New Labadee Pier - When will construction start?

[2112]

Does anyone have any information on when construction will begin on the new pier at Labadee and how long it will take to complete? Do you think the whole place will turn into a construction zone during the construction take away from the enjoyment of the place?

[Rev. Joe]

I'd Love to know if it will be done by June 09

[Cruising89143]

The pier is supposed to be ready by May of 2010 when the Oasis will start calling on Labadee as part of the western itinerary.

[Merion_Mom]

Does anyone have any information on when construction will begin on the new pier at Labadee and how long it will take to complete? Do you think the whole place will turn into a construction zone during the construction take away from the enjoyment of the place?

 

While I haven't witnessed it with my own eyes (but I will in two weeks!), I am virtually positive that construction is underway.

[derf5585]

When Royal Caribbean Cruises launches the world's largest cruise ship -- the 220,000-ton Genesis -- late next year, passengers traveling onboard to Labadee, Haiti, will get an added bonus: They'll no longer have to be ferried across the idyllic sea.

After months of negotiations, the Haitian government and the Miami-based cruise line have signed an agreement to build an 800-foot long, $27 million pier that will allow cruise passengers easier access to the secluded beach.

Haitian President René Préval's government also has agreed to extend the company's current lease of the 260-acre luscious peninsula along Haiti's north coast from the year 2026, when it was due to expire, to 2050.

from

http://www.haitiwebs.com/forums/travel_tourism/48683-royal_caribbean_nears_pier_deal_haiti.html

[2112]

Yes, I know that it is scheduled to be complete in 2010 for the Oasis, but as of the reviews of cruises last week there didn't appear to be anything going on yet.

 

What I really want to know is will Labadee be a mess with construction this winter when I am considering going there? I would like to visit Labadee, but I might pick a different cruise and visit it later if the beautiful views of the ocean are ruined by dump trucks and cranes and the peaceful silence is ruined by the sound of pile drivers.

[mimikens]

Construction will start in September. The construction contract for the pier is in the process of being signed in the next two weeks. It will be substantially complete September 2009.

 

Construction has started on some of the upland improvements already, but none of the waterside improvements have started.

[mimikens]

What I really want to know is will Labadee be a mess with construction this winter when I am considering going there? I would like to visit Labadee, but I might pick a different cruise and visit it later if the beautiful views of the ocean are ruined by dump trucks and cranes and the peaceful silence is ruined by the sound of pile drivers.

 

There will not be dump trucks. The view of the ocean won't really be blocked. Yes, there will be pile driving throughout the winter, but depending upon the beach you go to, there is a good chance you won't hear or see anything. Truthfully, there will be a lot of non-beach going men that are going to try to sneak into the construction site because marine construction is pretty cool!

[daveky]

When I was on the Liberty this past May at the C&A repeat party, the Captain said construction was suppose to have started, but had not as of that time but did not elaborate as to why it hadn't started. Of course as we all know, its for the Oasis. Haven't looked far enough into the future in 2010 when Oasis will alternate sailings between eastern and western. Anyone seen if they will bypass Grand Cayman as they do not allow docking due to preservation of the reef? Or still tender at that stop...

 

Dave

[daveky]

When I was on the Liberty this past May at the C&A repeat party, the Captain said construction was suppose to have started, but had not as of that time but did not elaborate as to why it hadn't started. Of course as we all know, its for the Oasis. Haven't looked far enough into the future in 2010 when Oasis will alternate sailings between eastern and western. Anyone seen if they will bypass Grand Cayman as they do not allow docking due to preservation of the reef? Or still tender at that stop...

 

Dave

[derf5585]

Truthfully, there will be a lot of non-beach going men that are going to try to sneak into the construction site because marine construction is pretty cool!

 

How about non-beach going woman?

[Cruising89143]

When I was on the Liberty this past May at the C&A repeat party, the Captain said construction was suppose to have started, but had not as of that time but did not elaborate as to why it hadn't started. Of course as we all know, its for the Oasis. Haven't looked far enough into the future in 2010 when Oasis will alternate sailings between eastern and western. Anyone seen if they will bypass Grand Cayman as they do not allow docking due to preservation of the reef? Or still tender at that stop...

 

Dave

 

Grand Cayman is not on the Oasis western itinerary. Labadee, Falmouth Jamaica and Cozumel.

[ladylawyer]

How about non-beach going woman?

 

Funny ... I was thinking the exact same thing, but I knew that Mimi would just smack me for asking the question. :eek: She probably doesn't have your phone number, so thanks for asking the question. :p

[mimikens]

When I was on the Liberty this past May at the C&A repeat party, the Captain said construction was suppose to have started, but had not as of that time but did not elaborate as to why it hadn't started. Of course as we all know, its for the Oasis. Haven't looked far enough into the future in 2010 when Oasis will alternate sailings between eastern and western. Anyone seen if they will bypass Grand Cayman as they do not allow docking due to preservation of the reef? Or still tender at that stop...

 

Dave

 

I am assuming it was Captain Kjetil. The pier construction was never to have started in May. The dredging was supposed to have started at the end of May or beginning of June. The pier was supposed to have started in July. The delivery date has never changed. Substantial completion has always been September 2009.

[mimikens]

Funny ... I was thinking the exact same thing, but I knew that Mimi would just smack me for asking the question. :eek: She probably doesn't have your phone number, so thanks for asking the question. :p

 

I wouldn't smack you until I saw you in December.

 

No offense to the women being a woman myself. I think it's fascinating, but I'm an ocean structural engineer. And, of course, I will be watching the construction A LOT over the next year (but I won't have to sneak in ;) ). Generally, it's the men who wander to the site and like to ask how much power certain equipment has.

[concour]

On July 30th all was quiet. No construction, dredging or any type of work was going on. Personally I think building a pier and bringing the Oasis there is a big mistake. First there is nothing like looking out and seeing the ship out in the water and second where are all the people going to go. When there on the Grandeur of the Seas it was the right amount of people. To more than double the people on Labadee will make it very crowded.

 

JMHO

 

Bill

[CLQ]

I'll happily sacrifice the ship-out-in-the-water view for the luxury of stepping off onto a pier. I detest tendering anywhere. It ain't that much fun to us! Long lines of people stuck inside the bowels of a ship waiting for the next boat. Then they pack you onto benches on the little boat so you can sit and wait some more before a ride over to shore.

 

With a pier, you can come and go much more at leisure.

 

We've been there twice on Voyager-class ships and there was a LOT of empty beach-front space on those days. I think good-ole Labadee is going to be just fine.

[derf5585]

I detest tendering anywhere.

 

Another name for it is "Tenderizing":D

[negc]

I'll happily sacrifice the ship-out-in-the-water view for the luxury of stepping off onto a pier. I detest tendering anywhere. It ain't that much fun to us! Long lines of people stuck inside the bowels of a ship waiting for the next boat. Then they pack you onto benches on the little boat so you can sit and wait some more before a ride over to shore.

 

With a pier, you can come and go much more at leisure.

 

We've been there twice on Voyager-class ships and there was a LOT of empty beach-front space on those days. I think good-ole Labadee is going to be just fine.

 

We were in Labadee on our 2006 Freedom of the Seas C&A and Cruise Critics members cruise which may have come close to sailing with their maximum capacity of passengers, given the number of families onboard, and no one seemed to have any problems finding space at the various beaches there. Now, with it being easier to get off the ship at the dock rather than tendering, and the increased capacity of Oasis, that situation might change, but with all of the things there are to do onboard, sufficient numbers of passengers might shorten their time on Labadee in order to take advantage of all those special features. I am sure that RCI will plan accordingly and do everything imaginable to continue making the time on Labadee a wonderful experience. I am sure that they have taken all factors into consideration when planning the ship's itinerary.

[mimikens]

We were in Labadee on our 2006 Freedom of the Seas C&A and Cruise Critics members cruise which may have come close to sailing with their maximum capacity of passengers, given the number of families onboard, and no one seemed to have any problems finding space at the various beaches there. Now, with it being easier to get off the ship at the dock rather than tendering, and the increased capacity of Oasis, that situation might change, but with all of the things there are to do onboard, sufficient numbers of passengers might shorten their time on Labadee in order to take advantage of all those special features. I am sure that RCI will plan accordingly and do everything imaginable to continue making the time on Labadee a wonderful experience. I am sure that they have taken all factors into consideration when planning the ship's itinerary.

 

Actually, with a pier, the crowds seem to trickle off. You will have the earlybirds who want to get to the beach first-thing. The next group will sleep in and come over whenever. Many people will go back to the ship for lunch.

 

Plus, they will be expanding a lot of the offerings.

[derf5585]

If Labadee is RCCL's private so called "Island"

If the only people on the site are cruisers, crew, and Haiti workers

If Labadee is like a Gated Community

 

Do you still have to show your "Sail and Sign card" and go thru security

[K1200S]

If Labadee is RCCL's private so called "Island"

If the only people on the site are cruisers, crew, and Haiti workers

If Labadee is like a Gated Community

 

Do you still have to show your "Sail and Sign card" and go thru security

Yes you do

[SteveB48]

I believe that's how they tell who left the ship and hasn't returned.

 

Steve

[mimikens]

If Labadee is RCCL's private so called "Island"

If the only people on the site are cruisers, crew, and Haiti workers

If Labadee is like a Gated Community

 

Do you still have to show your "Sail and Sign card" and go thru security

 

Yes you do. Other people do have access to the site (UN workers, locals, and consultants). Also as Steve said, they keep track of the guests that way.

[derf5585]

Yes you do. Other people do have access to the site (UN workers, locals, and consultants). Also as Steve said, they keep track of the guests that way.

 

Yes but what about the the security check where one goes thru a detector.