Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings today announced the increase of its total commitment to its Hope Starts Here hurricane relief campaign in partnership with All Hands and Hearts, to $2 million, inclusive of its matching contributions, according to a press release

All Hands and Hearts will use these funds for the emergency response efforts across the Bahamas, including debris cleanup and removal, and the rebuilding of community infrastructure such as houses or schools, the company said.

The company will also resume calls to the Bahamas and its private island, Great Stirrup Cay, later this week. Great Stirrup Cay experienced minimal beach erosion as a result of the storm, and has already been restored with sand that had been previously ordered.

“We understand that tourism represents a significant portion of the Bahamas’ annual GDP and we are actively involved in helping our neighbors get back on their feet by returning to the islands and providing them with the supplies necessary to rebuild along with the needed economic support that tourism brings,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. “The response to our Hope Starts Here hurricane relief campaign has been so overwhelming, we have increased our total commitment to $2 million. We encourage our guests to join us by continuing to support and visit this beautiful destination.”

On September 5, Norwegian Breakaway departed Miami with hurricane relief supplies donated by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, its employees, in addition to items collected by the City of Miami, Baptist Health South Florida, the 305 Gives Back foundation, and other organizations, which were delivered to Nassau, and the company’s private island Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. The company will continue to transport supplies to the Bahamas each week on Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Sun to support shelters in Nassau for Abaco evacuees.

Overnight in Nassau, the Norwegian Breakaway recently offloaded over 300 pallets of emergency supplies including: 118,000 bottles of water, 224,000 sq. ft. of tarp, 50,000 sq. ft. of plywood, 150 portable radios, 50 generators 36 chainsaws and much more.

“It is becoming ever more evident that the scale of Hurricane Dorian’s devastation on the Bahamas is unprecedented,” said Erik Dyson, chief executive officer of All Hands and Hearts. “As such, Norwegian’s generous commitment of $2 million is critical to support our efforts to come early and stay late to help those in need.”