Hurricane Dorian: Cruise ship to take second aid trip Friday to Grand Bahama with goods, volunteers

The humanitarian voyage departs Friday evening and returns on Monday.

The Grand Celebration and her crew are accustomed to frequent trips to Grand Bahama Island. But when the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line-owned cruise ship leaves its home at the Port of Palm Beach tomorrow for a three-night stay, it’ll be continuing the mission it started last week to bring food and needed services to those struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian – and to bring more Bahamians to safety in Florida.

The ship is scheduled to depart the Port of Palm Beach around 7:30 Friday evening and return around the same time on Monday morning, says Kimberly Mitchell, executive director for the Everglades Trust and former West Palm Beach city commissioner. She, along with local restaurant and nightlife impressario Rodney Mayo and restaurateur Thierry Beaud, spearheaded Bahamas Relief Cruise, which last week took supplies and volunteers, including several from the local hospitality community, to the area, and brought back more than 1000 Bahamians.

The group had asked for $1 million in donations to help secure the charter on the ship, and have raised about half of that, says Anita Mitchell, director of community relations for the cruise line. This time, the ship is bringing construction materials including drywall, hammers and nails, generators and other items, as well as more than 350 volunteers, including members of the City of West Palm Beach Fire Rescue.

“The fire department (on Grand Bahama) hasn’t been working because in order to run the electricity and turn on the power, they have to wait until an inspector comes by because of fire concerns,” Kimberly Mitchell says. “So the West Palm Beach firefighters are going to spend two days on the ground with a generator, to clean up and do drywall to bring them up to speed.”

The ship will also include “skilled people in certain categories that are really needed the most, like medical professionals,” as well as chefs and culinary professionals bringing food for about 20,000 meals prepped by volunteers overseen by chef Julien Gremaud of the Avocado Grill, who will be overseeing food distribution onsite.

In addition to the $1 million that the Bahamas Relief Cruise group requested, the Port of Palm Beach asked Gov. Ron DeSantis for $9 million to be able to leave the ship at Grand Bahama Island for up to a month as a floating hotel to house relief workers and even provide a place for a shower and a respite for the Bahamians hoping to rebuild their lives. As of Thursday, they had not heard from DeSantis, but had an offer of assistance from West Palm Beach law firm Gunster to establish a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization.