The Tribune

By Cara Hunt

Tribune Staff Reporter

cbrennen@tribunemedia.net

Senior executives of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd arrived on Grand Bahama at the weekend to personally oversee the company’s relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian.

“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.

He was accompanied on the trip by international president and CEO Michael Bailey as well as volunteers from their Florida corporate offices.

In addition to meeting with Bahamian government officals, the executives joined the company’s 200-plus volunteers who were already on the ground distributing thousands of meals and supplies to residents left devastated by the category five storm.

The company has provided more than 20,000 daily meals in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Meals included sandwiches, proteins with rice and fruits and snacks.

While in The Bahamas, Mr Fain and Mr Bailey also discussed plans for building distribution centres and kitchens on Grand Bahama.

To date, the company has utilised its Empress of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Celebrity Equinox, Mariner of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas vessels to bring food and 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.

Royal Caribbean has also committed to donating $1m to Dorian disaster relief and matching every dollar of guest and employee donations.

Additionally, ITM, the company’s partner in the Holistica joint venture developing the Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport, is also donating an additional $100,000.

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 (PADF), and a network of Bahamian charities and other local organisations, including the Bahamas Feeding Network, the company stated.

Additionally, Royal Carribean worked with Bahamian officials to transport evacuees from Grand Bahama to Nassau.

Royal Caribbean employs more than 500 employees at Perfect Day at CocoCay and the Grand Bahama Shipyard.