Royal Caribbean International suspends port calls to Labadee in Haiti

Royal Caribbean International is suspending all upcoming port calls at Labadee, its private island in Haiti, due to the evolving security crisis in the country.

The cruise line is the only major cruise operator with regular port calls in Haiti, with upwards of 150 ship calls per year to its privately-owned Labadee destination, an enclave around 100 kilometres from the capital Port-au-Prince.

However, with Haiti’s capital having devolved into gang violence in recent weeks, and a security vacuum creating conditions of anarchy across much of the country, Royal Caribbean has taken the decision to suspend calls, as it can no longer guarantee guests safety ashore.

“Due to the evolving situation in Haiti, and in an abundance of caution, we’re temporally suspending our visits to Labadee for our entire fleet,” the company said in a prepared statement sent to booked guests.

“We continue to monitor and assess the situation with our Global Security & Intelligence Team,” it added, but did not give a timeframe in which port calls to the country might resume.

Several ships were scheduled to visit Labadee over the next few days, including Symphony of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and many others.

Symphony of the Seas was due to call in Labadee on March 19th as part of her 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary.

According to a statement sent to guests, the call will be replaced with a day at sea, as well as extra time in Falmouth, Jamaica.

Mariner of the Seas was set to visit Labadee on March 18th during a 5-night cruise from Port Canaveral, but will instead visit Nassau in the Bahamas.

Grandeur of the Seas is also replacing a visit to Labadee with a stop in the Bahamas, calling in Perfect Day at CocoCay on March 23rd.

Pre-paid Royal Caribbean International shore excursions will be automatically refunded to their original form of payment, the company explained in all three statements to guests.

Other vessels previously scheduled to visit Labadee in March include Oasis of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, and Explorer of the Seas.