NEW YORK, May 27 -- The next best thing to being aboard a new
ship on its inaugural voyage is taking a "Virtual Cruise." Cruise Critic on
America Online(R) is giving millions of AOL members this opportunity with the
first daily cruise reports and photos during the May 26-June 7, 1998
Mediterranean cruise of Princess Cruises' new Grand Princess.

Cruise Critic's "Virtual Cruise" is the first-ever transmission directly
from a cruise ship using digital technology. Photos, taken with the new Fuji
MX700 digital camera, and daily reports will be transmitted by over the
European GSM cellular phone network directly from the Grand Princess to
America Online. AOL has local phone numbers in every port the ship visits,
affording easy, low-cost access via wireless modem. AOL members will be able
to access the ship photos and text each day along with a slideshow of the
Grand Princess in Cruise Critic.

The 109,000-ton Grand Princess, the largest ship ever constructed, is making
its May 26 inaugural on a 12-day cruise between Istanbul and Barcelona.

According to Cruise Critic editor Anne Campbell, "AOL members are thrilled
to see photos of new ships and this gives them the opportunity to see the
first pictures of Grand Princess' public rooms, cabins and finished exterior."

Campbell, who will take the photos and write reports aboard the ship, notes
that new technology makes it easy to supply daily updates while cruising.
"All the equipment I'm taking can fit in a large handbag -- a laptop computer,
a 3.8 ounce Fuji digital camera and digital phone half that size plus several
connectors. And, while telephone charges from a ship are around $15 per
minute, calling a local AOL number costs $1," she said.

Cruise Critic on America Online was launched by Anne Campbell and The
Independent Traveler, Inc. in October, 1995. It features reviews and ratings
of all cruise ships, river boats, sail boats and barges worldwide, plus an
interactive "cruise selector," cruise tips, profiles of Caribbean ports of
call, "Editor's Picks," the most active cruise message boards in cyberspace,
and daily chat shows.

Cruise Critic is visited by over two million cruisers each year. To access
Cruise Critic on America Online, use the keyword "cruise."