UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant To Section 13 Or 15(d) of

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): June 29, 2006

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

 

Republic of Liberia

(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

1-11884

98-0081645

(Commission File Number)

(IRS Employer Identification No.)

1050 Caribbean Way, Miami, Florida

33132

   (Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 305-539-6000

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

o

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

 

 

 

o

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

 

 

 

o

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

 

 

 

o

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 


 

 

Section 7 – Regulation FD

 

Item 7.01  

Regulation FD Disclosure.

On June 29, 2006, Celebrity Cruises Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., issued a press release entitled “Favorable Verdict for Celebrity Cruises.” A copy of this press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this report. This information shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is not incorporated by reference into any filing of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., whether made before or after the filing of this report, regardless of any general incorporation language in the filing.

 

Section 9 – Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

 

(c)

Exhibits

 

Exhibit 99.1 – Press release entitled “Favorable Verdict for Celebrity Cruises” dated June 29, 2006 (furnished pursuant to Item 7.01).

 

 


 

 

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.

 

 

 

 

 

Date:

June 29, 2006

By:

/s/ BRADLEY H. STEIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name:

Bradley H. Stein

 

 

 

Title:

Vice President, Acting General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

Contact: Lynn Martenstein or Greg Johnson

(305) 539-6570 or (305) 539-6153

 

For Immediate Release

 

FAVORABLE VERDICT FOR CELEBRITY CRUISES

 

MIAMI – June 29, 2006 – Celebrity Cruises announced today that a federal court jury in New York has awarded Celebrity $193 million in a lawsuit against Essef Corp. Celebrity has remaining claims for interest and certain legal fees.

 

Celebrity filed suit against Essef Corp. for damages stemming from a 1994 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on Celebrity’s vessel Horizon. Celebrity claimed for out-of-pocket losses, lost profits, and loss of business enterprise value related to this incident.

 

Dan Hanrahan, President of Celebrity Cruises, stated: “This was a long awaited result for Celebrity Cruises. We feel vindicated by this verdict. In the cruise industry, the safety of our guests and employees is paramount.”

 

The verdict is subject to appeal and, due to the ongoing nature of the proceedings, the ultimate financial impact to Celebrity Cruises is undetermined at this time. Any gain from this verdict will only be recognized when the outcome is known with certainty.

 

Celebrity Cruises is a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL).

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, with a combined total of 29 ships in service and five under construction. The company also offers unique land-tour vacations in Alaska, Canada and Europe through its cruise-tour division. Additional information can be found on www.royalcaribbean.com, www.celebrity.com or www.rclinvestor.com.

 

 

 


 

 

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, vacation industry competition, including cruise vacation industry competition, changes in vacation industry capacity, including over capacity in the cruise vacation industry, the impact of tax laws and regulations affecting our business or our principal shareholders, the impact of changes in other laws and regulations affecting our business, the impact of pending or threatened litigation, the delivery of scheduled new ships, emergency ship repairs, negative incidents involving cruise ships including those involving the health and safety of passengers, reduced consumer demand for cruises as a result of any number of reasons, including geo-political and economic uncertainties, the unavailability of air service, armed conflict, terrorist attacks and the resulting concerns over safety and security aspects of traveling, the impact of the spread of contagious diseases, our ability to obtain financing on terms that are favorable or consistent with our expectations, changes in our stock price or principal shareholders, the impact of changes in operating and financing costs, including changes in foreign currency, interest rates, fuel, food, payroll, insurance and security costs, the implementation of regulations in the United States requiring United States citizens to obtain passports for travel to additional foreign destinations, weather, and other factors described in further detail in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The above examples are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In addition, certain financial measures in this news release constitute non-GAAP financial measures as defined by Regulation G. A reconciliation of these items can be found on our investor relations website at www.rclinvestor.com.