CarnivalCorp & plc will restore faith of consumers in its Costa Crociere brand,whose Costa Concordia was lost in a grounding off the Italian coast on 13January in which more than 20 people died and whose Costa Allegra suffered anengine room fire about a month later, although nobody was hurt in thisincident, says Chairman and CEO Micky Arison.

“Wehave every confidence that we will restore consumer faith in the Costabrand and the excellent reputation Costa's management team has built for theorganization which has a deep-rooted Italian heritage spanning more than 60 years,”Arison said in a statement.

CarnivalCorporation & plc expects to carry nearly 10 million guests on itsglobal fleet this year and the long-term fundamentals of our business remainstrong as consumers continue to place tremendous importance on quality andvalue when making vacation decisions, he stated.