More Cruise Lines Pledge Dorian Aid

Major cruise lines are pledging additional aid and supply deliveries to the Bahamas following the devastating passage of Hurricane Dorian

Carnival Cruise Line has announced that two ships departing from U.S. homeports next week will make stops in Freeport to distribute food, water and relief supplies. The stops will be part of Carnival Pride’s seven-day cruise from Baltimore departing September 8 and Carnival Liberty’s four-day cruise from Port Canaveral departing September 9. These efforts are in addition to supplies being transported to the Bahamas via the already announced agreement with Tropical Shipping and The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency to deliver items donated by residents of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, the cruise line said. A container ship with the first shipment of supplies departed for Freeport Thursday evening.

Additionally, Carnival Corporation’s philanthropic arm, Carnival Foundation, and its nine global cruise line brands together with the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, have pledged to donate $2 million in funding and in-kind support for hurricane relief efforts in The Bahamas. 

Carnival has also asked employees and guests to join the effort through online giving tools, and over the next few days, will ramp up a donation program at its U.S. homeports as guests board their cruises.  Organizations supported by these online efforts include Direct Relief and World Central Kitchen.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, has pledged a minimum commitment of $1 million toward immediate short-term relief for those affected by the storm as part of its Hope Starts Here campaign, which it launched in 2017 in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. NCLH will also match donations dollar-for-dollar to assist with rebuilding efforts. 

NCLH is also coordinating with local Bahamas authorities to bring provisions to affected areas. On September 5, Norwegian Breakaway departed Miami with relief supplies donated by the company and its employees, in addition to items collected by the City of Miami, Baptist Health South Florida, the 305 Gives Back foundation, and other Miami-based organizations, to be delivered to Nassau, Great Harbor Cay, the company’s private island Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.  

MSC Cruises has dispatched a delegation comprised of members of its U.S. senior management team, as well as the leadership of its philanthropic arm, the MSC Foundation, to Nassau to identify the most timely and urgent relief needs. In this initial phase, in addition to providing and delivering goods of primary necessity, the company's efforts will focus on semi-permanent prefabricated modular housing for the population of the areas most affected by the hurricane as well as making available geared ships for cargo relief service from the U.S. to the Freeport and Marsh Harbour, Abaco container terminals. 

As we’ve previously reported, Royal Caribbean is committing $1 million to rebuilding efforts in partnership with the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and the Bahamas Feeding Network. Guests interested in assisting can visit the cruise line’s hurricane relief page

Related Stories

Hurricane Dorian: Bahamas Hotel Updates

Hurricane Dorian: Cruise, Air Updates as Storm Heads for Carolinas

'I Feel Like Job': Hurricane Lays Waste to Homes in Bahamas

Travel Companies Pledge to Aid Dorian Relief