Royal Caribbean cancels additional calls in Labadee as Haiti crisis deteriorates

Royal Caribbean International has cancelled additional port calls to Labadee, its private destination in Haiti, amid a deteriorating security situation that has seen much of the country plunged into chaos.

In Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, the government has lost control of around 80% of the city, while several dozen gangs are engaged in an all-out war for control of the rest.

Royal Caribbean previously announced that it was cancelling calls to its Labadee destination in the north of the country, due to an inability to guarantee the safety of passengers ashore, but has now cancelled calls for the coming weeks as well.

The cruise line will evaluate the situation in Haiti on a continuous basis, said Royal Caribbean International’s President and CEO Michael Bayley.

“We’ll continue suspension on a rolling basis with three days advance notification for our guests sailing on itineraries impacted and changed as we monitor and evaluate the situation in Haiti,” he explained in a social media post.

Newly affected sailings include Independence of the Seas’ March 21st departure. Instead of going to Labadee, the 4-night cruise will now visit Grand Turk on March 23rd.

The April 6th sailing of Symphony of the Seas has also been impacted and will now include a visit to Falmouth, Jamaica on April 12th instead of Labadee.

Oasis of the Seas’ April 7th departure will now be visiting St. Maarten instead of Labadee.

Other vessels affected by the cancellations include Adventure of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Odyssey of the Seas.

Labadee has been a private island destination in the Caribbean for Royal Caribbean since the 1980s. The cruise line significantly upgraded the enclave in 2019, adding a flea market, a roller coaster, and a zip-line.

In addition to several beaches, Labadee also has a two-berth pier capable of receiving some of the world’s largest cruise ships.

In addition to Royal Caribbean, the destination is also scheduled to host ships from Celebrity Cruises during the 2024/25 winter season.

Celebrity Cruises has not yet commented on plans for its Labadee port calls, but is likely to follow Royal Caribbean’s lead if the security crisis persists.

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises are both owned by parent company Royal Caribbean Group.