MIAMI, Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL;NYSE: CUK) today announced its relief effort collected an estimated 10 million pounds of food and supplies for The Bahamas. In partnership with Tropical Shipping, the program began Sept. 4, three days after Hurricane Dorian struck the northwestern part of The Bahamas, and generated an outpouring of generous donations that has filled over 250 shipping containers. Most of the containers were delivered directly to the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) over the past three weeks, providing immediate relief to residents impacted by the storm. In close coordination with NEMA, the remaining containers are in process of being delivered as soon as possible for distribution.
"We are so appreciative of all the individuals and organizations that moved with such a sense of urgency and heartfelt concern to collect and drop off a remarkable volume of donations in a very short amount of time, all of which were delivered when needed most in the immediate aftermath of the storm," said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation. "It is truly inspiring to see so many people and organizations come together to help others in a time of need. We extend our deepest appreciation to everyone involved with the program. The donations have made and are making a big difference for our neighbors in The Bahamas."
The success of the program, which concluded Sept. 27, was driven by donations from countless individuals and organizations throughout South Florida and North America, with collection sites across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Carnival Corporation continues to provide support to The Bahamas in a number of ways. Last week, the company signed agreements to develop a new cruise port primarily for Carnival Cruise Line on Grand Bahama, and construct a new addition, including a pier, on the Bahamian island of Little San Salvador, home to Holland America Line's Half Moon Cay port. The Grand Bahama project will represent an investment of over $100 million, and the development on Little San Salvador will be an estimated $80 million investment over time.
On Sept. 12, Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS), owned in part by Carnival Corporation, announced it officially resumed operations and welcomed back its first commercial vessel, the Agathonissos, owned by Greece-based Eletson, for repair work. The shipyard, located in Freeport, Grand Bahama, remains on track for the next planned cruise ship visit, Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Ecstasy, scheduled to arrive on October 5. In total, Grand Bahama Shipyard expects to service 29 dry-dockings throughout the remainder of the year, helping support recovery efforts through the ongoing work of its more than 600 employees and the additional economic activity generated for the surrounding area of Grand Bahama. Last week the shipyard dry-docked its first ship since reopening following the storm, which is a significant step toward returning to normal operations.
Through the end of the year, Carnival Corporation brands will visit Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays. The three destinations received little impact from Hurricane Dorian, and the return to regular sailings is an important step in national recovery efforts in support of the country's tourism industry and its vital economic impact on local businesses and people. In total, six of the company's nine global brands plan to call on The Bahamas in the 2019-2020 cruise season.
The company's cruise line brands are conducting donation drives through Direct Relief and World Central Kitchen. To date, Carnival Cruise Line guests and employees have donated more than $500,000 to the two organizations supporting Bahamas relief efforts. Two Carnival Cruise Line ships – Carnival Liberty and Carnival Pride – visited Freeport the week of Sept. 13 to deliver relief supplies, including dozens of pallets of water, generators, chain saws and more.
Carnival Corporation and its philanthropic arm, Carnival Foundation, are among those providing support to Chef Jose Andres's World Central Kitchen, which is serving more than 25,000 meals per day to people throughout The Bahamas. As of September 24, the charity has provided over 500,000 meals throughout the Bahamas. To support World Central Kitchen's efforts, donate here.
Separately, in coordination with the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation, $2 million has been pledged in funding and in-kind support for the relief efforts.
Companies and individuals looking to get involved with the ongoing relief efforts are encouraged to visit https://www.bahamas.com/relief for information on ways to provide support.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 102 ships with 241,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 19 new ships scheduled to be delivered through 2025. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
With a long history of innovation and providing guests with extraordinary vacation experiences, Carnival Corporation has received thousands of industry awards – including recognition by the Consumer Technology Association™ as a CES® 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for the OceanMedallion™. A revolutionary wearable device that contains a proprietary blend of communication technologies, the OceanMedallion enables the world's first interactive guest experience platform transforming vacation travel on a large scale into a highly personalized level of customized service. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation Media Contacts: Roger Frizzell, Carnival Corporation, rfrizzell@carnival.com, (305) 406-7862; Mike Flanagan, LDWW, mike@ldwwgroup.com, (727) 452-4538
