Key Aspects:
- Guests are no longer permitted to donate items to auction off at the Groove for St. Jude fundraisers onboard Carnival ships.
- The change in policy has been at the request of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Carnival Cruise Line will honor it.
- The Groove fundraisers are not ending and Carnival Cruise Line remains committed to strong support of the children’s charity.
Carnival Cruise Line is a long-time charitable partner for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The cruise line first began offering support in various ways since 2010, and in 2024, announced the ambitious goal to raise a total of $50 million by 2030.
One guest-led way of raising funds for the charity is no longer permitted, however. A recent policy change means guests can no longer donate items to be auctioned off during impromptu fundraisers on individual cruises.
A guest eager to donate to such an auction was recently turned down, and reached out to John Heald to see why that generosity is no longer welcome.
“Are you aware that they are no longer auctioning things at Groove for St Jude?” the guest asked. “I asked you about this and specially made 2 big crochet ducks to auction on [Carnival Firenze and Carnival Radiance] only to be told in the evening after I sent them to the cruise director via a Fun Squad member earlier in the day… no more auctioning. It was very disappointing.”
Groove for St. Jude is the fundraising dance party held onboard every Carnival cruise. Guests donate to join the event and receive t-shirts or other souvenirs as thanks for their participation. On some sailings, grooving can raise thousands of dollars for St. Jude.
In recent years, guests have often donated unique items to be auctioned as part of the event. Bedazzled, crocheted, or other unique ducks (part of the cruising ducks phenomenon) are popular and can help raise extra money for the charity.
Unfortunately, this will no longer be possible, but it isn’t Carnival Cruise Line’s decision.
“Yes, indeed this was something that we were requested not to do by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” Heald confirmed. “This was their decision and we of course respect it.”
Heald apologized to the guest and thanked them for the time spent making the crocheted ducks, but the rule change is a very recent one and there was no way to inform the guest before their back-to-back sailings.
Carnival Firenze (Photo Credit: Felipe Sanchez / Shutterstock)
The dates of the guest’s recent cruises aboard were not disclosed, but both ships are currently homeported from Long Beach, California.
Carnival Firenze is offering 4-, 5-, and 6-night sailings to Baja Mexico and the Mexican Riviera, while Carnival Radiance is sailing 3-, 4-, and 5-night cruises also to Baja Mexico, as well as regular 14-night sailings to Hawaii.
Other St. Jude Fundraisers
There has been no reason given about why St. Jude has requested that the onboard auctions no longer be held. It is not uncommon, however, for organizations to want to ensure their connections are carefully curated to follow their mission statement and policies.
Furthermore, unauthorized items may seem to indicate endorsements from the charity, which is something that must be carefully regulated.
In addition to the Groove for St. Jude onboard events, Carnival Cruise Line has often held other, more unique fundraisers.
For example, in October 2024, Christine Duffy, the cruise line’s president, did a special tandem skydive over Tampa Bay and raised more than $85,000. That fundraiser was not for St. Jude, however, but was for the Gary Sinise Foundation in conjunction with special efforts to support first responders after hurricane impacts.
Individual cruise directors occasionally host wacky fundraisers along with the Groove for St. Jude parties, such as in August 2025 when Marq Anthony squeezed into the smallest possible shirt size after a $2,000 donation onboard Carnival Vista.
Read Also: Carnival Cruise Director Schedule for 2025-2026
Popular cruise director Alex Siegler has done several unique challenges for St. Jude. In January 2025, he went clean-shaven for the first time in more than a decade after successful fundraising aboard Carnival Spirit, then followed it up just a few weeks later with chest waxing (now that’s dedication!). Those two challenges raised more than $12,000 for St. Jude.
While guest donations will no longer be accepted for onboard auctions, it is unknown whether cruise directors will be able to continue such crazy antics or if other fundraiser methods might be introduced.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
