Labadee, Haiti | Cruise port of call | CruiseBe
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Labadee, Haiti

Labadee is a port in Northern Haiti. It is a private resort leased by Royal Caribbean International (RCI) for use by its

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

and

Celebrity Cruise line

cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean International

has contributed the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986. The resort is completely tourist-oriented and safe as there is a personal security force. A controlled group of Haitian merchants is given sole rights to sell their merchandise and establish their businesses in the resort. The site is fenced off from the surrounding area. 

History

In 1991,... Read more
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Labadee, Haiti

Destination:
Caribbean & Bermuda, Transatlantic
Labadee is a port in Northern Haiti. It is a private resort leased by Royal Caribbean International (RCI) for use by its

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

and

Celebrity Cruise line

cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean International

has contributed the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986. The resort is completely tourist-oriented and safe as there is a personal security force. A controlled group of Haitian merchants is given sole rights to sell their merchandise and establish their businesses in the resort. The site is fenced off from the surrounding area. 

History

In 1991, a journalist revealed that passengers who disembarked at the location were not informed they were in Haiti.

In November 2001, a crew member from the cruise line Royal Caribbean was attacked on Labadee in an apparent robbery. The assailants were arrested by Haitian police. In February 2004, Royal Caribbean temporarily suspended use of the stop due to political unrest in the country. However, Royal Caribbean has since returned to using this private port.

In 2009, Royal Caribbean made US$55 million improvements to the facilities, including upgrading port facilities to allow docking of their largest cruise ships.

In January 2010, just after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Royal Caribbean decided to continue its luxury cruises to the private port. The corporation announced it would be donating US$1 million to fund relief efforts in Haiti, and to use cruise ships to ferry relief supplies and personnel.

In January 2016, local Haitians in boats peacefully but noisily blocked the port, in protests against the current Haitian government and upcoming elections. Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas canceled their port stop on January 19 as a result.

Etymology

The location is named after the marquis de La Badie, a Frenchman who first settled the area in the 17th century. The peninsula and a village were named Labadie. The cruise company spells the name "Labadee" to make it easier for English-speakers to pronounce.

Source:
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/
Labadie

Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
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Labadee, Haiti: Port Information


Сruise ships anchor either at the pier or offshore and passengers walk from the pier to dry land or are ferried to the resort when ships have to anchor offshore.
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Get around Labadee, Haiti


The resort is on a peninsula about 300-400 m long, so is small enough to reach all areas by foot from the landing dock. Open air shuttles also run between all areas.

The resort does offer wave-runners and kayaks to explore elsewhere along the sheltered shoreline.​

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What to see in Labadee, Haiti


Enjoy paradise beaches and watersports.
Besides, you should see a Haitian flea market.
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What to do in Labadee, Haiti


  • The beaches are quite pretty, though the ones closest to the dock can become crowded if the cruise ship is carrying many families. Consider taking a shuttle to one of the areas to the left from where you tender in. A few lifeguards watch the designated swimming areas. Some snorkeling can be enjoyed around rock ledges on the protected side, but the resort insists that snorkelers rent/use buoyancy vests, making diving problematic. Swimming on the Atlantic side can be tricky (due to undertows and sharp rocks/coral) if there is a brisk wind (often). Padded beach chairs are available at no charge.
  • Cruise line activity staff usually organize a volleyball game at the volleyball court.

For a fee:

  • Children (of all ages) may also enjoy a modest waterpark with floating waterslides.
  • Adults can ride the Dragon's Breath zip line, a long (but fast) cable slide starting from high atop a nearby hill and ending in the resort. Riders are first trained on a small line.
  • Jetskis and other "water toys" are available for rental.
  • The cruise lines run snorkeling, kayaking and sightseeing excursions.
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What to eat and drink in Labadee, Haiti


Eat

Most of the food and beverage offerings (hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ, salads, fruit, soft drinks, juice drinks) are catered by each cruise ship at three "cafés". Passengers receive a buffet lunch and tea, lemonade, punch for free but must pay for soda and alcoholic beverages just as on the ship.

Drink

There are seven bars scattered across the peninsula, including a nice bar overlooking the beach near the main café building. Waiters constantly offer frozen drinks, usually the labadoozie (or sometimes spelled labaduzie) along the beaches and will also retrieve well drinks or beer on request - all at cruise ship prices and paid by cruise ship room key/account card. The labadoozie consists of a number of mixed fruit juices. It may either be non-alcoholic or have rum in it, depending on what the customer wants. Also, bottled water is available at the bars.

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Shopping in Labadee, Haiti


The resort offers a large but sometimes repetitive group of stalls (inside and outside an open-air building) offering Haitian arts, crafts, souvenirs, and Haitian rum. Prices are typical for what is found at most cruise ports. Vendors are highly aggressive and will haggle. If you decide to go into the building, be wary of entering stalls that have a dead end as vendors have been known to block the exit by standing in the doorway to attempt to prevent those who have not purchased anything from leaving.

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Safety in Labadee, Haiti


As this is a private resort, Labadee is a safe area, and you are very unlikely to experience any trouble during your visit.
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Language spoken in Labadee, Haiti


The official languages of Haiti are French and Haitian Creole (Kreyòl Ayisien), which is a French-based creole language, with 92% of the vocabulary being derived from French and the rest primarily from African languages and native Taino, with elements of Spanish. Haitian Creole is the native language of the masses, while French is the administrative language, even though only 15 % of Haitians can speak it and only about 2% can speak it well.

Creole is mutually intelligible with French on the most basic level, so the competent French speaker should be fine in limited circumstances. Many Haitians are very appreciative if you take the trouble to learn a little bit of one of the official languages (preferably Creole), rather than using an interpreter or expecting them to speak English. Haitians working in tourist areas usually speak English well enough for conversation. In towns along the border with the Dominican Republic, it is easy to find people who speak a conversational level of Spanish.

Mission groups/teams often find a translator very helpful in order to communicate during their trips.

LOCAL TIME

4:56 am
January 18, 2022
America/Port-au-Prince

CURRENT WEATHER

25.27 °C / 77.486 °F
light rain
Wed

26.09 °C/79 °F
moderate rain		 Thu

26.54 °C/80 °F
light rain		 Fri

26.54 °C/80 °F
light rain		 Sat

26.09 °C/79 °F
light rain

LOCAL CURRENCY

USD

Latest travel blogs about Labadee, Haiti



© Public Domain/Pixabay ​

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