7.3 earthquake hits Haiti

[temple1]

It seems a bit inconsiderate to criticize RCI for offering its guests an opportunity to contribute to a worthwhile charity or cause. In the past the corporation has been more than generous in its support of worthy charities. In this age of rampant cynicism, I fear that, if they simply made a corporate contribution, someone would claim that they were actually extorting their passengers by including or hiding the amount in the cruisefare. No one has suggested a mandatory payment by passengers but simply a chance for concerned cruisers to do a small part in assisting the truly needy people of Haiti.:rolleyes

 

If not blasting the messenger (the OP) they are blasting the cruiseline for doing too much, not doing enough, involving passengers in the effort, not involving passengers in the effort. ;)

 

But hey, all is well as long as we pray for them all.

[gaiamother]

We are setting sail on Saturday on the Navigator. Our current schedule has us destined for Labadee on Monday. While I want to help these poor devastated people any way I can, RCI is definately going to need to coordinate any efforts for relief with the Red Cross etc. I look foward to participating in anything they organize!

 

I'm on there with you and I want to stop there even more now. I'm interested in ways to help.

[JSnow789]

Nobody has to wait to offer help. The number one thing that is needed now is cash donations; http://www.redcross.org you can also visit whitehouse.gov to see how you can help. Dont begrudge RCI (or anyone else) and their efforts at extending aid until you are ready to do so yourself. The Red Cross is on the ground in Haiti NOW already extending aid.

 

Independence is the next ship due to call at Labadee on the 15th. I'm sure they are going to take a 'wait and see' approach. After Independence is Navigator on the 18 and Liberty (I'll be on board) on the 19th. RC will do what is necessary to protect their crew/employees and their customers first and foremost. This is no different than any other natural disaster and in those instances it is usually a cruise by cruise decision.

 

While visiting the port gives much needed revenue to Haiti and the locals, not everything is about money and right now-it's about saving lives.

 

:)

[lcguy]

Respectfully, I whole-heartedly disagree with your opinion. In your eyes, what makes the Make-A Wish program so good, but setting up a charity drive for Haiti so bad? Is it because you get a t-shirt with Make-A-Wish? Come on. There is nothing wrong with RCI setting up a channel for us to donate to Haiti.

But perhaps we could get a "I donated to the Haitian relief effort by RCI and all I got was this lousy T-shirt".

 

I know lame attempt at humor, but maybe that will make some people happy?

[tuff2]

Just heard it on the news!

 

Amazing! News reports a 7.0 earthquake and now on this site we are up to 7.3. As far as earthquakes go that is a huge difference. Probably by the end of this topic it will be embellished to an 8 or above.

I any case this is a huge disaster for the peolple of Haiti and they seriously need our help and prayers We should not be worried whether or not we get to cruise there. How selfish.

[gaiamother]

I've been trying Red Cross, the donate page is having trouble uploading, hopefully inundated with those donating. I'll keep trying.

[temple1]

Amazing! News reports a 7.0 earthquake and now on this site we are up to 7.3. As far as earthquakes go that is a huge difference. Probably by the end of this topic it will be embellished to an 8 or above.

I any case this is a huge disaster for the peolple of Haiti and they seriously need our help and prayers We should not be worried whether or not we get to cruise there. How selfish.

 

I don't think members of the board are intentionally embellishing the story. With the confusion of a disaster of this magnitude there will be some discrepancies on specifics between different news agencies. Many of the posts I read were not about whether or not they would be able to enjoy a day at Labradee but to be there to offer money and aide to venders from Haiti working on Labradee.

[MargaritaPlease]

I believe that the distance between Port au Prince and Labadee is considerably more than 10 miles.

 

I make it about 86 - as the crow flies.

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

Amazing! News reports a 7.0 earthquake and now on this site we are up to 7.3. As far as earthquakes go that is a huge difference. Probably by the end of this topic it will be embellished to an 8 or above.

I any case this is a huge disaster for the peolple of Haiti and they seriously need our help and prayers We should not be worried whether or not we get to cruise there. How selfish.

 

 

Just so everybody knows the Ricter Scale is a log scale so 7.0 earthquake is really (10^7)^(3/2) or 31622776601 energy released while a 7.3 =

(10^7.3)^(3/2) or 89125093813 energy released which is almost 3 times as strong as a 7.0.

[bballmom21]

My daughter and I will be celebrating her 21st birthday with a cruise in May on the Freedom which was scheduled to stop at Labadee. I pray we do. My daughter was adopted from Haiti as a infant and we have seen first hand what a struggle it is to survive on a day to day basis for many Haitians. For those of you who don't want your country to send aid or feel the need for a tee shirt for your donations thats your personal choice. I for one would not mind giving up a "fruity drink" that day in port to give one child a chance at some clean water to drink. The people of Haiti are in my prayers.

[lcguy]

Just so everybody knows the Ricter Scale is a log scale so 7.0 earthquake is really (10^7)^(3/2) or 31622776601 energy released while a 7.3 =

(10^7.3)^(3/2) or 89125093813 energy released which is almost 3 times as strong as a 7.0.

Thanks for the clarification. Anyone who's lived in California can relate.

[LisaH]

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti :( surely Royal Caribbean won't be calling at Labadee, unless to leave food and water.

 

Calling on Labadee (if no damage) would actually help as they are so dependent on tourist dollars.

[trish1c]

I tried to skimmed the thread but got bogged down in details about richter scales & donations :o . . . sorry if I am repeating.

What are the answers to the Qs:

1. are the RCL personnel at Labadee safe & accounted for?

2. were there any cruise ships in the area affected by the earthquake?

TIA

[Killswitch]

I tried to skimmed the thread but got bogged down in details about richter scales & donations :o . . . sorry if I am repeating.

 

What are the answers to the Qs:

 

1. are the RCL personnel at Labadee safe & accounted for?

 

2. were there any cruise ships in the area affected by the earthquake?

 

TIA

 

 

1) Yes

 

2) No

[emdia43]

Why ask the cruising passengers to donate? I feel the company should donate and make sure their port stops are safe and the people are supported properly. Why put it to donations from people vacationing? We were on JOS Dec 10-20 and they were asking for $10 to Make a Wish Foundation. I think this is a good cause and my DH did it since it went totally to this charity, and he got a nice T shirt! OF all the people around the deck they got 91 people to do the mile walk and buy the T shirt for the donation. I think there is enough profit margin in our cruise fares to make donations and not hit up guests on board for vacation.

 

Are you serious?

 

I just made an online donation to the Salvation Army They will make good use of it. I just listened to an MSNBC interview with the Head of the Port au Prince Salvation Army- he has four helpers and no supplies.

[Cuizer2]

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti :( surely Royal Caribbean won't be calling at Labadee, unless to leave food and water.

 

Why not?

 

I would be really surprised if Royal Caribbean knows that for fact at this early time.

 

It seems to me that these early statements by RCI personnel are more to try to calm investors' nerves.

 

My thoughts are with the Haitian people, but I can imagine that for an RCI executive who must consider the financials, it doesn't look great. There aren't that many places Oasis can go, and if it can't go to Labadee, well, that's not going to help the bottom line.

 

First of all, there is very little at Labadee to get damaged. Second, it is far enough away from the earthquake's center that it is very believable that it suffered no real damage. Sure, a few glass cups may have broken, and the roller coaster has to be tested. But it would not surprise me if there was no damage.

 

I've been within 15 miles of two major earthquakes (both over 6.5) and suffered no structural damage.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Are you serious?

 

I just made an online donation to the Salvation Army They will make good use of it. I just listened to an MSNBC interview with the Head of the Port au Prince Salvation Army- he has four helpers and no supplies.

 

The Salvation Army is great. I am leary of the Red Cross and will not donate through them, but that's just my personal opinion.

[trish1c]

Thanks, Killswitch.

[doublebzz]

We leave Jan 16th on NOS and first port is Haiti. Just checked RCCL site and no mention of any itinerary changes. Personally, I would feel uncomfortable enjoying a beach day knowing of the human suffering in much of the country. If we are still going to Haiti, I would much prefer volunteering my services in whatever way possible rather than lying around some beautiful beach.

[SomeBeach]

Trish, from somewhere in this thread it seems I read that Ladabee is ok. And no, no cruise ships were there.

 

I boarded a HAL ship the day after the tsunami some years back. Keep in mind if you are boarding a ship that may have employees of that region, they will not be their cheerful selves. Many people on the ship complained of distracted and rude crew. Their hearts and minds were on family they could not contact. Please cut them some slack.

 

HAL also set up a donation plan later during the cruise. It was not mandatory that one donate but they made it very easy to do so if you wished to contribute. You have to allow a few days for cruise lines to gather information from those in the effected area to co-ordinate what is the best way to help. For immediate help, the Red Cross or Salvation Army are good places to do so from home.

[Cuizer2]

We leave Jan 16th on NOS and first port is Haiti. Just checked RCCL site and no mention of any itinerary changes. Personally, I would feel uncomfortable enjoying a beach day knowing of the human suffering in much of the country. If we are still going to Haiti, I would much prefer volunteering my services in whatever way possible rather than lying around some beautiful beach.

 

I was not aware that anyone was forcing you to lay around some beautiful beach. You are free to do whatever you want - as long as it is legal.

[I Church]

The Salvation Army is great. I am leary of the Red Cross and will not donate through them, but that's just my personal opinion.

 

I agree with you on the Red Cross after our experience with them when our daughter was in a hospital in Hawaii while in the Navy and it was requested that we be at her bedside. They picked a plane with the highest rate for transporation and would buy us the tickets and we could pay them back. We got our own tickets for a much cheaper cost. I think the Salvation Army is great.

 

Irene & Miles

[mets550]

I was booked on Enchantment last year sailing 6/20/09, but in late April and early May when swine flu began to emerge in Mexico, everyone was going nuts (myself included) hoping that RCCL changed the itinerary. Ultimately, they stopped calling Cozumel for a few weeks and resumed when the travel advisories were dropped. This terrible tragedy is obviously much worse, but a resilient people such as the Haitians will be able to pick themselves up again and resume their lives. Furthermore, it is unlikely that RCCL will cancel a port (especially for a long time) if there is no actual danger to the passengers.

[thearcher]

The whole region is subject to potenetial earthquakes as are many regions in the US including the northeast. We were in the USVIs in early November and our tour guide told us they have many, many small earthquakes year round.

 

I doubt very much Royal is going to exclude Labadee from their itineraries unless they determine passengers are in harms way. Remember they have invested millions in that port.

 

Personally, rather then worring about how this event will inconvience me on future cruises, I'll say some prayers for those whose lives have been devastated or lost by this horrific event. This is a country of very poor people and their hardship before today would break most peoples hearts. This is just another awful blow to a country that carries such a heavy burden of poverty.

 

I hope others reading this thread share my thoughts and are far more worried about the welfare of the Haitians and not so much about themselves.

 

I'm sorry if I made it look like I was just thinking of myself & not of terrible devastation of this already suffering region. That is NOT how I meant to come across at all. I feel very badly for these poor people & hope that they can get the help & relief that they so desperately need right now.

 

My prayers are with all of those affected by this tragedy!

[Desert Cruizers]

We leave Jan 16th on NOS and first port is Haiti. Just checked RCCL site and no mention of any itinerary changes. Personally, I would feel uncomfortable enjoying a beach day knowing of the human suffering in much of the country. If we are still going to Haiti, I would much prefer volunteering my services in whatever way possible rather than lying around some beautiful beach.

I am with you on that. The people in Haiti need all the assistance they can get right now, and missing a Port because of this devestating quake is not important at this time, but helping the people is.