (5) Shipboard Activities, with an "Overall Score" based on an average of the five separate ratings.

Smooth Sailing: The top cruise lines, based on their Overall Scores, are Cunard Line (Large), Regent Seven Seas (Mid-Size) and SeaDream Yacht Club (Small). Lines with mid-size ships tended to get the highest overall ratings. Thus, following Regent were Crystal, Seabourn and Silversea all with a score of 26 out of a possible 30. Following with overall rating of 25 are Cunard and Disney. Based on their ratings, the major category winners are as shown below:

                   Large (1,500+)  Mid-Size (200 to 1,500)  Small (<200)
                   -------------  ----------------------   -----------
    Top Rooms          Cunard              Regent            SeaDream
    ---------          ------              ------            --------
    Top Service        Cunard             Seabourn           SeaDream
    -----------        ------             --------           --------
    Top Dining         Cunard             Seabourn           SeaDream
    ----------         ------             --------           --------
    Top Facilities     Cunard              Crystal           SeaDream
    --------------     ------              -------           --------
    Top Activities     Disney              Crystal           Lindblad
    --------------     ------              -------           --------
    Top Overall        Cunard              Regent            SeaDream
    -----------        ------              ------            --------

When asked to name their personal favorites, the surveyors chose Royal Caribbean (Large), Crystal Cruises (Mid-Size) and Windstar Cruises (Small).

Setting Course: When choosing a cruise line, 88% of surveyors say that Ports of Call is their principal consideration, with Past Experience (81%) and Ticket Price (80%) following close behind. Other major issues are Cruise Duration (72%), Dates (69%) and Balcony/Deluxe Room Availability (64%). Departure Ports are cited by 61% of surveyors, with Ship Size and Activities tying at 58%.

Staying Afloat: As a result of the recession, many lines lowered their prices. The three named as "best for budget cruises" are Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line in that order. When asked how the economy has affected their cruising, 47% say they're looking for better values, while 23% report cruising less. Surveyors report these alternate ways to be cost-conscious: 20% are limiting their excursions, 19% are choosing cruises that depart closer to home, 15% cut back on what's included in their packages, 10% choose less expensive rooms and 5% take shorter cruises. A lucky 18% say the recession hasn't affected their cruising habits, while an unlucky 19% say they "don't cruise enough to have habits yet."

Choppy Water: Although cruising is all about feeling good and relaxing, we asked surveyors about their top complaints: crowds/lines (23%), embarking/disembarking (15%), other passengers' behavior (12%), bad food (11%), poor service (11%), room sizes (5%), smoking (4%) and extra charges (3%). Surprisingly, bad weather, motion sickness, ship size and fixed dining times were not serious concerns.

More Winners: Other categories with smoother sailing are as follows:

    Top Fitness Centers              Top Live Entertainment

    1.  Celebrity Cruises            1.  Disney Cruise Line
    2.  Cunard Line                  2.  Cunard Line
    3.  Royal Caribbean              3.  Royal Caribbean


    Top Nightlife                    Top Spa Services

    1.  Disney Cruise Line           1.  Cunard Line
    2.  Royal Caribbean              2.  Disney Cruise Line
    3.  Cunard Line                  3.  Celebrity Cruises


    Top Onboard Shopping             Top Casinos/Gambling

    1.  Cunard Line                  1.  Cunard Line
    2.  Disney Cruise Line           2.  Royal Caribbean
    3.  Royal Caribbean              3.  Celebrity Cruises


    Top Excursions                   Best for Singles

    1.  Princess Cruises             1.  Carnival Cruise Lines
    2.  Celebrity Cruises            2.  Royal Caribbean
    3.  Cunard Line                  3.  Norwegian Cruise Line


    Top Itinerary Choices            Best for Romantic/Honeymoon

    1.  Cunard Line                  1.  Cunard Line
    2.  Holland America Line         2.  Celebrity Cruises
    3.  Celebrity Cruises            3.  Princess Cruises


    Best for Kids                    Best for Weekend Getaways

    1.  Disney Cruise Line           1.  Disney Cruise Line
    2.  Royal Caribbean              2.  Royal Caribbean
    3.  Carnival Cruise Lines        3.  Carnival Cruise Lines


    Best for Families                Best for Budget Cruises

    1.  Disney Cruise Line           1.  Carnival Cruise Lines
    2.  Royal Caribbean              2.  Costa Cruises
    3.  Carnival Cruise Lines        3.  Norwegian Cruise Line


    Best for Seniors                 Best for Expedition Cruises

    1.  Holland America Line         1.  Celebrity Cruises
    2.  Cunard Line                  2.  Princess Cruises
    3.  Celebrity Cruises            3.  Holland America Line

The Survey in Detail: Please visit (www.zagat.com/cruiselines) for the full survey results. Here's a sampling of outtakes from our surveyors, which were deemed 'not fit for print.'

"A conga line is not conducive to good digestion."

"No activities for anyone who isn't an alcoholic seeking random sex."

"They cater to the newly wed and nearly dead."

"Great if you like hairy chest contests."

"A rust bucket filled with rowdy people."

"The more you booze, the better you cruise."

"Bathrooms so small you have to sit on the toilet sideways."

"It does attract a crowd - it's called 'God's floating waiting room.'"

 

SOURCE Zagat Survey

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises announced the winners of their annual environmental awards. For Royal Caribbean, Liberty of the Seas was selected as both the Environmental Ship of the Year and the Environmentally Innovative Ship of the Year. For Celebrity Cruises, the Celebrity Mercury was selected as the Environmental Ship of the Year, and the Celebrity Infinity was selected as the Environmentally Innovative Ship of the Year.

"Competing for these awards encourage and reward crew members who progressively advance their ships' environmental performance in ways that go above and beyond regulatory compliance," said Jamie Sweeting, vice president of Environmental Stewardship for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "I congratulate our winners and thank all of our crew members for doing so much to protect the oceans in which we sail," Sweeting said.

In its tenth year, this annual fleet-wide competition underscores Royal Caribbean and Celebrity's long-standing commitment to environmental innovation and improvement. For the first time, a panel of judges conducted the impartial evaluation for the award. The panel was comprised of leading oceanographic, marine biology, and policy experts, who reviewed the information provided by Royal Caribbean's 20 ships, Celebrity Cruises' nine ships and Azamara Cruises' two ships to determine the award winners based on their comparative performance.

The ships were judged on five rigorous environmental criteria established by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. These included environmental performance, timeliness and effectiveness of corrective actions related to audit findings, reports of near incidents and nonconformities, submission of environmental status reports, performance of environmental equipment and innovative thinking. For each of these criteria, ships were scored individually and then ranked against one another to determine the winning ships in each fleet.

This year, Royal Caribbean International's Liberty of the Seas won both the Environmental Ship of the Year and Environmentally Innovative Ship of the Year Awards for its excellent overall performance, having one of the most thorough and wide-ranging environmental programs of the entire fleet. The crew members demonstrated an exemplary level of commitment to saving energy, reducing waste, and increasing their amount of recycled materials. There was a particular emphasis on learning and continuous improvement that included establishing a water and energy savings team, as well as educating staff on how freshwater is produced onboard and how wastewaters are treated.

For Celebrity Cruises, Mercury received top honors in the Environmental Ship of the Year Award for its energy conservation, recycling efforts and reuse initiatives. The Mercury was bestowed the award most notably for its compliance and waste management, especially in the face of a challenging itinerary. The ship's staff worked to establish recycling in numerous countries along its cruise track. Celebrity Infinity was awarded the Environmentally Innovative Ship of the Year Award for effectively demonstrating how day-to-day operational changes can be coupled with smart onboard insight and engineering to produce an innovative approach to energy savings in cooling the ship. Adding to their improvement is their continued strong efforts in recycling, management of waste streams, and the environmental honors received.

The winning ships receive an award they can display year-round, and get to select a non-profit organization that will receive a cash donation on their behalf. The organizations selected by the Environmental Ships of the Year received a $10,000 donation, and $5,000 goes to the organizations selected by the Environmentally Innovative Ships of the Year.

SOURCE Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.