Australia is being ravaged by the worst wildfires in decades. State and Federal authorities are struggling to contain the massive blazes, with the help of US, Canada and New Zealand firefighters who have flown in to assist fatigued crews.
The bushfire crisis has been ongoing in Australia since September. Heartbreaking images of the catastrophic bushfires that are devastating Australia have shocked the world. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, and more than 1 billion animals are feared to have tragically perished.
Despite the heartache, humanity is shining through.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Cruise Lines are committed to supporting Australian communities affected by the record bushfires, pledging nearly $2AUD million toward relief and recovery efforts throughout the region.
A number of cruise lines have pledged support including the donation of funds for bushfire recovery efforts. They have opened their hearts and wallets to help Australia’s bushfire victims with donation pledges and fundraising efforts from their guests and crews.
The world’s largest leisure travel company, Carnival Corporation & plc announced that the corporation’s philanthropic arm, Carnival Foundation, and five of its global cruise line brands together with the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation have collectively pledged over $1.25US million to support disaster recovery efforts from raging bushfires causing widespread devastation throughout Australia.
The pledge includes $1US million from the family foundation of Carnival Corporation’s Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine, in addition to $250,000US ($350,000AUD) from Carnival Foundation and five of the company’s brands – P&O Cruises (Australia), Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises. All five brands have ships based year-round in Australia or homeport seasonally in the country.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, committed $250,000AUD to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund to support emergency relief efforts for communities devastated by bushfires in the region.
Cruise & Maritime Voyages offered its assistance with evacuations on Kangaroo Island (a refuge for some of the country’s unique and endangered wildlife) after the South Australian County Fire Service advised that two-thirds of the island was operating with the highest level of warning in place.
The cruise industry has a history of stepping in to support disaster relief efforts and multiple organizations are accepting donations for anyone interested in supporting those efforts.
This post was written by Shannon Mckee, founder of Access Cruise Inc. Access Cruise Inc is a Miami based cruise marketing and sales consulting group, specializing in product and business development within the cruise industry.