General

Description of Business

Carnival Corporation is incorporated in Panama and Carnival plc is incorporated in England and Wales. Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc operate a dual listed company (“DLC”), whereby the businesses of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc are combined through a number of contracts and through provisions in Carnival Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws and Carnival plc’s Articles of Association. The two companies operate as if they are a single economic enterprise, but each has retained its separate legal identity. Each company’s shares are publicly traded; on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) for Carnival Corporation and the London Stock Exchange for Carnival plc. In addition, Carnival plc American Depository Shares are traded on the NYSE (see Note 3).

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Carnival Corporation and Carnival plc and their respective subsidiaries. Together with their consolidated subsidiaries, they are referred to collectively in these consolidated financial statements and elsewhere in this 2014 Annual Report as “Carnival Corporation & plc,” “our,” “us” and “we.”

We are the largest cruise company and among the largest leisure travel companies in the world. Each of our nine leading global, regional and national brands is an operating segment that we aggregate into either the (1) North America or (2) Europe, Australia & Asia (“EAA”) reportable cruise segments (see Note 11). As of January 22, 2015, our cruise brands’ summary information is as follows:



Cruise Brands	Passenger Capacity (a)	Percentage of Total Capacity		Number of Cruise Ships
North America
Carnival Cruise Line	62,366	29	%	24
Princess Cruises (“Princess”)	44,090	21		18
Holland America Line	23,540	11		15
Seabourn	1,782	1		5
North America Cruise Brands	131,778	62		62
EAA
Costa Cruises (“Costa”)	35,828	17		15
AIDA Cruises (“AIDA”)	18,656	9		10
P&O Cruises (UK)	14,736	7		7
Cunard	6,694	3		3
P&O Cruises (Australia)	4,804	2		3
EAA Cruise Brands	80,718	38		38
	212,496	100	%	100


(a)	In accordance with cruise industry practice, passenger capacity is calculated based on the assumption of two passengers per cabin even though some cabins can accommodate three or more passengers.