By Justine Coleman From The Hill

A cruise ship reportedly diverted from its originally scheduled route to drop off food and provide assistance to the Bahamas following this week’s destruction from Hurricane Dorian.

The Celebrity Equinox was scheduled to travel the Caribbean for seven days, including a planned stop at Nassau, the archipelago nation’s capital, but instead redirected to Grand Bahama Island to assist Dorian survivors, NBC News reported on Friday.

The ship left Fort Lauderdale on Saturday with 3,000 guests, many who volunteered to pack the 10,000 meals the kitchen staff made for Bahamians. Child guests also reportedly contributed homemade cards for hurricane victims.

“We have a little army of cooks making food and a little navy of life boats and tug boats bringing it ashore,” Rob Zeiger, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the parent company of Celebrity Cruises, told NBC.

After the decision to reroute, the cruise line offered the guests compensation with onboard credit for missing the excursion to Nassau.

“The Bahamas hold a special place in our hearts as a treasured place for our guests, and home to more than 500 of our colleagues,” the letter said. “Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, we are rolling up our sleeves to help our friends.”

Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, and the death toll on its islands continues to climb, passing 30 on Thursday.

Other cruise lines including the Disney Cruise and Carnival Cruise lines have also vowed to donate money and supplies to recovery efforts.

For more on this story go to: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/460293-caribbean-cruise-diverts-to-bahamas-to-serve-meals-to-hurricane