A totally authentic Grand Prix car racing simulator has been installed today on board Costa Cruises� new flagship Costa Concordia, which is currently in the final stages of fitting-out at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Ponente (Genoa).

Weighing in at 112,000 gross tonnage and with total guest capacity of 3780, the Costa Concordia will be the largest cruise ship flying the Italian flag. The Grand Prix simulator, the first of its kind on a cruise liner, will offer Costa Concordia�s guests the thrills and spills of Grand Prix racing on the high seas, bringing them the most accurate representation of Grand Prix driving ever. Located on one of the highest decks of the Costa Concordia, 50 metres above the sea, this jewel from the Costa Racing Stable is the result of advanced real-time vehicle modeling, the same technology used by the Grand Prix champion drivers themselves in training. The simulator creates the sense of driving a Grand Prix car as never before, allowing guests to feel every bump and experience the adrenaline of virtual speeds of almost 350 km/h. There are three levels of difficulty to choose from and guests will also be able to record their performance and compete in a virtual Grand Prix as they race against the clock.

The Grand Prix car driving simulator will be one of the main features of the new flagship, Costa Concordia. Official delivery of the vessel to Costa Cruises is scheduled for 30th June this year at the Fincantieri shipyards in Sestri Ponente (Genoa), the same yard where she was built. Her christening ceremony will be held in the Port of Rome (Civitavecchia) on July 7, 2006.

Other exclusive facilities on board the Costa Concordia include the Samsara Spa, the largest wellness centre ever built on a cruise ship (over 2100 m2), and the central pool area with a retractable glass roof, arranged over two decks and fitted with a giant 18 m2 movie screen. - Ends -

ABOUT COSTA CRUISES Costa Cruises is an Italian cruise company and the market leader in Europe and South America. Costa Cruises operates two distinct brands, AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises, which have a total of 14 ships in service and 6 under construction. All of the vessels fly the Italian flag and are deployed in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, the United Arab Emirates and the Far East. Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2001), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 1996), safety (OHSAS 18001, 1999) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2000). Costa Cruises is also an official partner of the WWF for the protection of the marine eco regions of the Mediterranean, the Greater Antilles and Brazil. Costa Cruises is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world�s largest cruise operator

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