The world’s largest cruise operator Carnival Corporation has announced a series of community projects supporting children, education and emergency preparedness in the Caribbean.
Carnival Corporation and several of its brands have partnered with community projects that are having a lasting impact in their local areas.
Brands AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises have been working with local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including UNICEF and United Way of Miami-Dade and of Puerto Rico.
The islands include the Caribbean destinations of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Puerto Rico, St Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.
The community improvement projects have benefitted from a significant donation from Carnival Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Carnival Corporation, along with the company’s brands, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund, and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Foundation to provide up to $10 million in funding and in-kind support.
Carnival’s eight brands sail regularly to the eight Caribbean destinations with 49 ships scheduled to make over 1,000 calls to 13 ports, totalling an estimated 2.9 million passenger movements expected for full-year 2018.
Overall in the Caribbean, Carnival Corporation and its brands are expected to make over 5,000 port calls across the entire region in 2018, visiting 58 ports in 28 different countries and territories.
Marie McKenzie, vice president of global ports and Caribbean government relations, said: “We met with local leaders to determine specific ways we could be most helpful, and we saw common themes emerge – support was needed for children, education and future emergency preparedness.
“We collaborated with several of our leading cruise brands that have a significant presence in the Caribbean to develop programs that would address common areas of need.”
“Carnival Corporation has been a key partner to the United States Virgin Islands for the past 30 years,” said Beverly Nicholson-Doty, commissioner of tourism for the United States Virgin Islands.
“In the aftermath of the hurricanes of 2017, the Carnival team provided critical guidance on what was required for the return of cruise visits. Several executives have visited the Territory since partnering with the Department of Tourism on our Purpose in Paradise voluntourism projects.
“Carnival Corporation brands – Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line – have committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund children’s programs such as the Children’s Museum, the Little Libraries program, and the building of a playground (Carnival Fun Park) at Emile Griffith Park.
“The corporation also has donated supplies and equipment for the Charlotte Amalie High School Gymnasium. Each community project is extremely important to our destination; however, the most important investment is the return of regular cruise calls, which make a significant impact on the economy of our islands.”