MIAMI---Jan. 29, 2002--Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) (OSE:RCL) announced today earnings for the year of $254.5 million, or $1.32 per share, compared with $445.4 million, or $2.31 per share in 2000.

Earnings were negatively impacted during the year by the events of September 11 and ships out of service, partially offset by insurance proceeds. Excluding the impact of these items, net income would have been $318.9 million, or $1.65 per share. Revenues for the year were up 9.7% at $3.1 billion, compared with $2.9 billion in 2000. The increase in revenues for the year was due to a 20.8% increase in capacity, offset by a decline in net yields (net revenue per available berth day) of approximately 9%.

Revenues for the fourth quarter were $656.0 million, up 2.2% from $642.1 million in 2000. The increase in revenues was due primarily to the increase in capacity in the quarter, partially offset by a change in yields. Net revenue yields for the quarter were down 10.7%, primarily due to the impact of the events of September 11. During the quarter, the company significantly reduced its cost structure. Operating expenses and SG&A were down approximately 10% on a per-available-berth-day basis from the same quarter in 2000. Also included in the quarter were $6.5 million, or $0.03 per share, in severance expenses related to the previously announced shoreside reduction in workforce. The company reported a net loss of $39.0 million for the quarter, or $0.20 per share, as compared with net income of $30.1 million, or $0.16 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2000.

"It goes without saying that the events of September 11 have had an impact on us both professionally and personally, and will for quite some time to come," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer. "However, I am very encouraged by the speed at which bookings for the industry, and our company in particular, are moving towards normalcy. Occupancy for the fourth quarter, which we earlier anticipated would be in the low 90% range, ended up at 96%. January occupancy was 103%, indicating that we have returned to more normal levels. The wave season began a couple of weeks ago, and early indications are positive."

Since the start of the `wave period', the company has broken several bookings records for both Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, as well as the overall company in 2002. For example, during the week ended January 18, the Royal Caribbean International brand took a record 147,819 bookings. For the week ended January 25, booking volumes for the first quarter sailings were running 78% ahead of the same week in 2001, with discount levels on new bookings only 5% higher. Booking volumes for the second quarter were 18% higher, with discounts of 4%. During the company's January 8 conference call, guidance was given that first quarter net yields would be lower than in 2001 by 10-15%. Current estimates are that the final number will be at the low end of the range. The company continues to believe 2002 yields will improve each quarter thereafter.

"Despite the challenges, 2001 was a year of significant accomplishments for the company," said Fain. The company successfully introduced an unprecedented four new ships in 2001, including Radiance of the Seas, the first of the Radiance-class vessels. The average age of the fleet is now only five years, which the company believes is the youngest of any of the major operators, and many of the company's ships offer amenities that are unique in the industry.

In addition, Royal Celebrity Tours had a very promising start in 2001. Operations in Alaska during its inaugural season were rated "good" or "excellent" by 98% of guests. "We are looking forward to the 2002 season, when two more domed railcars will be delivered, allowing us to continue to expand this exciting business that is so complementary to our cruise operations," said Fain.

Cost-savings initiatives introduced in 2000 and early 2001 came to fruition during the year. The strong focus on efficiency allowed the company to reduce operating costs and SG&A on a per-available-berth-day basis significantly this year. Excluding the impact of oil costs, this improvement was 4.5%. The company is continuing efforts on this front, and expects to see an additional 5% unit cost improvement in 2002. This does not include the cost savings the company hopes to achieve through the DLC merger with P&O Princess.

"Regarding the merger," said Fain, "we continue to be very excited about the opportunities we feel this transaction offers both our companies, and we are eagerly awaiting a positive outcome at our respective shareholder meetings on February 14."

The company has scheduled a conference call at 10 a.m. Eastern today to discuss its earnings. This call can be listened to, either live or on a delayed basis, on the company's investor relations web site at http://www.rclinvestor.com. A slide presentation will accompany the conference call, and is also available for viewing at http://www.rclinvestor.com.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Royal Celebrity Tours. Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have a combined total of 23 ships in service and six under construction. Royal Celebrity Tours operates land-tour vacations in Alaska utilizing the world's largest glass-domed railcars. Additional information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com and http://www.celebritycruises.com.

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, performances or achievements to differ materially from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, changes in cruise industry competition, reduced consumer demand for cruises as a result of any number of reasons, including armed conflict or political instability, availability of air service, the delivery schedule of new vessels, changes in interest rates or oil prices and other factors described in further detail in Royal Caribbean's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

                     ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.
                 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
          (unaudited, in thousands, except per share amounts)
                     Fourth Quarter Ended            Year Ended
                         December 31,               December 31,
                   ------------------------  -------------------------
                       2001        2000          2001          2000
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
Revenues           $   655,977  $   642,118  $ 3,145,250   $ 2,865,846
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
Expenses
 Operating             444,893      413,794    1,934,391     1,652,459
 Marketing, selling
  and
  administrative       110,332      103,460      454,080       412,799
 Depreciation and
  amortization          81,763       62,323      301,174       231,048
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
                       636,988      579,577    2,689,645     2,296,306
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
Operating Income        18,989       62,541      455,605       569,540
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
Other Income (Expense)
 Interest income         4,842        3,003       24,544         7,922
 Interest expense,
  net of
  capitalized
  interest             (67,461)     (51,463)    (253,207)     (154,328)
 Other income
 (expense)               4,665       15,999       27,515        22,229
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
                       (57,954)     (32,461)    (201,148)     (124,177)
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
Net Income (Loss)  $   (38,965) $    30,080  $   254,457   $   445,363
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
Earnings (Loss) Per Share:
 Basic             $     (0.20) $      0.16  $      1.32   $      2.34
                   ===========  ===========  ===========   ===========
 Diluted           $     (0.20) $      0.16  $      1.32   $      2.31
                   ===========  ===========  ===========   ===========
Weighted average shares outstanding:
 Basic                 192,300      192,093      192,231       189,397
                   ===========  ===========  ===========   ===========
 Diluted               192,300      193,106      193,481       192,935
                   ===========  ===========  ===========   ===========
                              STATISTICS
                      Fourth Quarter Ended           Year Ended
                         December 31,               December 31,
                   ------------------------  -------------------------
                       2001        2000          2001          2000
                   -----------  -----------  -----------   -----------
Occupancy as a
 percentage of
 total capacity          96.0%       100.1%       101.8%        104.4%
Guest Cruise Days    3,881,859    3,400,856   15,341,570    13,019,811