Has anyone walked through the full vendor trail in Labadee?

[md80fan]

I have been there twice and I will not go into that area again. Not all of the people there are aggressive or obnoxious, however the handful that are, in my my opinion ruins it for the rest of them. My issue is some of them flat out lie. The one person I dealt with at the entrance of the trail was super nice. Asking how are you and what do I think of the cruise etc... He asks me to come up to his stall. I said I am looking for 2 specific type of souvenirs. He said he had that and more and to come take a look. We go up to his stall and he does not have what I am looking for and clearly lied just to get me to come to his stall. he puts the bracelet on me which I did not want and then carved my name into this little cheap balsa wood looking shot glass. I told him I was not interested in this stuff just those 2 specific items.He clearly did not have them and I finally said I am leaving and then he demanded I pay for the bracelet and the  wood shot glass thing. I said no I never asked for nor do I want it. He said you must give me at least 1 or 2 dollars for each because he cannot sell them to other people. I said not my problem and in the end he just gave them to me for free. The wood shot glass thing had a sticker on the bottom that said made in china. In the end I threw the wood shot glass away and had someone cut the bracelet off. As I walked out of there I could tell there were probably some people trying to be courteous and trying to make a living. There were a couple other that were being flat out rude to the passengers that they got to come to their stalls. I was also shown the cheap wooden pirate sword meant for a kid which also had a made in china sticker on it. I have no way of knowing what percentage of stuff is real authentic Haitian made vs china. I get it that Haiti is a very poor country and the people are trying to survive in a terrible economic situation but being pushed around just makes for a negative experience. To me it is not worth it and just enjoy the beach or zipline or roller coaster or jet skis and ignore that trail unless you actually enjoy arguing with people. There is a difference between barter and negotiating like in some markets around the world and then there is just being rude. I realize my one or two experiences might not reflect what other people see but it just my two cents 

[The Fun Researcher]

29 minutes ago, md80fan said:

I have been there twice and I will not go into that area again. Not all of the people there are aggressive or obnoxious, however the handful that are, in my my opinion ruins it for the rest of them. My issue is some of them flat out lie. The one person I dealt with at the entrance of the trail was super nice. Asking how are you and what do I think of the cruise etc... He asks me to come up to his stall. I said I am looking for 2 specific type of souvenirs. He said he had that and more and to come take a look. We go up to his stall and he does not have what I am looking for and clearly lied just to get me to come to his stall. he puts the bracelet on me which I did not want and then carved my name into this little cheap balsa wood looking shot glass. I told him I was not interested in this stuff just those 2 specific items.He clearly did not have them and I finally said I am leaving and then he demanded I pay for the bracelet and the  wood shot glass thing. I said no I never asked for nor do I want it. He said you must give me at least 1 or 2 dollars for each because he cannot sell them to other people. I said not my problem and in the end he just gave them to me for free. The wood shot glass thing had a sticker on the bottom that said made in china. In the end I threw the wood shot glass away and had someone cut the bracelet off. As I walked out of there I could tell there were probably some people trying to be courteous and trying to make a living. There were a couple other that were being flat out rude to the passengers that they got to come to their stalls. I was also shown the cheap wooden pirate sword meant for a kid which also had a made in china sticker on it. I have no way of knowing what percentage of stuff is real authentic Haitian made vs china. I get it that Haiti is a very poor country and the people are trying to survive in a terrible economic situation but being pushed around just makes for a negative experience. To me it is not worth it and just enjoy the beach or zipline or roller coaster or jet skis and ignore that trail unless you actually enjoy arguing with people. There is a difference between barter and negotiating like in some markets around the world and then there is just being rude. I realize my one or two experiences might not reflect what other people see but it just my two cents 

Putting a bracelet on your arm is a typical occurrence along the path unfortunately.  One of the tactics to guilt you into purchasing items.  They do it because it works.

 

We still go through that area but know the tricks.  Our kids like to browse but have visited Labadee (and other aggressive souvenir locations) enough to know how to handle these situations now.

Dan

[Toddcan]

36 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

(MUD COOKIE) The taste has been described as a smooth consistency that immediately dries the mouth with a pungent aftertaste of dirt that lingers for hours.

 

No Thank You.

I agree. Weird though.. I lived there for 18 months and never heard of a mud cookie, or even seen one before.  Mind you, that was 40 years ago 

 

[Toddcan]

38 minutes ago, md80fan said:

I have been there twice and I will not go into that area again. Not all of the people there are aggressive or obnoxious, however the handful that are, in my my opinion ruins it for the rest of them. My issue is some of them flat out lie. The one person I dealt with at the entrance of the trail was super nice. Asking how are you and what do I think of the cruise etc... He asks me to come up to his stall. I said I am looking for 2 specific type of souvenirs. He said he had that and more and to come take a look. We go up to his stall and he does not have what I am looking for and clearly lied just to get me to come to his stall. he puts the bracelet on me which I did not want and then carved my name into this little cheap balsa wood looking shot glass. I told him I was not interested in this stuff just those 2 specific items.He clearly did not have them and I finally said I am leaving and then he demanded I pay for the bracelet and the  wood shot glass thing. I said no I never asked for nor do I want it. He said you must give me at least 1 or 2 dollars for each because he cannot sell them to other people. I said not my problem and in the end he just gave them to me for free. The wood shot glass thing had a sticker on the bottom that said made in china. In the end I threw the wood shot glass away and had someone cut the bracelet off. As I walked out of there I could tell there were probably some people trying to be courteous and trying to make a living. There were a couple other that were being flat out rude to the passengers that they got to come to their stalls. I was also shown the cheap wooden pirate sword meant for a kid which also had a made in china sticker on it. I have no way of knowing what percentage of stuff is real authentic Haitian made vs china. I get it that Haiti is a very poor country and the people are trying to survive in a terrible economic situation but being pushed around just makes for a negative experience. To me it is not worth it and just enjoy the beach or zipline or roller coaster or jet skis and ignore that trail unless you actually enjoy arguing with people. There is a difference between barter and negotiating like in some markets around the world and then there is just being rude. I realize my one or two experiences might not reflect what other people see but it just my two cents 

Fair enough - everyone has to form their own opinions based on their experiences.  What I will say this this, for education purposes to others:

 

1. The bracelet thing is a trick that a lot of vendors there use.  A firm "no" or even "No, Merci" will suffice.  Just be aware of it.  If you don't mind "donating" a few dollars for a bracelet, then let them proceed. 

2. Telling you they have your item is not really a lie - what is very prevalent there is that they know another kiosk that might have that item, so they send a runner while he shows you HIS booth.  Granted... more often then not, the runner comes back with nothing. They try though.  

3. The way I look at it is that I am genuinely interested in other cultures.  I enjoy talking to people, and believe me, Haitians have a story to tell. Their English is usually VERY good (especially since a lot were deported back to Haiti in the past 5 years), so listening and chatting will make you a better person, in my opinion. And it that means I'll buy a useless trinket for $5, so be it. 

[Cruise5life]

5 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

What are you "overwhelmed" by.  People, in an impoverished nation, trying to sell some items to put food on the table?  Remember the rhyme, sticks and stones my break my bones but words will never hurt me?  Are they hitting you with sticks or throwing a lasso around you, or are they just telling you, come look, I have good deals, come look?  Are those words dangerous?  

 

There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, to look around.  You know how to say no, and that's it.  If you see something, they will tell you a price, you cut it in half, and offer your price, and maybe you will settle on a price. Simple and fun.

You mean scam-artists.  
 

I wanted to get some Haitian currency as I like to get the local currency where ever I go.  
And they wanted 50.00 for 750.00 in Haitian currency.     You do the math.   
 

 

 

[Toddcan]

2 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

First few visits for me 35yrs ago there was no locals selling anything. Was rustic, only couple Buildings. In 90's the small Vendor area was similar to the old Nassau Straw Market, both little too aggressive then. Irony is I was also there on another Cruise day it burnt down

I'd LOVE to hear more about your visit.  I didn't know it was open to visitors 35 years ago. I visited there 40 years ago, but it was not open to visitors, but they had some scattered buildings there. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by Toddcan

[SteelCityCruiser10]

41 minutes ago, md80fan said:

To me it is not worth it and just enjoy the beach or zipline or roller coaster or jet skis and ignore that trail unless you actually enjoy arguing with people. 

Scratch the jet skis too if you don’t want a sales pitch.  last time we did the jet ski tour toward the end the guide stopped us somewhat near the beach.  I remember wondering why we had stopped & soon enough 2-3 haitians in canoes started paddling out to us circling us all showing their bracelets etc.  Just said no thanks 3 or 4 times and they finally moved on.  won’t ever do jet skis there again i can tell you that. 

[Toddcan]

7 minutes ago, Cruise5life said:

You mean scam-artists.  
 

I wanted to get some Haitian currency as I like to get the local currency where ever I go.  
And they wanted 50.00 for 750.00 in Haitian currency.     You do the math.   
 

 

 

Did you try and negotiate? You're correct - that is a wild conversion rate.  750 Gourdes is worth about $5 USD. 

 

But... be careful, there is some old currency (pre-1989) that was converted at 5 Gourdes = $1 USD  - if I found old haitian gourdes at the market - I would pay $50 for 750 Gourdes, even though it's useless now, it's rare, and a very cool novelty since they normally have pictures of The Duvaliers on some of it. 

[Cruise5life]

4 minutes ago, Toddcan said:

Did you try and negotiate? You're correct - that is a wild conversion rate.  750 Gourdes is worth about $5 USD. 

 

But... be careful, there is some old currency (pre-1989) that was converted at 5 Gourdes = $1 USD  - if I found old haitian gourdes at the market - I would pay $50 for 750 Gourdes, even though it's useless now, it's rare, and a very cool novelty since they normally have pictures of The Duvaliers on some of it. 

There was nothing old about the bills he was trying to sell me.   Trying to scam a tourist for 50.00 for 5.00 with of currency is just ridiculous.  I didn’t even try and negotiate with him after that quote.    
I just went about my day.   And he lost a sale and I went home without any local currency from there.    
every other port I was in I had no problem getting some sort of currency at face value.     Some swapped me 2.00 bills for their currency.    
And I also bought some things I was looking for.  Mainly magnets and shot glasses.   

[Toddcan]

7 minutes ago, Cruise5life said:

There was nothing old about the bills he was trying to sell me.   Trying to scam a tourist for 50.00 for 5.00 with of currency is just ridiculous.  I didn’t even try and negotiate with him after that quote.    
I just went about my day.   And he lost a sale and I went home without any local currency from there.    
every other port I was in I had no problem getting some sort of currency at face value.     Some swapped me 2.00 bills for their currency.    
And I also bought some things I was looking for.  Mainly magnets and shot glasses.   

Yeah, that's an aggressive starting bid 🙂  

 

I like Haitian money and licence plates, and almost 100% of any vendor you ask will sell you currency , it's too bad you didn't get to take some home with you though. I'll bet buddy 2 doors down would have sold you some. 

[Cruise5life]

5 minutes ago, Toddcan said:

Yeah, that's an aggressive starting bid 🙂  

 

I like Haitian money and licence plates, and almost 100% of any vendor you ask will sell you currency , it's too bad you didn't get to take some home with you though. I'll bet buddy 2 doors down would have sold you some. 

You might be right.  But it left a very bad taste in my mouth.    So I avoided them all.   And I walked 6 miles all over that place even went back to the ship for my GoPro 
Oh and 5 rollercoaster rides.  

[davekathy]

One and done. Walking the gauntlet. No thanks, no thanks...

[Ukigirl]

OP asked a question so play nice. First time I went through with my 7 year old daughter I felt extremely uncomfortable, I think mostly because I didn’t know what to expect so we turned around quickly. After 20 years and multiple trips back, I understand it’s their livelihood and if I buy something, great but mostly nod my head and keep walking and they leave you alone.

[Cruise5life]

4 minutes ago, Ukigirl said:

OP asked a question so play nice. First time I went through with my 7 year old daughter I felt extremely uncomfortable, I think mostly because I didn’t know what to expect so we turned around quickly. After 20 years and multiple trips back, I understand it’s their livelihood and if I buy something, great but mostly nod my head and keep walking and they leave you alone.

Lolol. So you say the op asked a question to play nice.  And you as well don’t answer the question.  Lololol. 
 

to the op.   Most all the vendors have the exact same thing throughout the area.   
best thing to do is just walk around and  don’t feel like you have to buy anything.  
And remember don’t let anyone put anything on your wrist.   
just a nice no thank you and keep walking.   

[TheMastodon]

3 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

you missed my point.....way off.  I simply said, that words can't hurt you.  

 

Tell that to college students.

 

 

7 hours ago, Jezo said:

The whole path, from one side to the other where the tram to the beach drives you through.  Has anyone walked through the whole thing?  I usually can only make it to the shops on the edge and along the outer walkways, always been overwhelmed with the vendors.  Is there anything different if you go all the way through or is it the same assortment of stuff in all of the shops?

 

Yes, many times.  All sorts of stuff for sale.  We always spend some $ in there.

 

Back in the day, it was way more chaotic.  Not so much anymore!  I think Royal has asked them to tone down the sales tactics.  Never bothered me though, part of the experience.  

[ticketsunlimited]

3 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

You might be right.  But it left a very bad taste in my mouth.    So I avoided them all.   And I walked 6 miles all over that place even went back to the ship for my GoPro 
Oh and 5 rollercoaster rides.  

That bad taste in your mouth was a mud cookie.

 

My wife and I will be there on the 21st.  We will take one for the team and grab a few items.  I will report back if we are able to make through on our own.😉.

[Joseph2017China]

5 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

There was nothing old about the bills he was trying to sell me.   Trying to scam a tourist for 50.00 for 5.00 with of currency is just ridiculous.  I didn’t even try and negotiate with him after that quote.    
I just went about my day.   And he lost a sale and I went home without any local currency from there.    
every other port I was in I had no problem getting some sort of currency at face value.     Some swapped me 2.00 bills for their currency.    
And I also bought some things I was looking for.  Mainly magnets and shot glasses.   

So that was a bid, not a scam.  Big difference.  They start high, you start low.  In China, I bought an item that started out at $250.00 and ended at $18.00. A similar price on Amazon was $15.00.  I called that a loss.  

 

One of my pass times is watching people get ripped off.  Like buying a beer for $5 when I paid $0.70 for it.  

 

If you don't play the game, you don't get what you want. 

 

you take out your phone, do the exchange rate, and tell them, you will pay $7.00 for it, or a $2.00 profit.  But start at $6 and maybe go to $8 at most.  They would have taken it, if you were patient.  It's a game, not a scam.

 

[Morecruisesplz]

11 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

What are you "overwhelmed" by.  People, in an impoverished nation, trying to sell some items to put food on the table?  Remember the rhyme, sticks and stones my break my bones but words will never hurt me?  Are they hitting you with sticks or throwing a lasso around you, or are they just telling you, come look, I have good deals, come look?  Are those words dangerous?  

 

There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, to look around.  You know how to say no, and that's it.  If you see something, they will tell you a price, you cut it in half, and offer your price, and maybe you will settle on a price. Simple and fun.

Cut price in half? It's not a flea market!

[sunluva]

The last time I walked through (April) they had security guys walking around.  As a vendor approached me a security guard asked 'is everything OK ma'am'.  I said I was fine. I was familiar with the sometimes aggressive vendors. The guard walked along with me for a bit  and he was telling me that there have been so many complaints of aggressive vendors that they are trying to make it less stressful for the cruise passengers. I'm not sure if this is a regular thing now but this was back in April 2022. 

[Traveling Library]

Was there in late February. Walked on the road and sat for a bit. One person approached us. We said "no thank you" and that was that.  We didn't show any interest in any of the stores or their wares. The vendors showed no interest in us.

[Cruise5life]

1 hour ago, Joseph2017China said:

So that was a bid, not a scam.  Big difference.  They start high, you start low.  In China, I bought an item that started out at $250.00 and ended at $18.00. A similar price on Amazon was $15.00.  I called that a loss.  

 

One of my pass times is watching people get ripped off.  Like buying a beer for $5 when I paid $0.70 for it.  

 

If you don't play the game, you don't get what you want. 

 

you take out your phone, do the exchange rate, and tell them, you will pay $7.00 for it, or a $2.00 profit.  But start at $6 and maybe go to $8 at most.  They would have taken it, if you were patient.  It's a game, not a scam.

 

He 100% was trying to scam me. 50.00 for 5.00 worth of currency is ridiculous.   If they are starving like some have said why not start at a reasonable price rather than thinking there going to scam some tourist    And I did my homework before I went ashore.   I knew what the rate was when I asked.   If he would have put out a reasonable price I would have then started to negotiate.      But I just walked away as he said what do I want to pay.    
I’ve been cruising and traveling my entire life and dealing with street peddlers.    I’d rather walk away than try and deal with people like that.  
 

[Cruise5life]

3 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

That bad taste in your mouth was a mud cookie.

 

My wife and I will be there on the 21st.  We will take one for the team and grab a few items.  I will report back if we are able to make through on our own.😉.

Grab me about 1000 in Haitian currency.  Lolol.  I’ll send ya 10.00.  Lolol.  

[Joseph2017China]

22 minutes ago, Cruise5life said:

He 100% was trying to scam me. 50.00 for 5.00 worth of currency is ridiculous.   If they are starving like some have said why not start at a reasonable price rather than thinking there going to scam some tourist    And I did my homework before I went ashore.   I knew what the rate was when I asked.   If he would have put out a reasonable price I would have then started to negotiate.      But I just walked away as he said what do I want to pay.    
I’ve been cruising and traveling my entire life and dealing with street peddlers.    I’d rather walk away than try and deal with people like that.  
 

Still not a scam.  It was just the opening.  He knew he wouldn’t get it.  It’s a game. He was testing you. 😎

[Cruise5life]

3 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

Still not a scam.  It was just the opening.  He knew he wouldn’t get it.  It’s a game. He was testing you. 😎

If you say so.   Actually I was testing him.  And he failed big time.    
pill just have to get some my next time I’m there.  

[Morecruisesplz]

8 hours ago, Toddcan said:

Fair enough - everyone has to form their own opinions based on their experiences.  What I will say this this, for education purposes to others:

 

1. The bracelet thing is a trick that a lot of vendors there use.  A firm "no" or even "No, Merci" will suffice.  Just be aware of it.  If you don't mind "donating" a few dollars for a bracelet, then let them proceed. 

2. Telling you they have your item is not really a lie - what is very prevalent there is that they know another kiosk that might have that item, so they send a runner while he shows you HIS booth.  Granted... more often then not, the runner comes back with nothing. They try though.  

3. The way I look at it is that I am genuinely interested in other cultures.  I enjoy talking to people, and believe me, Haitians have a story to tell. Their English is usually VERY good (especially since a lot were deported back to Haiti in the past 5 years), so listening and chatting will make you a better person, in my opinion. And it that means I'll buy a useless trinket for $5, so be it. 

#2 is a lie. Flat out.