NEW YORK, Feb. 1 -- As National Cruise Vacation Month, the
cruise industry's biggest promotion of the year, kicks off today, the cruise
industry has just completed one of its most successful January booking periods
ever.

According to an informal survey by Cruise Lines International Association
(CLIA), among its member cruise lines, business across the board has been
significantly up since Jan. 1.

The vast majority of cruise lines have reported record-setting performances
that began with the "wave week period" (the first two full weeks after New
Year's Day) and continued through the month.

"As an action-packed National Cruise Vacation Month debuts, this is an
excellent sign of things to come," said James G. Godsman, president of CLIA.

Industry giants, such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Costa
Cruise Lines, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line,
Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line reported increases in
bookings of 15 to 50 percent over last January.

Smaller companies reflected even greater percentage gains.

For example, Godsman cited such CLIA-member cruise lines as Radisson Seven
Seas Cruises, which, during the weeks of Jan. 15 and 22, saw staggering
increases of from 150 to 210 percent in passenger bookings over the same
period last year.

Regal cruises experienced a 130-percent increase in bookings over the year
before; while destination-cruise specialist Orient Lines experienced a
77-percent increase in bookings over last year, due in part to the popularity
of the line's new Mediterranean itineraries.

Seabourn Cruise Line reported a 28-percent increase in bookings over the
1995 wave period; Epirotiki Lines and Sun Line Cruises reported bookings up 20
percent over last year for the wave period; Premier Cruise Lines said that
their January bookings were up 12 percent, and Windstar Cruises recounted a
10-percent increase for the month overall.

Dolphin Cruise Line and Majesty Cruise Line also said that bookings were up
overall, the weeks of Jan. 12 and 19, while Delta Queen Steamboat Co. --
averaging 3,000 calls a day -- reported an approximate 30-percent increase in
bookings over 1995.

Several lines attributed the increases to special promotions, more cruising
options than ever before, and heated up demand due to the recent cold weather
and snow.

National Cruise Vacation Month takes to the road from Feb. 5 to 16 with
eight cruise line spokespersons visiting 50 top markets across the U.S. and
Canada, appearing on morning and noon TV news programs, drive-time radio talk
shows and other forums.

They will discuss the features of a cruise vacation, answer questions
typically asked by first-time cruisers, and address everything from how to
pick the best cruise vacation to the hot new cruise destinations.

"These ship captains and cruise directors are a great resource for
consumers, who are anxious to learn whether the stories about fabulous cruise
experiences are true. They'll be getting the facts right from the source,"
said Godsman.

In addition, Godsman highlighted two opportunities for consumers.

One is a number of special cruise offers for Visa card holders who book a
cruise with any of 25 cruise partners at a CLIA-affiliated travel agency.
Another is this year's "Choose to Cruise" sweepstakes, with 110 cruise prizes
for two. Entry forms are available at CLIA-affiliated travel agencies; the
sweepstakes runs through March 31.

There are nearly 23,000 CLIA-affiliated travel agencies across North America
that display CLIA's blue, gold and white seal. The nearest one can be found
in the yellow pages, or by visiting CLIA's home page on the Internet at
http://www.tenio.com/clia/.