MIAMI, Feb. 1, 1996 -- Royal Caribbean Cruise Line announced today that its new site on the Internet's World Wide Web is now accessible at http://www.royalcaribbean.com with more than 400 pages of information, graphics, itineraries, pricing and games, including its innovative CyberCruise(SM) virtual cruise experience which lets computer users enjoy a day in the life of a typical Royal Caribbean cruise.

The Royal Caribbean site is specifically designed to be user-friendly through conversational and humorous text and non-intimidating cartoon- like graphics and icons that can be quickly downloaded to avoid long 'wait time.' The home page, a montage of typical everyday pressures and stress, is punctated with an "escape" (Esc) key to access the rest of the Royal Caribbean site, reinforcing the escapist nature of a cruise vacation.

"There's nothing better than a Royal Caribbean cruise, but with our new site on the World Wide Web, we've created a CyberCruise(SM) which is the next best thing to being at sea," said Rod McLeod, Royal Caribbean's Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Passenger Services. "We devoted a lot of attention to making our site user-friendly, which is particularly important because with more than 400 pages available and more being added daily, we have the biggest and most comprehensive site in the cruise industry and one of the largest in the entire travel industry. Surfing the Internet with Royal Caribbean is designed to be fun, not intimidating."

Other features of the Royal Caribbean site include Cruise-O-Matic, which matches prospective passengers with the Royal Caribbean cruises that best meet their vacation preferences, and a Trivia Hunt in which Internet "cruisers" gather information as they journey through the Royal Caribbean site and answer questions; those who correctly complete the trivia hunt are eligible to win a free cruise. In addition, the site includes guest and staff testimonials, sample pricing for all cruises, itineraries of the line's 54 different vacations, descriptions of many of the line's 130 ports of call as well as sample shore excursion prices and descriptions, visual tours and details of the line's 11 ships including the new Splendour of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas which debut in 1996, descriptions of onboard activities, photos of staterooms, recipes for popular menu times as well as wine lists and complete menus for various theme nights.

Special sections describe Royal Caribbean's family programs, children's menus, golf vacations, honeymoon and special occasion packages, and the line's ShipShape fitness program including menus for healthy dining. One section gives corporate information about Royal Caribbean, including a company history, the latest news releases and current financial performance; Royal Caribbean is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "RCL."

In an area called the Radio Room, a chat room lets users of the site give feedback, and other sections make it possible for Internet "cruisers" to request more information and brochures, sign on to Royal Caribbean's "e-list" to receive current updates and special offers, talk with Royal Caribbean guests on past cruises and even locate a travel agency nearest their location when they decide to book their Royal Caribbean cruise. No direct bookings can be made through the Royal Caribbean Web site; all Royal Caribbean cruises are sold through travel agents.

Travel agents have a special section that provides information on CruiseMatch 2000, Royal Caribbean's automated booking system designed for travel agent use, as well as the company's numerous educational programs such as Cruise Forum, Seminars at Sea and the new Cruise Conference programs for front-line agents. Other Royal Caribbean sales tools, such as CruiseFax (which allows agents to receive fax confirmation of bookings) and CruiseFlex (for their client's air deviations) are detailed.

Under the conceptual direction of Royal Caribbean's Director of Market Development Natalie Grabczak, McCann-Interactive managed the overall development of the site. Compelling Content conceived, wrote and designed the copy and layout for the site while Siteline provided the Web production services including programming and implementation.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is one of the world's largest cruise lines and operates nine modern ships with a total capacity of 15,020 passengers. Between 1996 and 1998, Royal Caribbean will introduce five more ships with a total additional capacity of 9,700 passengers. The 1,800-passenger Splendour of the Seas debuts in Europe on March 31 and the 1,950-passenger Grandeur of the Seas begins year-round Caribbean cruises from Miami on December 14. Two more ships will follow in 1997 and one more in 1998. The award-winning vessels of the fleet offer passengers 54 different itineraries and 134 destinations and attractions in the Caribbean, Mexico, Bahamas, Alaska, Panama Canal, Bermuda, Europe, the Far East and Hawaii.