THE BOSS of cruise giant Carnival, who own Southampton-based Cunard and P&O lines, has donated his whole bonus of £1.24m to aid victims of the Asian tsunami.

The huge donation is revealed in the company's annual financial reports which also reveals an expenses bill for £92,000 was submitted by Micky Arison, pictured above, to pay for his basketball tickets.

The hefty tab was picked up by Carnival, which operates nine ships based in Southampton, so he could watch his beloved Miami Heat basketball team.

The sum for the "personal use of sporting event tickets" formed part of £201,000 of "other annual compensation" which also included £76,000 for "personal use of the Carnival Corporation aircraft".

The payments came on top of a package worth about £4.6m, including £363,000 annual salary - up from £259,000 last year - a £1.24m bonus, and share options currently worth £1.76m.

Carnival, which owns Cunard Line, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises among others, among a broad portfolio of companies that make it the world's largest cruise operator, had a record year in 2004, with net income rising from £627m to £960m.

Passenger numbers also rose from 5.42m to 6.31m, with many of them pouring into the port here.The vessels Carnival operates from Southampton include Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth 2, Oriana, Aurora and Golden Princess.

Mr Arison, whose family owns 32 per cent of Carnival and has 25 per cent of the voting rights, is also the managing director of the Miami Heat basketball team and an enthusiastic supporter.