<div id="storycontent"><p>Following in the footsteps of <a href="http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/gen/Carnival_Corp_A89A4C5BB3D04EDF87C988A15D17EF1B.html"><strong><font color="#000000">Carnival Corp.</font></strong></a>, <a href="http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/gen/Royal_Caribbean%20Cruises%20Ltd_FA3F4B9A65DA40DB88C11D01288B0D97.html"><strong><font color="#000000">Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.</font></strong></a> said it will discontinue its common stock dividend.</p><p>&quot;We recognize our dividend is important to many of our shareholders,&quot; Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain said. &quot;However, the best way to reward all of our shareholders is to continue to position the company for future earnings growth and enhance our liquidity during this period of heightened economic and financial market volatility.&quot;</p><p>The Miami-based cruise company (NYSE: RCL) said in a news release that it has been taking aggressive steps in the past few months to improve profitability and liquidity, which are estimated to save about $125 million a year.</p><p>Discontinuing the dividend &ldquo;is a natural corollary to these ongoing efforts,&rdquo; the company noted.</p><p>Earlier this month, Carnival announced it was suspending its dividend during 2009.</p><p>Royal Caribbean shares closed Tuesday at $9.50. The 52-week high was $43.96 on Dec. 11. The 52-week low was $9.41 on Tuesday.</p></div>