THE cruise industry is stepping up to help the beleaguered populace of Ukraine as they continue to flee the country’s outrageous attacks by Russia.
As well as a huge USD$3 million donation from the family foundation of Carnival Corp Chair Micky Arison (CW 21 Mar), the company’s Costa Cruises brand is also helping out by offering to host refugees aboard its Costa Magica.
The company confirmed it had “offered one of our ships to the Italian Government to be integrated into the National Civil Protection’s plans as a potential temporary hub for Ukrainian refugees in case of growing numbers of arrivals in Italy in the coming weeks,” Costa spokesperson Roger Frizzell confirmed last week.
Other Carnival brands have also promised aid, including a $50,000 gift from Carnival Cruise Line as well as German offshoot AIDA which has donated medical supplies and medicine, with Group Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald saying “we stand for peace and our hearts go out to everyone whose lives have been upended by the invasion of Ukraine”.
“We have crew members from 145 countries and we sail with guests from nations around the globe, so we feel deeply the human impact of this humanitarian crisis and we join many others in supporting relief efforts,” he said.