Daniel J. Hanrahan

Dear Guests:

Many of you have expressed interest in the status of our cruises visiting Labadee, Haiti, in the wake of the catastrophe that has befallen the country. Like all of you, Celebrity Cruises and our parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCCL), have been shocked and saddened by the tragedy. And, like you, we have been exploring, and continue to explore, what we can do to help Haiti, a nation that has been RCCL's tourism partner for almost 30 years.

Some have raised the question of whether we should continue to visit Labadee, given the catastrophic situation and suffering in Port-au-Prince and surrounding communities. We agonized over that ourselves. But what may not be widely known is, on the days immediately following the earthquake, the Haitian government implored us to continue to visit. As part of a corporation with more than 30 years of continued support to Haiti, we could not leave a country so in need of immediate relief assistance and longer-term recovery.

Leslie Voltaire, Special Envoy of the government of Haiti to the United Nations, has stated that, "Given the terrible economic and social challenges we now face in Haiti, we welcome the continuation of the positive economic benefits that cruise ship calls to Labadee contribute to our country." That same plea came from all levels: from government officials to taxi drivers to UN representatives.

So, our first objectives were relatively straightforward. Our corporation could and did provide immediate, tangible assistance by transporting bottled water, food and medical supplies on our ships, beginning with Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas. As of January 22, with the visit of Celebrity Solstice, we had delivered more than 120 pallets of material – the equivalent of five semi-truckloads – to the stricken country. And more is continuously on its way in the holds of both Celebrity and Royal ships.

We are donating all proceeds from our guests' shore experiences in Labadee and are funding several agencies specializing in emergency assistance, such as Food For The Poor, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and our own Solano Foundation. Corporately, we initially committed $1 million to the effort. That number already has risen to almost $2 million. And we know it will be more, as we learn more about what needs to be done and where we can best contribute. This will not be a rapid recovery, and we need to be able to evolve our support as the longer-term needs change.

In addition to working with Food For The Poor to distribute relief supplies, we are informing our guests on every Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and Royal Caribbean International ship that, if they wish, they can make a donation to Food For The Poor's Haiti Relief Fund through a charge on their shipboard account.

We are fully devoted to continuing to work with the Haitian people to be part of the solution. Our company’s operation in Labadee is one of the few economic engines they have left. We must continue to fuel it.

On behalf of our entire corporation, thank you for your shared interest and support at a time when it is so desperately needed.

Sincerely,


Dan Hanrahan
President & CEO
Celebrity Cruises