The Association for Rescue at Sea (AFRAS) recognized our Costa Cruises Captain, Pietro Sinisi, for saving the crew of a cargo ship which was on fire in the Aegean Sea. Captain Sinisi successfully completed the rescue operation by diverting the ship despite dense smoke coming from the cargo ship in adverse weather and sea conditions. The eleven-man crew was rescued with a tender boat sent by Costa Luminosa.

Carnival Corporation & plc was recognized for the second consecutive year by Forbes Magazine among America’s best employers. Carnival was also recognized among America’s best employer for diversity. Carnival Corporation & plc was ranked as the top overall cruise company on both lists. The list of companies can be viewed here.

In FY2018, Carnival Corporation & plc along with its cruise brands and charitable foundations started a partnership with Caribbean officials on sustainable, long-term projects to support community needs with a focus on youth, education, and emergency preparedness. Carnival Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Carnival Corporation & plc, along with the company’s brands, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund, and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family, committed to support Caribbean community projects with a $10 million pledge. This long-term commitment was carried over to FY2019 and included the realization of the following community projects:

Carnival Cruise Line Funds Revitalization of Play Facilities at Griffith Park: Our brand Carnival Cruise Line partnered with the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) to revitalize the playground and basketball court at Emile Griffith Park, a landmark community park on St. Thomas. The park suffered immense damage in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. As part of this collaborative partnership, Emile Griffith Park now has new playground surfacing, new equipment, a new gathering gazebo with picnic tables and benches, a resurfaced basketball court, and repainted walls and field dugouts.

Grand Turk Engagement: As part of our Grand Turk outreach program and in partnership with the Grand Turk Cruise Center, we hosted the faculty and students from the local H.J. Robinson High School in Grand Turk on board the Carnival Pride. We donated backpacks and school supplies to school children as well as laptops to students of the H.J. Robinson High School.

The health and growth of our business is inextricably linked to the vitality and sustainability of our communities, both in our home ports and in the destinations we visit around the world. Every year the world experiences a series of natural disasters and crises that impact the wellbeing of millions of people. As part of our global disaster relief commitment, we strive to make a difference in the affected areas by working with government officials, local and international relief organizations, and coordinating corporate and employee donations for emergencies such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. In 2019, Hurricane Dorian became the most intense Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record to strike The Bahamas and is regarded as the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. Carnival Corporation & plc, Carnival Corporation’s Chairman and his wife (Micky and Madeleine Arison), Carnival Foundation, and the Carnival brands collectively pledged $2 Million dollars for relief and rebuilding efforts.

Carnival Cruise Line reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, and announced that it will increase the pledge to a total of $33 million by 2024.

During Carnival’s seventh Day of Play that was held on the St. Jude campus in Memphis, Tennessee, Carnival announced an additional $15 million pledge to the hospital over the next five years after achieving its initial fundraising goal early. Since the partnership began in 2010, Carnival has raised more than $18 million in support of the lifesaving mission of St. Jude: Finding cures. Saving children.®

According to research by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the cruise industry generated $134 billion in global economic impact in 2017. This economic activity generated over 1 million jobs around the world, paying $45.6 billion in global wages in 2017. For additional details please refer to CLIA, 2019 Cruise Industry Outlook.

Continuing its longstanding support of military personnel, Carnival Cruise Line debuted the “Heroes Tribute Bar,” a first-of-its-kind venue on the new Carnival Panorama. The venue features a distinctive All-American décor with logos of the five branches of the armed services of the U.S. military as well as patriotic and military memorabilia throughout the room. The walls are lined with photos and messages around three main themes: Welcome Home, Thank You for Your Service, and America’s Heroes.

The Heroes Tribute Bar also benefits Carnival Cruise Line’s partner Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to building strong, stable, and secure military families. Specialty cocktails and beer will be offered and served in a custom pint glass with a portion of each sale benefiting Operation Homefront.

Our Carnival Cruise Line brand partnered with Clean the World and Soap Aid, both organizations recycle hotel soap and hotel amenities. Discarded soap from Carnival’s guest and crew staterooms are gathered throughout the fleet and sent to a Clean the World or Soap Aid recycling center where the soap is sanitized, melted down, and reprocessed. Together, Carnival Cruise Line and their soap recycling partners will distribute more than 400,000 recycled, clean bars of soap to people in need across the globe each year. Through its partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, Clean the World was able to expand its existing recycling program to locations throughout the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Bermuda, and Central America providing life-saving hygiene services to residents in these areas.

AIDA Cruises has united its charitable projects under the umbrella initiative AIDA Cruise & Help. Through various events and donations, AIDA has financed the construction of seven new schools. The first school opened in May 2019 in Cebu, Philippines in partnership with the Reiner Meutsch Foundation Fly & Help. The christening of the AIDAmira in 2019 was hosted as a special charity event and the proceeds of €78,500 went to a school building project in Namibia.

In 2019, the lagoon city of Venice suffered heavy damage as floodwaters reached their highest peaks in more than 50 years. During the flooding, landmarks like the St. Mark’s square were flooded, while shops and businesses were forced to close. Following the unprecedented flooding, our brand Costa Cruises was among the first to respond to a fundraiser organized by the Venice Port Authorities. Costa Cruises donated €100,000 to support the recovery of the city.

Costa Cruises Foundation – Costa Crociere joined forces with the Norwegian nonprofit Sahara Forest Project Foundation to enlarge the scope to revegetate the desert in Jordan with sustainable technologies and to promote social and environmental improvement within the region. Currently, the Sahara Forest Project operates three hectares of commercial facility, located 12 kilometers north of the port of Aqaba. The project focuses on combining saltwater cooled greenhouses, solar energy panels and different techniques for outdoor revegetation in dry areas. An important part of the agreement is represented by the involvement of Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises guests: guests cruising on Costa and AIDA ships calling at Aqaba will have the unique chance to taste, for the very first time in the world, at least ten different environmentally-friendly vegetables produced by using solar power and saltwater in the Jordan desert, through special recipes created by the Executive Chefs of the two cruise companies to emphasize their taste and quality.

In 2019, Seabourn signed an agreement to extend its official partnership with the United Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a unique alliance to help protect World Heritage. The partnership was incepted in 2014 and over the course of the partnership, Seabourn and its guests have contributed more than $1 million, providing a significant level of support to the organization and its mission. The five-year extension will continue to foster wider support and understanding in the travel industry and among travelers for UNESCO’s mission of safeguarding and promoting the world’s unique cultural and natural heritage recognized for its outstanding universal value.

In 2019, Kinder and Costa Cruises partnered to bring the “Kinder+Sport Joy of Moving” project and the right to play into the life of children, on board and on land, all over the world.

The international social responsibility project launched by the Ferrero Group and supported by Costa Cruises currently involves 4 million children in 30 countries around the world. The project aims to develop specific forms of exercise for children and families that are engaging and joyful, in the belief that a positive attitude relative to movement and sport can make the children of today better adults tomorrow.

Carnival UK partners with a local charity every two years to jointly work on volunteering programs and organizing fundraisers. In FY2019, Carnival UK started their partnership with Oasis Down to Earth Farm, a community farm in urban Southampton. Oasis aims to educate, empower and engage with their local community.