After nearly two years without cruise ships or passengers, Royal Caribbean’s private destination in Labadee, Haiti is seeing cruises again.
On Thursday, Labadee welcomed back mega-ship Harmony of the Seas to its shores with nearly 3,000 guests and almost 2,000 crew members. Harmony of the Seas’ call was the first ship visit since March 2020.
Ships were originally scheduled to return to the destination last fall but plans were shelved because of political unrest in the region. Those visits were canceled and replaced with a different port or a sea day.
Things for passengers to do in Labadee include the world’s longest zip line over water: Dragon’s Breath Flight Line, as well as the Dragon’s Tail Coaster that winds down a mountainside.
Visitors can also enjoy Nellie’s Beach, the Arawak Aqua Park, and shopping for local goods in the Artisan’s Village. Complimentary dining is available at Dragon’s Café, Labadee Café, and Columbus Café.
Located on the northern coast of Haiti, Labadee has been a popular Royal Caribbean destination since 1986. A per-passenger fee is welcomed by the impoverished nation’s government, and several hundred Haitians are employed at the resort or earn money selling crafts and souvenirs at an onsite market.
The Haitian Times reports that the cruise line’s property provides around 300 jobs to locals, and welcomes 200 more as vendors.
The cruise company’s other private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas, reopened to cruise ships in summer 2021. The first ship to Coco was Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas, which at the time was sailing seven-night roundtrip cruises from Nassau, Bahamas.
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