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| Carnival Destiny was the first ship to call
at the Grand Turk Cruise Center following Hurricane Ike. Passengers were
greeted by 1,500 lounge chairs on the center's beach. The hurricane
struck the island on September 6 & 7 (2008), but Carnival
was able to open their cruise port just a month later on October 8
in a fully-restored mode to assist in the island's economic recovery.
The Cruise Center and the associated businesses are responsible for 80%
of the nongovernment jobs on Grand Turk. |
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| Carnival's VP of Strategic Planning, Giora
Israel (right), was responsible for overseeing the facility's repair. He
is shown this morning with Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick who
came to the Cruise Center to welcome Carnival Destiny. Because of the
economic importance of the operation to the island, Carnival did not
wait for local resources to be available to repair the facility, and
instead brought in builders, necessary supplies, and even temporary
housing and food for them to get things ready for cruise ships to call
again as soon as possible. |
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| Passengers from Carnival Destiny disembarked
this morning to find the center's huge pool open, Margaritaville serving
drinks and snacks, and all of the adjacent shops open for business. All
have electricity and air conditioning. For those who want to leave the
cruise center, many of the shore excursions are also operating. |
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