NEW YORK, Jan. 4 -- Royal Olympic Cruise Lines Inc. (Nasdaq:
ROCLF) today announced the appointment of a new Board of Directors effective
December 22, 1999, following the completed sale of a 70% equity interest in
ROC Holdings Inc. to Louis Cruise Lines Company. ROC Holdings Inc. is the
owner of 51.42% of ROCLF.

The new Chairman of Royal Olympic's Board of Directors is Harry
Haralambopoulos, previously Deputy Chairman of the Board since September 1998.
Prior to joining Royal Olympic, Mr. Haralambopoulos was President, CEO, and a
Director of Celebrity Cruises. He also served as Director, Western
Hemisphere, of the Greek National Tourism Organization, and Chairman of the
European Travel Commission in New York.

Dr. Stelios Kiliaris, Managing Director of Louis Cruise Lines, is the new
President and CEO of Royal Olympic Cruises. Dr. Kiliaris is a former Minister
of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Cyprus. He also served as Director of
Finance responsible for economic policy and Acting Minister of Finance in
Cyprus, as well as Group General Manager of the Louis Organization.

Costakis Loizou serves as Deputy Chairman of the new Royal Olympic Board,
and is Chairman of Louis Group of Companies. Andreas Potamianos is Deputy
Chairman of the new Board.

Additional Members of the Board include: Bobby Melnick (Fund Manager);
Dimitris Krontiras (former President, CITIBANK in Greece); Christos Mavrellis
(lawyer, former Minister of Finance and Minister of Communications and Public
Works in Cyprus); Michael Jolliffe (businessman); Vakis Loizou (Executive Vice
President of the Louis Organization); Rex Harrington (consultant, banker,
former Director, Shipping Finance, of the Royal Bank of Scotland); John
Evangelides (consultant, banker, former Managing Director HSBC Investment
Bank); and Tassos Potamianos (lawyer). George Potamianos stays on as Honorary
Chairman.

The family of former Co-chairman of ROC, Alexander Keusseoglou, sold their
50% equity interest in ROC Holdings Inc. The Potamianos family sold a portion
of their interest in the Company, but will still own 30% of ROC Holdings Inc.
Payment for the acquisition of the majority stake in the ROC Holdings Inc. by
Louis Cruise Lines was made partly in shares. Mr. Alexander Keusseoglou and
Ms. Eleni Potamianos now join the Louis Cruise Lines Board of Directors.

Royal Olympic is the largest and leading cruise operator in the Eastern
Mediterranean, with more than 5,000 berths and 170 departures. Sailing to
provocative and culturally rich destinations in the Aegean, Mediterranean,
Caribbean and South America with its fleet of eight ships, Royal Olympic
caters to seasoned travelers with a comprehensive selection of cruises, land
tours and extensive onboard enrichment programs. Royal Olympic is currently
building two high-speed luxury cruise ships, Olympic Voyager and Olympic
Explorer, scheduled for delivery in 2000 and 2001 respectively.

Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines owns seven vessels and manages another
vessel owned by the Louis Group. Three of its vessels are chartered to
leading British and French tour and cruise operators (Thomson, First Choice
and France Croiseres) under long-term contracts, while the rest of the fleet
is deployed in the Aegean and the Near East from Cyprus. Louis Cruise Lines
is listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange. Approximately 67% of its equity is
owned by the Louis Organization, the largest tourism concern on the island and
one of the largest in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Louis Organization owns and operates 25 hotels in Cyprus and Greece, as
well as travel agencies and catering units (including units in Moscow,
Budapest, Warsaw, Paphos and Larnaca airports). The organization controls a
very substantial portion of the total incoming and outgoing tourism in Cyprus.

Certain statements in this news release are forward looking statements. Such
forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievement expressed or implied in
such forward looking statements. Such factors include general economic and
business conditions, changes in cruise industry competition, weather and other
factors described in further detail in Royal Olympic Cruise Lines filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.