Bahamas Paradise Steps Up in Freeport; Runs Evacuation, Delivers Supplies

The Grand Celebration from Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line returned to Palm Beach on Saturday morning with more than 1,100 evacuated Bahamian and American residents aboard.

The cruise line spent nearly a full day on Friday clearing potential evacuees, including vetting their visa and passport documentation, as well as landing key supplies.

The ship sailed from Palm Beach on Thursday evening on a humanitarian mission, with 300 first responders and volunteers aboard, as well as 200 Bahamian residents who were stranded in South Florida during Hurricane Dorian.

"Doctors were leaving work to join the ship," said Oneil Khosa, CEO of Bahamas Paradise. "After making the announcement earlier in the week that we were going, we had 300 tons of supplies donated within hours."

Prior to docking in Freeport, the crew had prepared 850 boxed lunches and delivered them to local shelters.

The ship was also loaded with 150 palettes, totalling more than 225,000 pounds of supplies, including water, food, personal hygiene products, medical equipment, generators and more. Four of these palettes were exclusively dog food, according to a press release. 

"Everything is pro bono," Khosa told Cruise Industry News. "We opened up the ship going there and going back."

100 additional Bahamian bins were also transported, sent from family members in South Florida and delivered directly to Grand Bahama Island residents who picked them up in Freeport.

In addition to delivering supplies, medical personnel onboard also delivered a baby when visiting a local facility in Freeport.

Carnival and Arison's Pledge $2 Million for Hurricane Relief

Carnival Corporation today announced that the 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 relief efforts in The Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, according to a press release. 

Carnival Foundation and the company's nine cruise line brands are pledging a total of $1 million in monetary and in-kind donations in support of immediate relief and recovery efforts in The Bahamas.

Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine are matching the corporation's commitment with a $1 million donation from the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation.

"We are fully committed to supporting the critical relief and recovery efforts already underway for The Bahamas, and we are working closely with officials and affected communities to identify the needs for support and assistance," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "Our company has always been closely tied to The Bahamas with a rich history spanning many years, so it's heartbreaking to see the impact of Hurricane Dorian, and our thoughts and prayers are with the people of The Bahamas. We have long admired the unyielding spirit of the Bahamian people and have no doubt they will overcome, rebuild and recover, and we look forward to supporting their efforts."

A portion of the combined pledge will immediately go to support efforts being managed by Direct Relief, an international humanitarian organization that provides critical medications and supplies during emergency situations. Direct Relief is currently assembling and delivering requested medical aid and additional emergency medical caches with first-aid supplies to the affected areas in The Bahamas.

In addition, Carnival Corporation and its brands are working together with local officials, community leaders and key relief and recovery organizations to identify the most timely and urgent relief needs and immediate allocations for additional funds and support.

Separately, the company today announced an effort to collect and deliver food and supplies donated in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties for the people of The Bahamas, through a partnership with Tropical Shipping and The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The effort, funded by Carnival Corporation and Tropical Shipping, will work in partnership with NEMA to provide immediate assistance to the people of the Bahamas where it is most needed.

Two More Cruises Cancelled Due to Hurricane

Two more cruises have been cancelled due to Hurricane Dorian, as the storm slowly moves toward Florida.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, which sails from Palm Beach to Freeport, announced its Sept. 5 sailing aboard the Grand Celebration has been cancelled, making it three cancelled voyages for the company due to the hurricane.

Royal Caribbean International confirmed the Mariner of the Seas' Sept. 2 sailing from Port Canaveral has been cancelled, after initially being delayed by two days. The ship was set to return to port from her August 30 sailing on Wednesday and is now expected back to port on Thursday, Sept. 5. Royal Caribbean is expected to issue another itinerary update midday Tuesday.

Cruise ship chartered for relief mission in St. Thomas

Grand Celebration.

Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line said its ship has been chartered to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to assist hurricane-recovery efforts in St. Thomas.

The Grand Celebration will head for the storm-stricken destination in the U.S. Virgin Islands with arrival anticipated on Sept. 23. The mission is expected to continue into the later part of December, with Grand Celebration resuming its two-day cruises to Freeport from the Port of Palm Beach on Dec. 23.

St. Thomas was devastated by Hurricane Irma and is in line for more hurricane-force winds from Hurricane Maria. While in St. Thomas, the ship will be used to house National Guard first responders.

"We will be reaching out to all of our guests and travel partners this week," said Bahamas Paradise CEO Oneil Khosa. "We feel badly about this 90-day disruption but believe the extensive needs of the St. Thomas people to be of greater importance at this time."

Guests who have already booked cruises during the next few months through travel partners should contact their agents about rebooking or refunds. Those who booked direct can call the customer service department at (800) 374-4363.

The Grand Celebration, originally the Carnival Celebration, has 750 cabins and space for up to 1,900 guests.

Coast Guard Medevacs Man From Carnival Cruise Ship

Coast Guard Medevacs Man From Carnival Cruise Ship

It was the Coast Guard to the rescue when a man suffered a stroke on a Carnival cruise ship off the coast of Palm Beach. (Source: Coast Guard)

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A 71-year-old man was medevaced from a cruise ship Saturday by the Coast Guard, approximately 22 miles east of Palm Beach.

The crew of the Carnival cruise ship Sensation, requested the medevac around 7pm and reported the man was suffering from symptoms of a stroke.

A Coast Guard flight surgeon was briefed on the situation and recommended the man be medevaced immediately.

A crew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Miami was launched to hoist the passenger. Once hoisted, the 71-year-old man was taken to Broward General Hospital.

His condition is unknown at this time.

Ship originally built for Carnival to replace damaged Bahamas Celebration

It's official: Florida's Port of Palm Beach will be getting a replacement ship for Bahamas Celebration, which was damaged after striking an object when sailing from Freeport Oct. 31.

Grand Celebration, built in 1987 as Celebration for Carnival Cruise Lines, is to begin operating as early as February for the newly named Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, the Port of Palm Beach confirmed Tuesday. The ship will depart every other day on two-night Bahamas round-trips and offer cruise and resort vacation packages of four to eight nights.

'This is a tremendous day for the Port of Palm Beach and Palm Beach County,' executive port director Manuel Almira said.

According to port chairman Edward Oppel, the agreement for a new multi-day cruise vessel will generate an average of nearly $3.9m of annual net revenue and significant spending for Palm Beach County.

The 47,000gt Grand Celebration can carry about 1,800 passengers, about the same as the ship it's replacing. Most recently Grand Celebration was named Costa Celebration and, previously under operation by Iberocruceros, Grand Celebration.

It recently underwent a €4.5m refurbishment. Carnival Corp. & plc management referred to the ship's sale during Friday's earnings call. CFO David Bernstein said the sale had a 0.3% impact on overall costs, on an available lower berth day basis, in the fourth quarter

Bahamas Celebration, which grounded on Halloween night outside Freeport with no injuries, had entered Grand Bahama Shipyard for repairs. The vessel was built in 1981 and previously sailed as Prinsesse Ragnhild for Color Line before undergoing a major conversion in 2009 to begin Bahamas cruises from Florida. At 36,000gt, it is smaller than Grand Celebration.

Grand Celebration has 10 public decks and 751 cabins, more than 60% with ocean views. There are 14 terrace suites. The pool deck has five pools and Jacuzzis. Other public areas include a spa and fitness center, five restaurants and a casino.

The Port of Palm Beach said the ship's 950-seat 'performance center' will stage big-name concerts.