BELLEVUE, Wash. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expedia, Inc., the world's leading online travel company, today announced an investment in and long-term strategic partnership with CruiseShipCenters International, Inc. Through this partnership, Expedia(R) will broaden its exposure to offline distribution channels, and CruiseShipCenters' 100 retail franchise locations and more than 1,500 independent cruise consultants will benefit in the future from the Expedia inventory of non-cruise travel options for customers.

"Cruise is the fastest-growing segment of vacation travel, and we believe that the high touch model that CruiseShipCenters has successfully built is vital to the future of the cruise industry," said Mark Kammerer, General Manager of Cruise, Expedia North America. "This investment by Expedia acknowledges CruiseShipCenters' long-standing leadership in the cruise market."

CruiseShipCenters has built a solid reputation as a market leader in North America's cruise vacation industry, booking more than 20 percent of all cruises sold in Canada, and delivering an average revenue growth rate of 30 percent per year for more than a decade.

"This alliance greatly enhances the opportunities for our franchise partners and consultants to serve travelers," said Michael Drever, President and CEO of CruiseShipCenters International. "We're excited about the opportunity to leverage Expedia's expertise and inventory access as we grow the CruiseShipCenters brand in Canada and the US."

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book, and experience travel. Expedia, Inc. also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents. Expedia, Inc.'s portfolio of brands includes: Expedia.com(R), hotels.com(R), Hotwire(R), Expedia(R) Corporate Travel, TripAdvisor(R) and Classic Vacations(R). Expedia, Inc.'s companies also operate internationally with sites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Japan and China, through its investment in eLong(TM). For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/.

About CruiseShipCenters

Established in 1987, CruiseShipCenters International Inc. is one of North America's leading cruise vacation specialists. The company delivers outstanding customer service and value through its network of 100 retail locations, a team of 1,500 professionally-trained cruise consultants, and a searchable online database of more than 10,000 cruise vacations. CruiseShipCenters is a founding partner in The Magic Johnson Travel Group, the first minority focused, home-based travel agent initiative. In 2006, the company was the winner of the Canadian Franchise Association's Award of Excellence which recognizes the top franchise system in the country. For more information, please visit http://www.cruiseshipcenters.ca/.

Expedia, Expedia.com are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Classic Vacations is either a registered trademark or trademark of Classic Vacations, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. hotels.com is either a registered trademark or trademark of hotels.com, L.P., a subsidiary of hotels.com in the U.S. and/or other countries. Hotwire is either a registered trademark or trademark of Hotwire, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. TripAdvisor is either a registered trademark or trademark of TripAdvisor, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

(C) 2007 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-40

CONTACT: Katie Deines of Expedia, Inc., +1-425-679-4317,
press@expedia.com; or Gwen Hardy, +1-604-484-3279, gwen_hardy@grey.net, for
CruiseShipCenters International, Inc.

Web site: http://www.cruiseshipcenters.ca/

Web site: http://www.expediainc.com/