Labadee, cautionary tale...

[jakenashleysmom]

My son had an uncomfortable confrontation on Labadee last week. He was walking one of the trails (he is 18 and was alone) that lead to the vendors market and came upon a vendor who asked him into his shop. The vendor gave him a braided bracelet and told him it was free and asked him his name and quickly began carving it on a wine goblet. Now before I get any flames, I agree he should not have taken the bracelet or given the guy his name...but that is not the point of this story.

Now of course the guy wants money for the goblet, and my son doesn't have any with him but he would go to the ship and get some. (Why he stood there while the guy carved his name on something he had no money for is still a mystery). He tells him its $10, and lets him take the goblet with him! Comes back with $15 (just in case) and when he gets back the guy says its $40. My son tells him all he has is $15, so he says (now this is where it gets real sketchy) ok, I'll take $15 but you have to go to the buffet and get me a tray of food. Finally the light dawns, and my son leaves and doesn't return. Now as I said, the details are sketchy, and I have no clue why this all went down. My husband and I were on an excursion and my son was with his grandparents (he left them under a tree on the beach).

As I said, my son is 18 and I really didn't have an issue with him taking a walk on the trails alone. I guess my point is to use caution with your kids walking around the island. In hindsight, that probably shouldn't have been an option but it happened and I hope other parents can take this to heart.

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[Eslader]

The Labadee souvenir market is obnoxious. Honestly I'd probably go up there and buy stuff just to inject money into the economy if the shopkeepers didn't pester people so incessantly.

 

If you must get a souvenir there, it's best to confine your shopping to the building down below, and stay away from the open-air market.

 

Actually your son learned a good lesson in a relatively safe place (one heads up to the ship would have ended the incident since RCCL controls who gets access there). You'll find similar money-grabbing trickery in the New Orleans French Quarter, but there's much less protection around you when you refuse to give the guy who squirts Windex on your shoe any money.

 

Always good to learn the "politely and firmly say no" lesson as early as possible.

[The Fun Researcher]

Good advice and warning. Yes, the vendors at Labadee are the most aggressive that we've encountered to date. I've seen the "carving name in item" scheme before. I've also seen the place the bracelet on your wrist for free scheme too.

 

Never give them your name unless you are ready (and want) it carved into something that you are purchasing.

 

We have fun with it now. On our previous cruise, a couple that was with us had never been to Labadee. Another couple in our group gave both the husband and wife $5 and told them to buy the best souvenir they could with the money. Then off they went, they were thrown to the wolves. :) One came back with a big fertility statue, and another was something else I can't remember. Was a blast, and they had fun with it, but they were really surprised with the aggressiveness of the venders.

 

Dan

[champagne123]

They are sooooo aggressive there, to the point of being threatening. We do the same and only go to the building if we decide to purchase anything.

[FLACRUISER99]

My son had an uncomfortable confrontation on Labadee last week. He was walking one of the trails (he is 18 and was alone) that lead to the vendors market and came upon a vendor who asked him into his shop. The vendor gave him a braided bracelet and told him it was free and asked him his name and quickly began carving it on a wine goblet. Now before I get any flames, I agree he should not have taken the bracelet or given the guy his name...but that is not the point of this story.

Now of course the guy wants money for the goblet, and my son doesn't have any with him but he would go to the ship and get some. (Why he stood there while the guy carved his name on something he had no money for is still a mystery). He tells him its $10, and lets him take the goblet with him! Comes back with $15 (just in case) and when he gets back the guy says its $40. My son tells him all he has is $15, so he says (now this is where it gets real sketchy) ok, I'll take $15 but you have to go to the buffet and get me a tray of food. Finally the light dawns, and my son leaves and doesn't return. Now as I said, the details are sketchy, and I have no clue why this all went down. My husband and I were on an excursion and my son was with his grandparents (he left them under a tree on the beach).

As I said, my son is 18 and I really didn't have an issue with him taking a walk on the trails alone. I guess my point is to use caution with your kids walking around the island. In hindsight, that probably shouldn't have been an option but it happened and I hope other parents can take this to heart.

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Hopefully you son learned a lesson that may save him much more than the $15 he spent.

[Clarea]

Very strange, and thanks for reporting.

 

Sad, but we don't go near that market anymore. Too many bad experiences.

[Big_G]

Very strange, and thanks for reporting.

 

Sad, but we don't go near that market anymore. Too many bad experiences.

 

I took my wife a little longer to see the light but neither do we now. It was just too painful an experience for me right from the start.

[wendychloecruiser]

For $15 he got something that may prove to be priceless in life.

[BillOh]

The Labadee souvenir market is obnoxious. Honestly I'd probably go up there and buy stuff just to inject money into the economy if the shopkeepers didn't pester people so incessantly.

 

The only flame for the OP would be for not researching and knowing that can happen, but hey everyone doesn't spend as much time on here as I do :o

 

This situation on Labadee goes back to at least 2006 my first time there and it has changed a little bit each time. Preparation helps. But Royal needs advised when the "artisans" get out of hand. On my first visit to that area, that was then back behind Columbus Cove, at the furthest building the merchants would physically grab my wife by the arm and "escort/pull" her into their section. Being outnumbered 10 to 1 and my wife calming me down kept that from being ugly. In 2008 they had a more open area. Just this past May, there was an indoor building just past Nellies beach where things were offered in a no-hassle price by low key merchants. There was a man hanging around the door trying (without too much aggression to lure us to the open market area. I don't know if it will do any good, but I think Royal needs to know about those pricing scams like the OP mentioned.

[ksadonnab]

Yep, I agree that craft market in Labadee is "gangsta". I never feel uncomfortable in Jamaica but here I was a bit intimidated and will never go back!

[Lionesss]

We have learned our lesson and avoid this area.

 

We do make a purchase from the vendors in the building who are to say the least ...............not as pushy.

 

What a way to learn a lesson.

 

Safe travels

[Midwestgal]

Vendors are out of control, I personally would never go back to Labadee not only because of that but I thought the beach was bad.....guess we picked the wrong beach.

[Clarea]

Vendors are out of control, I personally would never go back to Labadee not only because of that but I thought the beach was bad.....guess we picked the wrong beach.

We prefer the beach at Columbus Cove to the one under the zipline (Adrenaline). Seems less rocky.

[tgloersen]

This was a most helpful thread for me, my first rip to Labadie will be in October on the Oasis.

 

I hat aggressive sales people so although I have never seen the open market I may just skip it altogether and just hang on the beach.

 

Thanks!

[MaiseyM]

Good to know. Thanks for posting. I have read enough reviews about these markets this island. I told my family had of time that they're not allowed to go there. I don't think that we are missing out I'm in a spectacular gifts or souvenirs either.

[jakenashleysmom]

The chair guys are out of control as well, and they actually have Royal Caribbean name tags on! Funny thing is we had warned the 16 year old girls not to go there alone but since my son isn't much of a shopper I didn't think to give him the same warning. I have been to Labadee many times and this was the worst. Going to Cocoa Cay in October, but no kids this time!😁

 

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[champagne123]

This was a most helpful thread for me, my first rip to Labadie will be in October on the Oasis.

 

I hat aggressive sales people so although I have never seen the open market I may just skip it altogether and just hang on the beach.

 

Thanks!

Don't let this deter you from buying something if you wish. They really have some nice things. Just go in the cement BUILDING. No one bothers you in there. The open market is up on a small hill, past the building. STAY AWAY from there. :D

[Langley Cruisers]

Thanks for reporting this situation; lesson learned for your son, and future lessons learned for many others who are reading this.

[alfaeric]

If you must get a souvenir there, it's best to confine your shopping to the building down below, and stay away from the open-air market.

 

It's also far, far, far more likely that whatever you buy was actually made in Haiti.

 

Most of the stuff we saw at the open air market, we see in pretty much every other port, too.

[sdrocks]

We also think the open air markets are way too pushy & aggressive. We would shop there i we would be left alone, but they can't seem to understand that. We only shop in Carlos' building. They aren't pushy in our experience.

[Ocean Boy]

The only flame for the OP would be for not researching and knowing that can happen, but hey everyone doesn't spend as much time on here as I do :o

 

This situation on Labadee goes back to at least 2006 my first time there and it has changed a little bit each time. Preparation helps. But Royal needs advised when the "artisans" get out of hand. On my first visit to that area, that was then back behind Columbus Cove, at the furthest building the merchants would physically grab my wife by the arm and "escort/pull" her into their section. Being outnumbered 10 to 1 and my wife calming me down kept that from being ugly. In 2008 they had a more open area. Just this past May, there was an indoor building just past Nellies beach where things were offered in a no-hassle price by low key merchants. There was a man hanging around the door trying (without too much aggression to lure us to the open market area. I don't know if it will do any good, but I think Royal needs to know about those pricing scams like the OP mentioned.

 

Though I agree with you in general, being RCI's private destination I can understand people somewhat letting their guard down expecting that RCI has their compound under control. People tend to consider it an extension of the ship and might not be as careful as they should be. I know that sometimes I become a little too lax even when aboard the ship with keeping an eye on my belongings. I somethimes forget that I am in a small city with 6000 strangers.

 

I have no doubt that RCI knows exactly what is happening in that area of the compound as it is written about plenty on these boards. I have seen no effort to improve things over our past few stops there. I can completely understand an 18 yr old boy being intimidated and overwhelmed by a first pass through that area. Now I somethimes take a walk through when I have some time on my hands and find myself in the mood to put up with the challange.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Ocean Boy

[LMaxwell]

No flaming from me; appreciate the heads up to be wary of these aggressive vendors. These sorts of warnings pop up on the site every few months or so.

 

One question though; if the vendor said $10 why did he return with $15? That's sort of the "What's this repair going to cost; I only have $300..." "Oh, the repair happens to cost $300..."

 

I agree with others, this was a relatively low cost but valuable lesson, thank you for sharing with the forum.

[leisuretraveler223]

My son had an uncomfortable confrontation on Labadee last week. He was walking one of the trails (he is 18 and was alone) that lead to the vendors market and came upon a vendor who asked him into his shop. The vendor gave him a braided bracelet and told him it was free and asked him his name and quickly began carving it on a wine goblet. Now before I get any flames, I agree he should not have taken the bracelet or given the guy his name...but that is not the point of this story.

Now of course the guy wants money for the goblet, and my son doesn't have any with him but he would go to the ship and get some. (Why he stood there while the guy carved his name on something he had no money for is still a mystery). He tells him its $10, and lets him take the goblet with him! Comes back with $15 (just in case) and when he gets back the guy says its $40. My son tells him all he has is $15, so he says (now this is where it gets real sketchy) ok, I'll take $15 but you have to go to the buffet and get me a tray of food. Finally the light dawns, and my son leaves and doesn't return. Now as I said, the details are sketchy, and I have no clue why this all went down. My husband and I were on an excursion and my son was with his grandparents (he left them under a tree on the beach).

As I said, my son is 18 and I really didn't have an issue with him taking a walk on the trails alone. I guess my point is to use caution with your kids walking around the island. In hindsight, that probably shouldn't have been an option but it happened and I hope other parents can take this to heart.

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Translation: These cruises would be so much nicer if they didn't go to foreign countries and we only had to deal with Americans!

[ramidon1]

That is an unfortunate experience. I cannot believe RCCL continues to allow this aggressive vendor situation continue given its a "private area". After several visits, I now avoid the market area altogether. I would imagine it is quite an opportunity for some of these vendors to be allowed to sell/work in the area.

 

Personally, I have never been a fan of the Labadee stop and this market situation only contributes to that opinion. Luckily for RCCL, they have amazing ships and there is really no need to get off because their ports are pretty dismal, at least on the bigger ships.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion as to where to direct a complaint about this sort of vendor activity?

[LMaxwell]

Does anyone have a suggestion as to where to direct a complaint about this sort of vendor activity?

 

I would suggest, first, informing guest services on the ship. Any time an issue impacts your vacation, let guest services know.

 

Then follow up when you are home with these contact points

 

http://elliott.org/company-contacts/royal-caribbean/