Haiti - State Dept Travel Warning

[Andipanda1]

I was going to add that. Unless their is a specific threat to the Labadee area, it isn't new. Before I booked my first cruise I was concerned about going to Haiti, and RCI does play down the fact that Labadee is in Haiti. All of the locals going into the RCI area have to go through security.

 

Actually, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw some RCI literature that labeled Labadee as being in Haiti...when we cruised eight years ago, the said Labadee was part of Hispanola (but anyone reading a map could have figured it out). In any event, the beach is beautiful and it beats Coco Cay by a mile. And there are armed guards.

 

Enjoy your time there.

[Andipanda1]

Negative. Labadee is a peninsula. The straw market, maintanance, etc are all Haitians. Plus, there is nothing to prevent anyone from getting there by boat.

 

When I was there on the Freedom, I noticed several homemade sailboats sail up to the boat. They were hanging on to the stern, the anchor balls, and anything else they could grab a hold of on the ship. I'm not sure what they were up to. But I was surprised the ship's crew weren't more aggressive at running them off.

 

Could it be that the cruise ship personnel know what they're doing? :eek:

[chaswelf]

wow thanks for all the reponses. I'm not worried about getting off the ship here but was more wondering if the stop has been cancelled lately. in the mid 90's rcl did stop going to labadee for a number of months due to the same type of issues. I remember getting a notice with my docs on my 1994 SOS cruise about the cancellation of the stop.

[aqhacruiser]

Negative. Labadee is a peninsula. The straw market, maintanance, etc are all Haitians. Plus, there is nothing to prevent anyone from getting there by boat.

 

When I was there on the Freedom, I noticed several homemade sailboats sail up to the boat. They were hanging on to the stern, the anchor balls, and anything else they could grab a hold of on the ship. I'm not sure what they were up to. But I was surprised the ship's crew weren't more aggressive at running them off.

 

You are absolutely correct regarding Labadee and I think we should give some weight to the state dept. warning and try to find out the reasoning it's posted now. I'm not sure why the ship's security was not more aggressive on your cruise either.

[negc]

The state department warning is issued periodically and if you read it carefully, it relates primarily to travel in and around Port au Prince- some 400 miles away from Labadee- and areas where security and an effective police force is absent, and the danger of kidnapping is present. Those conditions really don't apply to the isolated area of Labadee, where there is an effective security presence and where crime is not a significant factor. As I posted earlier, when there has been the slightest possibility of a problem, RCI has discontinued its stops in Labadee. At this time, they have not done so, and I would give their decision a lot of weight when deciding on my cruise itinerary.

[rosinryanz]

St. Croix is a good example of somewhere the cruise lines stop calling at if it truly is too unsafe...

 

Labadee is safe. The Penninsula on which it rests is far away from the primary trouble spots, and there is heavy duty security protecting Labadee. If it is truly unsafe, you better believe they won't stop there. They don't want that liability, and as many often complain, they have no qualms about switching ports at the last minute.

 

I was under the impression that St. Croix was cancelled due to 1) lack of lucrative shore excursions and 2) rising port charges. If security really is an issue, then Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, or Santo Domingo would be scrapped. I think the "rising crime in St. Croix" was more of a diversion from the real issues.

[rosinryanz]

I belive that around 1994 or so, all RCCL sailing cancelled Labadee due to the then current embargo with Haiti.

 

While Haiti is a habitually unstable place, Labadee is far-removed from the civil strife, and is quite a paradise!

 

FYI, Haiti used to be a top destination in the 70's and 80's. The international jet set flocked to a resort outside of Port-au-Prince called Habitation Leclerc - everyone went there. I think it closed around 1983 or so because our early ignorance of AIDS led to a total stall of tourism in Haiti. It's too bad becasue Cap-Haitien was once a beautiful seaside port, and Port-au-Prince was always a fun, safe adventure.

[scubapuss]

last June on the wave runners we were told not ot buy anything from the haitians. They don't want them comming out to sell things.

[Dave85]

I was under the impression that St. Croix was cancelled due to 1) lack of lucrative shore excursions and 2) rising port charges. If security really is an issue, then Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, or Santo Domingo would be scrapped. I think the "rising crime in St. Croix" was more of a diversion from the real issues.

 

A large number of passengers and crew (or at least larger than was acceptable) were attacked in St. Croix during the period before all the major lines pulled out. It was a big issue several years ago, and I believe it was discussed extensively on several of these boards at the time.

 

I'm not saying that your speculation is entirely untrue, I'm just going by what I read at the time from many sources including mainstream media. St. Croix was also quite boring as I recall, and I've yet to miss going there one bit. We were sailing Carnival routinely at the time St. Croix was being scrapped from itineraries, and they replaced it with St. Maarten which made many people quite happy. Seeing as it was so boring, it does make sense however that there would be a lack of lucrative shore excursion opportunities.

[smeyer418]

with all due respect to the person who originally posted this, this is the same travel warning for Haiti that has been posted for 4-5 years. The warning expire every six months and in Haiti's case have been reissued like clock work. Is Haiti generally safe- no I wouldn't go there at this time although its much better than its been for a couple of years. Is Larabee safe? yes at this time.

 

I have stopped at places where travel warnings have been in effect---without incident.

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_917.html

[MrsPete]

Nowhere on that warning does it say Labadee is safe. It warns of all travel to Haiti. I personally would not get off the ship in this port, but that is my opinion.

WHY is the warning issued? If it's a matter of individuals being mugged by low-level criminals, then the security should be enough to keep cruisers safe. On the other hand, if these are terrorist-type people, then staying on the ship would be no safer than going ashore.

 

Anyone have details?

[TPKeller]

Anyone interested in seeing how it looks can check out the map here:

 

http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/maps/portmaps.php?mapid=labadee

 

You can zoom out to see how the area fits in with the rest of the country.

 

Theron

[nlcentralchmps03]

I feel a lot more vulnerable in Ocho Rios than I do in Labadee. Labadee is our favorite port on the western caribbean loop.

I agree with you.

 

Labadee was by far our favorite stop.

 

What a beautiful place.

[mae]

I'm a little familiar with the Haiti you are referring to. My daughter, a teacher and several members of her church were in the REAL Haiti in July for 3 weeks on a Christian mission trip. Haiti is the poorest, most poverty stricken country in the world and she saw a side of humanity most people wouldn't believe. She was well looked after by the "police" in Haiti as a member of the mission work force. She loved the people of Haiti and feels great empathy for them. The fear is, as everyone has stated, from the political aspect. The Labadee we see is as far from the Haiti she saw as the climate there is from our snow and ice today. Unless the ship discontinues it stop there, I plan to get off, buy some of their wares and enjoy the day. Don't plan to visit the Red Cross to donate blood, however, for 12 months, they won't take it.

[Andipanda1]

WHY is the warning issued? If it's a matter of individuals being mugged by low-level criminals, then the security should be enough to keep cruisers safe. On the other hand, if these are terrorist-type people, then staying on the ship would be no safer than going ashore.

 

Anyone have details?

 

There has been a rash of domestic kidnappings in Haiti; I heard news reports of people being snatched off the streets for ransom. It would make sense for the state department to warn Americans who choose to travel within Port au Prince and other cities to be careful.

 

These people are the poorest of the poor, and while I make no excuses for it, poverty can drive people to do some pretty desperate things.

 

However, if the situation becomes worse, then RCI won't sail there.

[rosinryanz]

I believe that Labadee is open to the Haitians for their own use when RCCL is not in port. Is this true or false?

[rosinryanz]

A large number of passengers and crew (or at least larger than was acceptable) were attacked in St. Croix during the period before all the major lines pulled out. It was a big issue several years ago, and I believe it was discussed extensively on several of these boards at the time.

 

I'm not saying that your speculation is entirely untrue, I'm just going by what I read at the time from many sources including mainstream media. St. Croix was also quite boring as I recall, and I've yet to miss going there one bit. We were sailing Carnival routinely at the time St. Croix was being scrapped from itineraries, and they replaced it with St. Maarten which made many people quite happy. Seeing as it was so boring, it does make sense however that there would be a lack of lucrative shore excursion opportunities.

 

I agree that St. Croix was not a terribly exciting place. I went there for a week years ago and while it was very relaxing, it was probably the most boring place on the planet. You definately see all the sights in about an hour.

[Matronly Mom]

Labadee is a safe port relative to blood donation. I give platelets and whole blood and have doing so for years. Labadee is the only safe place though.....as long as you don't go elsewhere on the island you can give blood. And if you can, you should.

 

Regarding the poverty, for heaven sakes if you can afford a cruise you could make a purchase from one of the merchants. We bought some beautiful items while we there a couple of years ago.

[wrp96]

I believe that Labadee is open to the Haitians for their own use when RCCL is not in port. Is this true or false?

 

Definitely false.

[rmcg1975]

When hasn't there been a warning? Last time I stopped in Labadee they-the country of Haiti- were waging a full scale Civil War.

[cruisertime]

I don't want to add gasoline to the fire, but I thought I should mention this.

 

My wife is a regular blood donor, and she was at LifeSource last week and mentioned that we were going on a cruise with a stop in Haiti. A manager came over and showed my wife a book of donor guidelines that if she visits Haiti, she will be ineligible to donate blood for a period of three years.

 

I called RCCL customer service, they stated that they are not aware of that issue. I'm working to try and get a difinitive answer from LifeSource.

 

I'll keep you posted as to the result.

[TennisLover]

I was a committed blood doner until they wouldn't let me donate after I went to the Tulum ruins (Cozumel) -- apparently a high-risk malaria area. The following year I was in Belize and Roatan (off limits), last year Costa Rica and Panama. You can't give for a year after you've been to any of the high risk areas on their list. I will have to check to see if I can give after this year's itinerary.

 

Interestingly -- being in Cozumel didn't prevent me from giving blood. They specifically asked (verbally) if I had been to the ruins and, since that was exactly what we did there, they apologized and said they had to turn me away.

[TPKeller]

Apparently the rules change fairly frequently. After my visit to Labadee, (in 2003) they allowed me to donate, but only after asking if I was ashore after dark, which of course we had not been.

 

More recently I have read that Costa Maya is also on the list of places that disqualify donations for one year.

 

It would be handy if we had someone on these boards who worked for the Red Cross, who could keep a "sticky" thread updated with current information.

 

Theron

[TPKeller]

Cool, I got "bit" by the double-post mosquito!!

[Micknmin]

Don't plan to visit the Red Cross to donate blood, however, for 12 months, they won't take it.

We stopped at Labadee in July on our cruise on the Freedom and I had I had also heard that the Red Cross wouldn't take your blood if you had been there. When my youngest daughter went to college, they had a blood drive and I told her to make sure that she told them every port that we had visited, especially Labadee. When she told them that she had been to Labadee, Haiti, they told her that it wasn't on their list and that it was fine for her to give blood. She has given blood one more time since then and they, once again, told her it was fine. I wonder if it makes a difference where in Haiti you visited.

Holly