Reading Time: 4 minutes

Over the years, Jamaican workers have greatly benefited from the country’s relationship with Carnival Corporation and most of its subsidiary brands, notably -Carnival Cruise Line. 

The affiliation has also seen Carnival Corporation sending some of its biggest cruise ships to the nation’s ports from six of its nine brands, where for the year 2023 Jamaica should be seeing some 497,000 passengers.

The breakdown should see AIDA with (39,000 passengers from 19 calls); Princess (72,000 from 22 calls); Costa (21,000 from 7 Calls); Holland America (39,000 from 17 calls); P&O Cruises (2,000 from 1 call); and Carnival (324,000 from 95 calls).

It therefore should come as no surprise that because of this longstanding relationship Carnival has upped the ante where earlier in the year (March 7) it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kingston based Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) where 45 maritime students [at CMU] are set to receive at-sea experience with Carnival over the next three years.

In addition, the MOU addresses the challenge of securing sea time, which is a mandatory requirement for graduation from a CMU programme.

The agreement also ensures that a minimum of 15 students receive sea time per year over the next three years, where in September 2023, the first placements were made for the 2023/2024 academic year. 

The MOU will also see scholarship opportunities provided by Carnival as well as familiarization tours on ships whenever they are in port in Jamaica. The MOU will also explore the possibility of upgrading CMU’s bridge simulator.

Carnival Corporation’s Vice President of Crew and Travel Operations, Richard Brearly, in noting that the MOU applies to all brands under the company, describes the agreement as both a game changer and a strengthening of the relationship with Jamaica.

“Our goal is to build strategic partnerships with leaders in the region that not only create pathways for jobs and careers but also support our commitment to deepening our roots within the communities we serve,” Mr. Brearly explains.

“This provides the Carnival Corporation and the CMU with a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact on the lives of Jamaican citizens and on the cruise industry overall.”

For her part, Chief Human Resources Officer of Carnival Corporation, Bettina Deynes, says the Carnival Corporation truly values its relationship with Jamaica and is very happy to be involved with an institution such as the Caribbean Maritime University.

“We are honoured to be part of this programme and are excited about the opportunities it will create for Jamaican citizens interested in pursuing personally and financially rewarding careers in maritime and with companies like Carnival Corporation and our nine world-class cruise lines.” 

“With the thriving talent pool of smart and ambitious bilingual Jamaicans, and the Caribbean Maritime University’s proven track record of preparing students to perform at the highest levels in our profession, we know we are backing a winning programme.”

The Carnival Official further notes that the MOU is also linked to the CMU’s goal to train 4,000 students per year and provide jobs for graduates.

“The intention is for CMU students to eventually gain employment on ships within the Carnival fleet. In doing so we are also helping to address the human needs of Carnival,” she further adds.

President of the CMU, Professor Andrew Spencer, agrees that the MOU with Carnival is a major plus and one that will bring long term benefits for Jamaica.

“The long-term goal is having a partnership with Carnival that goes beyond not only scholarships and job placements but having them partnering with us to where they are helping to develop our physical space,” he notes.

“We also want them to start sending us their employees and their potential employees for training. Who knows, ultimately, we might have the first Jamaican captain on a Carnival ship.”

Carnival Cruise Line is an international company headquartered in Doral, Florida, USA.

The entity is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation and tops the list of the largest cruise lines, based on passengers carried annually.

It operates from 14 US and two Australian homeports and employs more than 40,000 team members representing 120 nationalities.

Since embarking on its first cruise in 1972, Carnival has been calling on Jamaica and, today, brings an average of nearly 400,000 guests to the island annually.

The company which operates 24 ships, as of November 2022, has one additional new build-on-order and a further two ships that will join its fleet in 2023 and 2024.