Carnival Cruises is Sending Aid Ships to the Bahamas Following Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian has been raging through the Bahamas for almost two weeks, devastating parts of the beautiful nation and leaving at least 44 dead and 70,000 homeless.

The Caribbean archipelago is one of the most beautiful islands and much-loved cruising destinations in the world, and taking a hiatus from bringing passengers to its shores, cruise lines are now jumping to bring aid and supplies to the devastated nation.

Continuing its ongoing efforts to provide support for the residents of the Bahamas, Caribbean favourite Carnival Cruises is delivering hurricane relief supplies to the nation, and has more relief journeys in the pipeline.

The first relief journey is part of Carnival Pride‘s seven-day cruise from Baltimore, having departed yesterday (8 September), and the second departs today (9 September), as part of Carnival Liberty‘s four-day cruise from Port Canaveral.

The line has asked employees and guests to join the effort through online giving tools, and has also ramped up its donation programme on its cruises.

On top of Carnival Pride and Liberty‘s stops, the Carnival Corporation’s charity arm, Carnival Foundation, along with its nine global cruise brands has pledged to donate $2 million in funding for hurricane relief efforts.

“The Bahamian people are resilient with an unwavering spirit and Carnival and its employees are fully committed to helping residents rebuild and recover in the aftermath of the storm,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

“The devastation of the Bahamas is truly tragic and heartbreaking and we are keeping them in our thoughts as we continue to offer our support and assistance.”

Joining Carnival, the MSC Group (which MSC Cruises is part) has also joined in the relief effort, sending a delegation of its US senior management team and philanthropic arm, the MSC Foundation, to the Bahamian capital of Nassau.

Along with delivering goods, MSC is also working towards building semi-permanent housing for the population of areas most devastated by the hurricane.

Consistently sailing the Caribbean’s stunning waters, and stopping at the Bahamas, Royal Caribbean has also donated $1 million to the Dorian disaster relief fund, which has supplies delivered to the area.

While parts of the Bahamas have been devastated by Dorian, others have not, and Carnival has resumed regular calls to the Bahamas, with the line making 41 ports-of-call stops in September.

Bahamian officials have stressed that many parts of the archipelago are still open for business, and looking forward to welcoming cruise guests this month.

To donate to the hurricane Dorian relief effort, head to globalgiving.org.

Hurricane Dorian image credit: Coast Guard News, flickr.com