Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., a partner to Direct Selling News and several direct selling companies, recently mobilized initial relief efforts for Grand Bahama Island, which was ravaged by Hurricane Dorian earlier this month.
Last week, more than 100 crewmembers from Royal Caribbean’s Empress of the Seas became the first to activate the company’s disaster relief operation to bring relief supplies and 20,000 daily meals to the Grand Bahama Island community. Crewmembers prepared sandwiches, proteins with rice and fruits and snacks. Over the succeeding days additional ships from the fleet—Symphony of the Seas, Celebrity Equinox and Mariner of the Seas—all repeated the process.
Along with Empress, the company is deploying container ships with much-needed supplies, including 47,000 bottles of water, 362 generators, 250 tarps, 25,000 square feet of plywood, 55,400 diapers and 7,500 pounds of pet food.
Dorian was a category 5 hurricane when it struck the Bahamas. Satellite data suggests that 76–100 per cent of buildings analyzed have been destroyed. Hubert Minnis, the prime minister of the Bahamas, has said the natural disaster will leave “generational devastation” as it will take years to rebuild and recover from the psychological toll of the destruction.
Royal Caribbean is committing $1 million to Dorian disaster relief and matching every dollar of guest and employee donations. To make sure those donations go where they can do the most good, they are collaborating with the Bahamian government and its non-profit partner, the Pan American Development Foundation, and a network of Bahamian charities and other local organizations, including the Bahamas Feeding Network.
“We can’t make every bad memory of Dorian go away. But we can start making things better—today,” said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
