Wondering why CCL hasn't helped in the rescue effort.

I know RCL has been very active in rescuing people from the US Virgin Islands and I believe NCL has also been participating.

I just wonder why I haven't heard a thing about Carnival, with the most ships of any of the cruiselines, helping in the rescue efforts. I mean, they sure have made a boatload of money from these islands. Shouldn't they be taking part in rescue and recovery efforts as a humane gesture?

I'm not a Carnival basher, have an 8-nt. cruise scheduled for March on the Vista. I'd just like to see them step up to the plate here.

Because the news only reports the negative things about Carnival. They are doing a lot. A simple Google search would bring up what you’re looking for. https://www.carnival.com/hurricane-relief?icid=icp_ccl_content_relief_0913_hm_h1

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.local10.com/weather/hurricane-irma/shrimp-boat-captain-stranded-during-irma-rescued-by-carnival-cruise-ship

It just happened that the only Carnival ships that were empty were positioned well north and east of the Caribbean to ride out Irma, while RCI and NCL had empty ships in the western Caribbean, so they were utilized first. When a Carnival ship returned to San Juan, they had cancelled the following cruise, so they were going to load supplies at that time. Just note, as I've said before on these threads asking about Carnival's contribution, that they don't just decide to up and go to the islands and say "Hi, were here to help, can we take some folks off the island, or land some food?". They offer their ships to the pertinent government authority, who then decides whether the ship will be useful in relief efforts, or whether it would be better to stay away. For example, St. Maarten's port is littered with sunken containers, and the dock is damaged, so even trying to get people off the island, or land food supplies becomes a major operation, and the military would decide whether a cruise ship could come in or not. As noted in the Carnival link, they dropped supplies off in St. Kitts to be taken to St. Maarten by small boat/landing craft which is far more suitable than trying to bring a huge ship into a fouled harbor.

Large cruise ship cannot maneuver in fouled ports but Carnival has transported supplies on their ships but remember Carnival is a private business and not a charity. As a stock holder in Carnival I want to ensure the value to my stock by protecting the ships and crew.

I am neither a basher nor a cheerleader. Carnival sells a product I value and makes some decisions I dislike.

Their response to this and previous emergencies has in my opinion been laudable in terms of passenger and crew safety, and short-term and long-term efforts to help the islands and their people.

I think all cruise lines that call on these ports have done and continue to do humanitarian missions to help and support those in need. Kudos to all of them.

The 3 major cruiselines are all doing plenty for these places; as well they should. If you were "wondering" what Carnival was doing, why not do some research first? There's alot they are doing. Not to mention as another poster said, the media is not exactly anxious to report positive things about Carnival. I saw one news outlet report one tiny blurb about supplies they were sending with one of Royal's ships as the headline pic.:rolleyes:

It just happened that the only Carnival ships that were empty were positioned well north and east of the Caribbean to ride out Irma, while RCI and NCL had empty ships in the western Caribbean, so they were utilized first. When a Carnival ship returned to San Juan, they had cancelled the following cruise, so they were going to load supplies at that time.

That's what I read too. They were able to do supply runs later, but they weren't in any position to get people, like some of the other lines were. They are all doing different things. It's extremely important for the lines to have ports to go to again, so I'm sure they want to do anything they can to help these islands.

Because the news only reports the negative things about Carnival. They are doing a lot. A simple Google search would bring up what you’re looking for. https://www.carnival.com/hurricane-relief?icid=icp_ccl_content_relief_0913_hm_h1

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.local10.com/weather/hurricane-irma/shrimp-boat-captain-stranded-during-irma-rescued-by-carnival-cruise-ship

Exactly. They have done a LOT that the lamestream media never talk about at all.

Just one article:

Carnival Corp. Chairman Micky Arison pledged an immediate donation of $2.5 million to relief charities from his family’s foundation, according to a news release.

In addition, the company’s philanthropic Carnival Foundation and the Miami Heat Charitable Fund (Arison owns the Miami basketball team) pledged to raise a combined $5 million for relief and recovery efforts after Hurricane Irma — and Arison’s family foundation will match that amount too. The company owns Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Costa and other lines.

Also, Carnival’s cruises over the next several weeks will be bringing much-needed items — water, food, clothing, toiletries and medical supplies — directly or indirectly to destinations wrecked by Irma, including Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, St. Martin, St. Thomas and Barbuda in the nation of Antigua and Barbuda.

I know RCL has been very active in rescuing people from the US Virgin Islands and I believe NCL has also been participating.

I just wonder why I haven't heard a thing about Carnival, with the most ships of any of the cruiselines, helping in the rescue efforts. I mean, they sure have made a boatload of money from these islands. Shouldn't they be taking part in rescue and recovery efforts as a humane gesture?

I'm not a Carnival basher, have an 8-nt. cruise scheduled for March on the Vista. I'd just like to see them step up to the plate here.

While others disagree with you, I do not. I completely understand and agree that Carnival is contributing after the fact, but IMO the reality of the situation is that while other cruise lines positioned themselves prior to the worst of the storms to be able to actually move in and rescue people as soon as it was safe to do so, Carnival delayed those decisions to maximize profit and then made decisions to contribute. Carnival delayed logistic decisions much longer, and then announced efforts to bring supplies after the fact. That decision IMO favored profit over rescue operations. I can't help but wonder how many people suffered as a result of Carnival's decision.

While I applaud Carnival's decision to contribute after the storms, I can't help but wonder how much human suffering could have been prevented if Carnival had made earlier decisions, like the other major cruise lines, to cancel cruises to position ships for rescue vs. recovery.

Just because not much is being reported by the main stream media, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Not everyone wants or needs publicity or a pat on the back.

While others disagree with you, I do not. I completely understand and agree that Carnival is contributing after the fact, but IMO the reality of the situation is that while other cruise lines positioned themselves prior to the worst of the storms to be able to actually move in and rescue people as soon as it was safe to do so, Carnival delayed those decisions to maximize profit and then made decisions to contribute. Carnival delayed logistic decisions much longer, and then announced efforts to bring supplies after the fact. That decision IMO favored profit over rescue operations. I can't help but wonder how many people suffered as a result of Carnival's decision.

 

While I applaud Carnival's decision to contribute after the storms, I can't help but wonder how much human suffering could have been prevented if Carnival had made earlier decisions, like the other major cruise lines, to cancel cruises to position ships for rescue vs. recovery.

lets say Carnival had 3 to 4 ships to rescued 12,000 people where would they have taken them? It's not like any of the island countries in the area has any place to house them. If I am not mistaken RCI only picked up stranded tourists.

I wish the OP put a little research into Carnival's hurricane relief efforts before starting this thread.

I do not think there's an intent to bash.

We shouldn't be concerned with whether one cruise line is doing more than another. Any assistance that any of them give is a beautiful thing, but disaster relief is not their primary mission. The thing is that most of these islands are territories of larger nations and the question is, what are these countries doing for their own territories? It can't be placed at the feet of the cruise industry to support and rebuild these islands.

We shouldn't be concerned with whether one cruise line is doing more than another. Any assistance that any of them give is a beautiful thing, but disaster relief is not their primary mission. The thing is that most of these islands are territories of larger nations and the question is, what are these countries doing for their own territories? It can't be placed at the feet of the cruise industry to support and rebuild these islands.

100% correct. Like I said, all of them are doing plenty, which is great. It's not a competition. And whether they help on the front end is not important in my opinion. There's usually lots of help in the beginning. It's weeks and months later when the media stops reporting that the help is often lacking. The larger governments attached to these places are the ones who should be there for their people and the land from start to finish.

I know RCL has been very active in rescuing people from the US Virgin Islands and I believe NCL has also been participating.

I just wonder why I haven't heard a thing about Carnival, with the most ships of any of the cruiselines, helping in the rescue efforts. I mean, they sure have made a boatload of money from these islands. Shouldn't they be taking part in rescue and recovery efforts as a humane gesture?

I'm not a Carnival basher, have an 8-nt. cruise scheduled for March on the Vista. I'd just like to see them step up to the plate here.

And how have you stepped up to the plate?

While others disagree with you, I do not. I completely understand and agree that Carnival is contributing after the fact, but IMO the reality of the situation is that while other cruise lines positioned themselves prior to the worst of the storms to be able to actually move in and rescue people as soon as it was safe to do so, Carnival delayed those decisions to maximize profit and then made decisions to contribute. Carnival delayed logistic decisions much longer, and then announced efforts to bring supplies after the fact. That decision IMO favored profit over rescue operations. I can't help but wonder how many people suffered as a result of Carnival's decision.

 

While I applaud Carnival's decision to contribute after the storms, I can't help but wonder how much human suffering could have been prevented if Carnival had made earlier decisions, like the other major cruise lines, to cancel cruises to position ships for rescue vs. recovery.

Better to ask where the French, British and Dutch governments were for their respective islands.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-ready-to-respond-to-hurricane-maria

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This is like the tortoise and the hare. The fastest off the line is not always the "winner". There will be "needs" for months and months to come. Carnival will be there when the islands are ready for their influx of cash in the form of port fees and cruiser's spending.

If you haven't been through a hurricane you have no idea how long the "recovery" takes. A small South Carolina town during Hurricane Matthew was entirely flooded. It will be a year in October and there are only 4 local businesses reopened. Street after street are empty - nobody has been able to restore their homes. Thousands of us are still paying off loans taken to repair our home's storm damage. The needs of these islands will be there for a long time.

While others disagree with you, I do not. I completely understand and agree that Carnival is contributing after the fact, but IMO the reality of the situation is that while other cruise lines positioned themselves prior to the worst of the storms to be able to actually move in and rescue people as soon as it was safe to do so, Carnival delayed those decisions to maximize profit and then made decisions to contribute. Carnival delayed logistic decisions much longer, and then announced efforts to bring supplies after the fact. That decision IMO favored profit over rescue operations. I can't help but wonder how many people suffered as a result of Carnival's decision.

 

While I applaud Carnival's decision to contribute after the storms, I can't help but wonder how much human suffering could have been prevented if Carnival had made earlier decisions, like the other major cruise lines, to cancel cruises to position ships for rescue vs. recovery.

If you really believe that RCI and NCL cancelled their cruises and positioned their ships with an anticipated rescue or relief operation in mind, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. It all had to do with where the ships were home ported, what day the turn-around was, and what the planned itinerary was, that decided when cruises were cancelled, and what direction the ships headed to avoid the storm.

As others have noted, this was not an evacuation by any of the cruise lines, they took no nationals from the affected islands, only taking foreign nationals who wanted to leave. Also, as I've noted, it depends on what the island government wants in the way of aid, rather than having two or three cruise ships steaming around a harbor that was fouled, "trying to help" and getting in the way. The only fault I see with Carnival was to keep a low PR profile about this, but personally I think this is admirable, rather than thumping your chest about how much you are doing.

As another poster mentioned, the real question is where are the Dutch and French--and maybe even the British. I know the British have been more visible, but have not done as much as they could IMHO. Maybe it is time for these European countries to let these islands go, as it is pretty obvious the Europeans are fair weather friends to them. Literally. Something isn't right when the Americans and primarily American companies are doing more for a French island than the French are.

Large cruise ship cannot maneuver in fouled ports but Carnival has transported supplies on their ships but remember Carnival is a private business and not a charity. As a stock holder in Carnival I want to ensure the value to my stock by protecting the ships and crew.

Great post

I know RCL has been very active in rescuing people from the US Virgin Islands and I believe NCL has also been participating.

I just wonder why I haven't heard a thing about Carnival, with the most ships of any of the cruiselines, helping in the rescue efforts. I mean, they sure have made a boatload of money from these islands. Shouldn't they be taking part in rescue and recovery efforts as a humane gesture?

I'm not a Carnival basher, have an 8-nt. cruise scheduled for March on the Vista. I'd just like to see them step up to the plate here.

I have to ask.....what have you done? I have not heard a thing about Flahagan's efforts to help out.

I think any type of contributions businesses and individuals can make goes a long way to help people. I donated money to three fine organizations in Texas and Florida. Wal-Mart (and others) are matching donations made by customers. If we all contribute just a little, it would help so many.

While others disagree with you, I do not. I completely understand and agree that Carnival is contributing after the fact, but IMO the reality of the situation is that while other cruise lines positioned themselves prior to the worst of the storms to be able to actually move in and rescue people as soon as it was safe to do so, Carnival delayed those decisions to maximize profit and then made decisions to contribute. Carnival delayed logistic decisions much longer, and then announced efforts to bring supplies after the fact. That decision IMO favored profit over rescue operations. I can't help but wonder how many people suffered as a result of Carnival's decision.

 

While I applaud Carnival's decision to contribute after the storms, I can't help but wonder how much human suffering could have been prevented if Carnival had made earlier decisions, like the other major cruise lines, to cancel cruises to position ships for rescue vs. recovery.

So, you were in on the meetings on the planning of where to position the ships, right?

Because that is how you know what they did was to maximize profits.

Just saying...