Carnival Corporation, its Cruise Line Brands and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation Pledge Over US$1.25 Million to Australian Bushfire Disaster Recovery

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Jan 09, 2020, 09:20 ET

MIAMI, Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company, today 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 US$1.25 million to support disaster recovery efforts from raging bushfires causing widespread devastation throughout Australia.

The pledge includes US$1 million from the family foundation of Carnival Corporation's Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine, in addition to US$250,000 (AU$350,000) 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.

Similar to donations following recent hurricanes and typhoons, support is being directed to both immediate and long-term relief efforts. Based on input from local officials and community leaders, the US$1 million donation will be provided to support the most timely and urgent relief needs throughout the country. As previously announced, the US$250,000 donation has been committed to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

"Our cruise lines carried hundreds of thousands of Aussies and international guests on voyages this summer, and this gesture is a sign of our solidarity with the local community," said Sture Myrmell, president of Carnival Australia, which comprises several of the corporation's brands operating in the country. "As a cruise shipping organization with close ties to Australian communities developed over many years, we have been shocked by the devastation from this ongoing disaster. Our cruise lines are contributing to the Australian Red Cross' Disaster Relief and Recovery work because of the organization's experience in dealing with the effects of natural disasters and its national reach."

Added Myrmell: "Communities affected by the bushfire crisis are in immediate need, and we are pleased to be able to contribute in a way that ensures help can be delivered where it is needed most and as quickly as possible. This contribution is being made on behalf of all of our guests who are no doubt equally shocked and concerned at what has happened to their fellow Australians."

The company's commitment follows the combined AU$50,000 donation from P&O Cruises (Australia) and its guests to the St Vincent de Paul Society in late 2019 to support residents of New South Wales and Queensland impacted by the local bushfires at that time.

Information on the Australian Red Cross, its recovery efforts and ways to provide support can be found at https://www.redcross.org.au/.

About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.

Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 105 ships with 254,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 16 new ships scheduled to be delivered through 2025. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

With a long history of innovation and providing guests with extraordinary vacation experiences, Carnival Corporation has received thousands of industry awards – including recognition by the Consumer Technology Association™ as a CES® 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for OceanMedallion™. A revolutionary wearable device that contains a proprietary blend of communication technologies, OceanMedallion enables the world's first interactive guest experience platform transforming vacation travel on a large scale into a highly personalized level of customized service. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products.

Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc