Passengers of Fred. Olsen will soon have the opportunity to help local communities throughout the Caribbean when sailing with the cruise line in 2019.
The cruise line has recently introduced a number of voluntourism opportunities under the name ‘Closer To The Real Caribbean’ to guests on-board their Caribbean sailings, including school visits and clearing nature trails.
The new concept comes after the devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, during which time Fred. Olsen were keen to support the rebuilding of the areas affected and donated £25,000 to the hurricane relief.
Clare Ward, Fred. Olsen’s Director of Product and Customer Service said:
“Our new ‘Closer to the Real Caribbean’ concept is aimed at helping our guests to provide support and assistance to communities in the Caribbean, a destination that they cherish and care about a great deal.
“We know from our pre-cruise surveys that our guests look forward to our Scenery & Wildlife and Community & Way of Life shore experiences the most on the majority of our Caribbean cruise calls, and we therefore felt that we should offer our guests the opportunity to be able to work together and ‘give something back’ to the destination.”
These speciality shore excursions are specifically designed with the Caribbean in mind, including:
A Saint Lucia school visit
Depart from the port of Castires and take a scenic drive to the north of the island, where you will meet the community of Babonneau and the Fond Assau Primary School. Here you will meet the school’s Principal and be welcomed by the students who are aged between five and 13-years-old.
Guests will have the opportunity to participate in classes, singing and dancing and assisting students in the school’s vegetable garden, which is used to provide their daily lunches. Guests will also help with planting and harvesting produce including lettuce, cabbage and cucumbers.
This excursion allows guests to interact with children of the Babonneau community and make a valuable contribution to the Caribbean region.
Dominica trail clean-up
The island of Dominica was severely devastated following Hurricane Maria in 2017 and even now, a year on, the island has still not fully recovered. As the process for rebuild continues, Fred. Olsen offers the chance for guests to take part in the recovery plan by rebuilding one of the island’s many nature trails.
Part of this excursion includes clearing paths of vegetation, removing debris and gathering litter. Trails included are the Syndicate Nature Trail located at the foot of Morn Diablotins and home to one of the best oceanic rainforests within the Lesser Antilles region. Guests follow this trail along the coast to the fishing village of Toucari where a local restaurant, Keepin’It Real is situated. Here, guests can enjoy a dip in the sea and bite to eat before returning to the ship.
Fred. Olsen is offering a number of Caribbean cruises in 2019, which you can find in the link below.
If you would like to know more or want to make a booking, please call our Cruise Concierge team on 0808 1234 118 for expert advice on Fred. Olsen and award-winning customer service with your booking.
Would you like to take part in a voluntourism excursion? Do you think it’s important to meet the communities of the regions you visit on a cruise? Let us know in the comments below!
Think this is a very good idea, to see and experience the real Caribbean,community not just the tourist attractions