Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises Award 20 Marine Conservation Grants Totaling $800,000

MIAMI, March 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises' Ocean Fund has awarded marine conservation grants totaling $800,000 to 19 marine conservation and environmental organizations. The nonprofit organizations, which originate from 17 different cities and four countries, received grants ranging from $15,000 to $60,000.

On Monday, March 3, representatives from all the organizations attended a networking reception at the Shake-A-Leg Miami's eco-island in Biscayne Bay, Fla., where they met their peers, discussed ongoing projects and spoke with company executives. The following day, at a luncheon, Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises, and Adam Goldstein, president of Royal Caribbean International, recognized each recipient and gave them their grants.

Since the fund's beginning in 1996, almost $10 million has been awarded to more than 60 nonprofit organizations working to protect the marine environment. The mission of the Ocean Fund is to support efforts to restore and maintain a healthy marine environment, minimize the impact of human activity on this environment, and promote awareness of ocean and coastal issues and respect for marine life.

"Clean oceans are good for the environment, good for our guests, and good for our business," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "We are indebted to our 2008 Ocean Fund grant recipients for their work in preserving the world's oceans through research, education and developing innovative technologies."

    The 2008 Ocean Fund grant recipients are:

     -- Audubon of Florida (Miami, Fla.): $35,000 for a population and
        breeding distribution analysis of the reddish egret.

     -- Blue Ocean Institute (East Norwich, N.Y.): $50,000 for research
        activities to conserve Pacific leatherbacks; to prepare a business
        plan for recovery; and to establish a new conservation fund.

     -- Conservation International (Arlington, Va.): $60,000 for its Climate
        and Biodiversity Initiative, which will create regional strategies to
        address the impacts of climate change on marine biodiversity.

     -- El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (Quintana Roo, Mexico): $33,000 to
        develop reef management strategies for reef lagoons in the Mexican
        Caribbean.

     -- Galapagos Conservancy (Falls Church, Va.): $30,000 for an ecosystem-
        level analysis of the Galapagos Marine Reserve to study overfishing
        impacts, and make recommendations for fisheries management.

     -- Island Dolphin Care (Key Largo, Fla.): $15,000 for enclosing the new
        marine science hut and outfitting it with audiovisual equipment for
        teaching, as well as maintenance and supplies for its eight aquariums.

     -- Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro, Calif.): $30,000 for upgrading
        the water filtration system to aid with the rehabilitation of sick,
        injured and orphaned marine mammals.

     -- Marine Stewardship Council (London, United Kingdom): $50,000 to
        install zoo exhibits to raise awareness of threats to ocean
        ecosystems, and drive consumer demand for sustainable seafood.

     -- Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Buzzards Bay, Mass.): $25,000 to
        underwrite cooperative education stipends to train potential future
        maritime safety and environmental officers.

     -- MAST Academy (Miami, Fla.): $21,000 to create educational DVDs about
        Everglades and Wakodahatchee wetlands bird groups for the school's
        mobile marine science lab program and related field trips.

     -- The Nature Conservancy: $40,000 to conduct inventory and ecological
        assessment of estuaries, salt-marsh wetlands, and coastal marine
        habitats, and prioritize areas for conservation in southeast Alaska;
        and $40,000 for communicating the results of their Florida Reef
        Resilience Program to South Florida and Caribbean reef management,
        science and user communities.

     -- The Nature Conservancy of Canada (British Columbia region, Canada):
        $40,000 to create an atlas of ecological values and human uses of
        marine areas of British Columbia.

     -- New England Aquarium (Boston, Mass.): $29,000 to support the annual
        meeting of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium; research in
        Canada's Bay of Fundy, and Web hosting for the North Atlantic Right
        Whale Catalog.

     -- Seattle Aquarium (Seattle, Wash.): $50,000 to update its long-term
        Sixgill Shark Population Ecology project with the latest research, and
        update the exhibit video.

     -- Shake-A-Leg Foundation (Miami, Fla.): $50,000 for continued support
        for the eco-island project to provide educational, recreational, and
        island restoration activities for students with disabilities and at-
        risk youth.

     -- University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
        (Miami, Fla.): $52,000 for continued support of the Royal Caribbean
        Fellowship Program to support two incoming graduate students.

     -- University of North Carolina (Wilmington, N.C.): $50,000 to buy
        equipment to support coral restoration research missions and surface-
        based science diving in coordination with the Aquarius undersea
        laboratory in Key Largo, Fla.

     -- University of Oregon (Eugene, Ore.): $50,000 for the Oregon Institute
        of Marine Biology, to expand and renovate its Marine Mammal Gallery at
        the new Charleston Marine Life Center.

     -- World Wildlife Fund (Washington, D.C.): - $50,000 for continued
        support of the Smart Gear initiative, to reduce the bycatch of
        endangered marine species by encouraging the development of
        innovative, practical and cost-effective fishing technologies.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Cruises and CDF Croisieres de France. The company has a combined total of 37 ships in service and seven under construction. It also offers unique land- tour vacations in Alaska, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin and South America and New Zealand. Additional information can be found on www.royalcaribbean.com, www.celebrity.com, www.pullmantur.es, www.azamaracruises.com, or www.rclinvestor.com.