Nordic Empress Guests Flown To New York

Following a brief fire in the main engine room of Royal Caribbean International's Nordic Empress late Friday that necessitated the ship's return to Bermuda, nearly all of the ship's 1,564 guests were flown home via New York yesterday. A few guests chose to remain in Bermuda and continue their vacation on sister brand Celebrity Cruises' Horizon.

Nordic Empress returned to Bermuda late Saturday under its own power. The ship was 140 miles northwest of Bermuda when a fuel line ruptured between the ship's third and fourth main propulsion engines, causing the fire. The fire was quickly extinguished by the ship's sprinkler system. No one was injured in the incident.

Nordic Empress will move to King's Wharf in Bermuda today, where repairs will be made to the two engines that were damaged in the fire. Two cruises, the ship's June 17th and June 24th sailings, have now been canceled as a result of the damage.

The company estimates that this incident will have a financial impact of between $.03 and $.04 per share. A portion of this impact will be incurred in future quarters as cruise certificates are redeemed.