Carnival Cruise Line will carry out 41 calls to Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays in the Bahamas this month – days after Hurricane Dorian hit the archipelago.
Norwegian Cruise Line also aims to resume calls to the Bahamas and its Great Stirrup Cay provate island later this week after doubling its commitment to relief efforts to $2 million.
The cay (pictured) experienced “minimal” beach erosion and has already been restored with extra sand.
The hurricane battered the Bahamas last week, leading to the deaths of at least 43 people.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to advise against all travel to Grand Bahama and the Abaco islands.
Carnival has asked employees and passengers to join the relief effort through online fundraising sites and over the weekend it began taking passenger donations at its homeports in the US.
President Christine Duffy said the line’s support would continue for the foreseeable future.
She said: “Thank you to all who have joined us to support our friends in the Bahamas with donations.
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“Our work to assist and support continues. And as our ships and our guests return to Bahamian ports of call, our visits will make sure that our guests experience the beauty of the Bahamas and that the economy moves forward and jobs will be supported.”
The cruise line’s parent company Carnival Corporation has pledged $1 million to the relief effort, which corporation chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine have matched.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president and CEO Frank Del Rio said: “We understand that tourism represents a significant portion of the Bahamas’ annual GDP and we are actively involved in helping our neighbours get back n their feet by returning to the islands and providing them with the supplies necessary to rebuild along with needed economic support that tourism brings.
“The response to our Hope Starts Here hurricane relief campaign has been so overwhelming, we have increased our total commitment to $2 million.
“We encourage our guests to join us by continuing to support and visit this beautiful destination.”
Erik Dyson, CEO of the All Hands and Hearts non-profit organisation, added: “It is becoming ever more evident that the scale of Hurricane Dorian’s devastation on the Bahamas is unprecedented.
“As such, Norwegian’s generous commitment of $2 million is critical to support our efforts to come early and stay late to help those in need.”