Bickering rages on between Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise companies over P&O Princess Cruises

Miami._ Cruise company Carnival has warned travel agents to oppose actions conducted by rival firm Royal Caribbean through a lobbying group aimed at blocking its bid to purchase British tourist vessel line P&O Princess Cruises.

Last June, U.K. arbitrators passed a $3.7 billion plan to merge Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess, while a $5.3 billion bid made by Carnival –eventually turned down by the European Commission- was being assessed in the United States.

In a letter sent by Carnival to travel agents, the company underlines “Royal Caribbean’s efforts to sabotage Carnival Corp.’s bid to buy P&O Princess” through the hiring of lobbying group FM Strategic Communications.

Carnival’s missive also blasts a memo faxed out by Royal Caribbean for being “unethical and desperate attacks on the part of Royal Caribbean Cruises against Carnival Corp., laid out to undermine our bid with arbitrators both in the U.S. and Europe.”

Royal Caribbean continues to stand up for its efforts to make travel agents file complaints before the Federal Trade Commission over the approval of Carnival’s bid.