Royal Caribbean has stopped ships from docking at a private island port in Haiti due to ongoing violence in the region.
The cruise line canceled ships from docking at that port through May, but last week Royal Caribbean modified cruise schedules to avoid the port throughout the summer and into September, according to a post on the Royal Caribbean blog.
“Guests booked on cruises in the summer and early fall are getting notifications from Royal Caribbean that their visits to Labadee have been canceled,” the blog post stated. “On Tuesday (April 23), cruisers began to share updates they received from Royal Caribbean that their itineraries have been updated to drop Labadee and replace it with another port or a sea day.”
Labadee is a beach area owned by Royal Caribbean located on a peninsula in northern Haiti. It is barricaded from the rest of the country and has its own security force.
Between January and March of this year, more than 2,500 people were killed or injured due to violence across Haiti, specifically in the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Royal Caribbean International did not formally announce any changes on its website. Royal Caribbean Blog is not connected with Royal Caribbean International and is just a site for fans of the cruise liner.
However, the blog reposted a notice from the cruise liner about the itinerary changes without mentioning the violence.
“Due to the continuing situation in Haiti, we’ll now visit Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, instead of Labadee, Haiti,” the notice reads. “We’re sorry for the change – your safety is our top priority. Nevertheless, we’re excited to visit a new port with you!”
This decision by Royal Caribbean comes after the U.S. issued a warning to tourists to avoid traveling to Haiti at this time due to an increase in gang-related violence.
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