FEMA charters cruise ship to house National Guard in St. Thomas

Gene Sloan | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Virgin Islands tourist describes Irma's power Mike Hooper, a tourist from Kansas City, explains what he experienced at a hotel in St. Thomas Friday night, as Hurricane Irma pounded the U.S. Virgin Islands with heavy rains and devastating winds. (Sept. 9)

A former Carnival Cruise Line ship is on its way to St. Thomas to house members of the National Guard helping with hurricane relief.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has chartered the 750-room Grand Celebration to serve as a floating hotel for the National Guard through the latter half of December, the vessel's current owner, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, announced Tuesday.

West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Bahamas Paradise has operated the ship for the past two-and-a-half years on two-night sailings from West Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island and back. Before that, the vessel sailed more than 25 years for Carnival and a Spanish-based sister brand, Ibero Cruises.

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Bahamas Paradise said Grand Celebration will arrive in St. Thomas on Sept. 23 and immediately be put into humanitarian service.

Grand Celebration is Bahamas Paradise's only ship, and the charter will result in the cancellation of all bookings for its sailings through late December. Regular cruises will resume on Dec. 23, the line said.

“We will be reaching out to all of our guests and travel partners this week,” Bahamas Paradise CEO Oneil Khosa said Tuesday in a statement posted on the company's website. “We feel badly about this 90-day disruption but believe the extensive needs of the St. Thomas people to be of greater importance at this time.”

St. Thomas was devastated by Irma, which roared across the island as a Category 5 storm nearly two weeks ago.

Several major cruise lines already are taking part in the post-Irma relief effort for St. Thomas and several other hard-hit islands. In the first days after the storm, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line diverted ships to St. Thomas and St. Maarten — the Dutch side of the island of St. Martin — to rescue stranded travelers and deliver relief supplies. Carnival also is sending supplies to several islands via its ships.

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Originally built for Carnival in the 1980s, Grand Celebration has nine passenger decks filled with restaurants and lounges as well as a theater, disco and casino. Its 750 rooms can hold up to 1,900 people. Longtime Carnival fans will remember the ship by its earlier name, Celebration.

Bahamas Paradise said customers on canceled voyages (those departing through Dec. 21) who booked directly with the line have the option of receiving a full refund or rescheduling their trip. If they reschedule, they'll receive a $100 on-board credit. Customers who booked through a travel agency should call that agency to go over their options, the line said.