5 months after suspending port calls to Labadee, Royal Caribbean is as soon as once more visiting the non-public vacation spot on the north coast of Haiti. The three,800-guest Journey of the Seas known as on the port on October 8, 2024 throughout her 6-day Jap Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral.
The ship’s itinerary options two non-public locations — Labadee and Good Day at CocoCay, together with Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Royal Caribbean leases the 260-acre Labadee from the Haitian authorities and developed the leisure website within the Nineteen Eighties. It now options a number of swimming pools, the Arawak Aqua Park, strolling trails, non-public cabana leases, and water sports activities amenities.
Well-liked actions embrace parasailing, jet-skiing, fishing, catamaran cruises, kayaking, snorkeling, and crusing. Kids’s play areas and eating venues are also supplied.
Calls to Labadee have been nixed in Might 2024 because of civil unrest in Haiti, regardless that the vacation spot is positioned about 90 miles from the worst of the issues, that are centered within the capital of Port-au-Prince. Additionally, the Labadee port space has its personal safety system with bodily limitations.
In September 2024, Royal Caribbean introduced plans to return to the vacation spot in October 2024, with the Voyager-class Journey of the Seas being the primary to name.
Different ships within the fleet will comply with, with Freedom of the Seas set to name on October 9, 2024, and Independence of the Seas on October 12, 2024.
Freedom of Seas, crusing from Fort Lauderdale, will name on the vacation spot throughout her 7-day Jap Caribbean voyage, which additionally calls at Good Day at Coco Cay; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
Labadee would be the solely port name on Independence of the Seas’ 3-night cruise from Miami, departing on October 10, 2024.
Learn Additionally: Labadee, Haiti: What You Must Know
Every of the three ships will name once more at Labadee in October, with Grandeur of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas additionally including the port name in November.
Royal Caribbean’s sister model, Superstar Cruises, is scheduled to renew calls in February 2025, with Superstar Summit the primary to name on February 14, 2025.
The Millennium-class Superstar Summit, with capability for two,158 friends, will name at Labadee as a part of her 7-day “Easy Jazz Cruise” from Fort Lauderdale, departing on February 11, 2025. Different calls embrace Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos; and Nassau, Bahamas.
Superstar Summit will name once more that month on February 21, 2025, and make a single name in March 2025. In Might 2025, Superstar Past, a 3,260-guest Edge-class ship, will go to the vacation spot.
Civil Unrest Upended Ship Calls to Labadee
Royal Caribbean initially took steps to safeguard friends in Labadee when it cancelled shore excursions in March 2024, following gang violence that erupted in Haiti together with two jail breaks that set free convicted criminals.
Cancelled excursions included jet ski journeys, kayaking, and fishing excursions, and different actions that occurred outdoors of the fast port space. The cruise line apologized to friends for the adjustments and refunded all cancelled excursions.
Because the scenario in Haiti worsened, the cruise line in Might 2024 suspended all calls to Labadee. In its announcement vowing to return to the vacation spot in October 2024, Royal Caribbean famous that airways had resumed service to native airports and peace-keeping initiatives had begun.
