PSA: Labadee is scheduled to reopen on October 8.

[JP350]

Adventure OTS, still has Labadee on the schedule for October 8, and Symphony was just rerouted to Labadee next week as well, to avoid Milton. I know some thought Labadee would never reopen, but at least this is a positive sign to things trending better in Haiti. 

[orville99]

7 hours ago, JP350 said:

Adventure OTS, still has Labadee on the schedule for October 8, and Symphony was just rerouted to Labadee next week as well, to avoid Milton. I know some thought Labadee would never reopen, but at least this is a positive sign to things trending better in Haiti. 

We are on Adventure now and will post pictures when we dock there. We had to make a stop in. Freeport this morning around 2:00 for a medical emergency, so our scheduled stops in the DR and Labadee may be impacted - too soon to tell until the captain does his noon announcements.

 

 

[Cruise a holic]

Honestly, I wouldn't get off in Labadee if our next cruise stopped their.  Last time we went to the beach it was very disappointing- needs a major renovation.  Compared to Coco Cay- it is a dump.   If my ship stops at Labadee, I will stay on board.

[beauty1492]

Any idea what the er sto for last night? Surprise to wake u in Freeport lol

[orville99]

9 minutes ago, beauty1492 said:

Any idea what the er sto for last night? Surprise to wake u in Freeport lol

We watched an ambulance pull up, and then pull away about 20 minutes later. I expect it was a medical evacuation.

[orville99]

41 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Compared to Coco Cay- it is a dump

Compared to what Coco Cay was before they decided to “improve” it, Coco Cay is now the bigger dump.

[Airbear232]

49 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Honestly, I wouldn't get off in Labadee if our next cruise stopped their.  Last time we went to the beach it was very disappointing- needs a major renovation.  Compared to Coco Cay- it is a dump.   If my ship stops at Labadee, I will stay on board.

Agree, the “beaches” under the zip lines are horrible. 

[orville99]

1 minute ago, Airbear232 said:

Agree, the “beaches” under the zip lines are horrible. 

That’s because they are not “beaches”. They are the protective rocky barrier between the perpetual easterly surf and the island. The swimmable beaches are on the other side of the peninsula - Barefoot Bay, Nellie’s, and Columbus beaches are fine.

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

Honestly, I wouldn't get off in Labadee if our next cruise stopped their.  Last time we went to the beach it was very disappointing- needs a major renovation.  Compared to Coco Cay- it is a dump.   If my ship stops at Labadee, I will stay on board.

 

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Compared to what Coco Cay was before they decided to “improve” it, Coco Cay is now the bigger dump.

 

And isn't it great that itineraries are available to accommodate both points of view?

 

Speaking for myself, I have enjoyed both the old and new versions of Coco Cay, and Labadee ... all for exactly what they are. 🙂 

[Airbear232]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

That’s because they are not “beaches”. They are the protective rocky barrier between the perpetual easterly surf and the island. The swimmable beaches are on the other side of the peninsula - Barefoot Bay, Nellie’s, and Columbus beaches are fine.

While what you say may be accurate, Royal markets the area as “beach”.  Adrenaline “beach” is open to the sea but Dragon Tail has barrier rocks and could be rehabilitated.  Far more people seem to occupy these non-beaches than Barefoot, Nellie‘s or Columbus.

[Mapleleafforever]

Best thing about Labadee is it's a free beach day. Is it the best beach? Not even close. But it's free. 

[PhillyFan33579]

I find it interesting that within the last few days  media reports have said things continue to deteriorate in Haiti, yet RCI has decided to resume going to Labadee now. Based on this RCI undoubtedly has or is making a mistake. Going to Labadee when things are getting worse in Haiti is either foolish or based on the location of Labadee, RCI should have never stopped going to Labadee. Either way, and I hope it is the latter, RCI leadership made a mistake with one of these decisions. 

[not-enough-cruising]

4 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I find it interesting that within the last few days  media reports have said things continue to deteriorate in Haiti, yet RCI has decided to resume going to Labadee now. Based on this RCI undoubtedly has or is making a mistake. Going to Labadee when things are getting worse in Haiti is either foolish or based on the location of Labadee, RCI should have never stopped going to Labadee. Either way, and I hope it is the latter, RCI leadership made a mistake with one of these decisions. 

They never needed to stop going to Labadee, this was PURELY a public relations decision. I don't know if it was a mistake or not, but it di cover their behinds in the public eye.

Returning now is certainly not a mistake, IMO.

There are nowhere near the number of eyes on the situation now as there were a couple months ago. As is the situation with most things in the news cycle, people bet bored with a story quickly. Royal will return to Labadee with little fanfare, and no one (outside of the users here) will notice.

[PhillyFan33579]

4 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

They never needed to stop going to Labadee, this was PURELY a public relations decision. I don't know if it was a mistake or not, but it di cover their behinds in the public eye.

Returning now is certainly not a mistake, IMO.

There are nowhere near the number of eyes on the situation now as there were a couple months ago. As is the situation with most things in the news cycle, people bet bored with a story quickly. Royal will return to Labadee with little fanfare, and no one (outside of the users here) will notice.

My concern, and this is likely due to my twenty plus years in the military studying third world countries, is actions Gran Grif (or other gangs) might take. Like you mentioned the news related to Haiti has died down, even though things continue to escalate there. If I am Gran Grif and I want to get the world’s attention, hijacking a cruise ship or capturing a lot of passengers as hostages would certainly do the trick. 

[smokeybandit]

20 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

even though things continue to escalate there.

Things have escalated off and on for decades there.

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

Agree, the “beaches” under the zip lines are horrible. 

I have never gone to that beach.  The Zip line itself should be a deterrent. I always do Columbus Cove or Barefoot. Unfortunately when people get off the ship since they built the dock it is the closest beach and passengers get steered there by the locals who put out the chairs. They have tried to hustle me over to Adrenaline Beach. I know better since my first time at Labadee was 1995. Before  the Zip lines they did not allow swimming at Adreniline Beach. There were no chairs. They had signs that said dangerous currents LOL. They did smooth it out a bit for chairs after the dock opened. For those who don't want to walk to Nellies or Columbus Cove there is tram. No reason to use the horrible beach. 

Edited 18 hours ago by Charles4515

[nelblu]

11 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I have never gone to that beach.  The Zip line itself should be a deterrent. I always do Columbus Cove or Barefoot. Unfortunately when people get off the ship since they built the dock it is the closest beach and passengers get steered there by the locals who put out the chairs. They have tried to hustle me over to Adrenaline Beach. I know better since my first time at Labadee was 1995. Before  the Zip lines they did not allow swimming at Adreniline Beach. There were no chairs. They had signs that said dangerous currents LOL. They did smooth it out a bit for chairs after the dock opened. For those who don't want to walk to Nellies or Columbus Cove there is tram. No reason to use the horrible beach. 

Now, chairs are all pre-arranged with umbrellas as in Coco Cay.  No local involvement in getting and placing chairs.  I think it's the closest and first so-called beach that you come across.  I agree the reefs are uncomfortable when getting in the water.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

My concern, and this is likely due to my twenty plus years in the military studying third world countries, is actions Gran Grif (or other gangs) might take. Like you mentioned the news related to Haiti has died down, even though things continue to escalate there. If I am Gran Grif and I want to get the world’s attention, hijacking a cruise ship or capturing a lot of passengers as hostages would certainly do the trick. 

I think you have a better chance of getting caught in cartel cross-fire on the beach in Cozumel than you do of being taken hostage in Labadee.  Gran Grif is not that dumb

[notscb]

5 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

They never needed to stop going to Labadee, this was PURELY a public relations decision.

I don't think this is a great take.

 

I think in a country where gangs outnumber and out-weapon the local government, Royal making a decision not to go there is a good call. Not to mention, there's something very strange and, IMO, morally reprehensible about a private company bringing folks to relax in "paradise" while the people of that "paradise" are being brutally displaced, attacked and murdered in the next major city over.

Edited 13 hours ago by notscb

[smokeybandit]

Just now, notscb said:

I don't think this is a great take.

 

I was on the first cruise affected by the cancellations and the captain on that ship outright said it was due to PR and not due to any violence due to the difficulty for any gangs to get to Labadee.

[notscb]

1 minute ago, smokeybandit said:

I was on the first cruise affected by the cancellations and the captain on that ship outright said it was due to PR and not due to any violence due to the difficulty for any gangs to get to Labadee.

That's great. As if there's no way to access that area by vehicle or by boat...smh.

[koolZip]

9 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

Honestly, I wouldn't get off in Labadee if our next cruise stopped their.  Last time we went to the beach it was very disappointing- needs a major renovation.  Compared to Coco Cay- it is a dump.   If my ship stops at Labadee, I will stay on board.

Agreed. Labadee is an automatic roost for us. Or as I like to call it, "a Haitian sea day".

[not-enough-cruising]

12 minutes ago, notscb said:

That's great. As if there's no way to access that area by vehicle or by boat...smh.

Not easily and not in any way that wouldn’t give the inhabitants of the peninsula about an 8 hours notice.  

This cessation of visits did not save any visitor any danger. 
 

If you have a morale issue with the visit, insights you not travel at all, even to many major US cities. 

[PhillyFan33579]

18 minutes ago, notscb said:

I don't think this is a great take.

 

I think in a country where gangs outnumber and out-weapon the local government, Royal making a decision not to go there is a good call. Not to mention, there's something very strange and, IMO, morally reprehensible about a private company bringing folks to relax in "paradise" while the people of that "paradise" are being brutally displaced, attacked and murdered in the next major city over.

As others have stated, RCI suspending cruises to Labadee was clearly a PR move. There is no other way to explain it because the situation in Haiti is significantly worse than when RCI stopped going to Labadee. RCI would not be resuming going to Labadee if the decision to stop going was made out of concern for passenger safety. 

[notscb]

6 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

if the decision to stop going was made out of concern for passenger safety

Oh, I don't think the decision was made out of passenger safety. Royal and every other cruise line (and business) make decisions purely based on their own sense of profit and risk management.

 

I'm saying that going to Haiti right now and the decision to resume going to Haiti is short sighted and morally wrong.