The Caribbean nation of Haiti is currently undergoing an extreme political crisis due to violent gang activity in its capital city of Port-Au-Prince. The country’s Prime Minister has been forced to resign as the gangs have taken over the city and toppled the government.

As the chaos continues, many travelers are wondering how that might affect their travels to Haiti and its neighboring country, the Dominican Republic. Well, Haiti is currently at a Level 4: Do Not Travel in the U.S. State Department’s travel advisory system. As it relates to cruising, only one cruise line calls in Haiti — Royal Caribbean International. And the cruise line has made moves to ensure that its passengers are safe amidst the crisis.

Royal Caribbean suspends calls to Labadee, Haiti

Royal Caribbean has its own private destination, Labadee, on the northern coast of Haiti about 130 miles away from Port-Au-Prince. On March 14, 2024, Royal Caribbean released a statement saying it suspended calls to Labadee effective immediately. “Due to the evolving situation in Haiti, and in an abundance of caution, we’re temporarily suspending our visits to Labadee for our entire fleet. We continue to monitor and assess the situation with our Global Security & Intelligence Team.”

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley posted a similar statement on his Facebook page. He states, “We have suspended calls into Labadee, Haiti for the next 7 days and will continue suspension on a rolling basis with 3 days advance notification to our guests sailing on itineraries impacted and changed as we monitor and evaluate the situation in Haiti.”

Ships with scheduled visits to Labadee this month included Symphony, Grandeur, Odyssey, and Mariner of the Seas, among others. The cruise line replaced this call in Labadee with either another port (many in the Bahamas) or a sea day.

About Labadee

Labadee is a 260-acre private destination that was leased to and developed by Royal Caribbean in the late 1980s. It underwent massive renovations in 2009, which included upgraded port facilities that could accommodate the docking of Royal Caribbean’s largest ships in the Oasis class.

Even though it is a peninsula on mainland Haiti, Labadee operates much like a cruise line private island and even has its own private security. Only guests and employees of Royal Caribbean are able to use the resort facilities there.

Many guests use their day in Labadee as a beach or watersports day. They can enjoy the warm waters and activities like jet-skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, and parasailing. Visitors can also take part in fishing, speedboat, and catamaran excursions. Kids can enjoy the floating water park complete with trampolines, water slides, and pyramids.

For bigger thrills, Labadee offers the Dragon’s Tail alpine coaster. There’s also the 2,600-foot long Dragon’s Breath zip line and Dragon’s Fire zip line.

Lunch at Labadee is complimentary at three different spots throughout the resort area. There are also several bars on the property.

Is it safe to visit ports in the Dominican Republic?

Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola. This means the Dominican Republic is the only country that shares a border with Haiti. Thus, some travelers have been wondering if the Dominican Republic is safe to visit given the scale of destruction and chaos that’s taking place in Haiti.

The extreme level of current gang violence is almost entirely in Haiti’s capital of Port-Au-Prince. And there are no cruise ports in the Dominican Republic that are anywhere close to Port-Au-Prince… or even close to the border at all.

For reference, the closest to Port-Au-Prince are the Don Diego Terminal in the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo on the south, and Amber Cove Cruise Port in the Puerto Plata province in the north. Santo Domingo is about a six-hour drive from Port-Au-Prince. Amber Cove, though about the same distance as the crow flies, is actually about a 8.5 hour drive from Port-Au-Prince.

Further, the border is currently closed between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which is partly divided by a river. There are heightened levels of security at the border as well.

The U.S. State Department’s travel advisory for the Dominican Republic is currently at Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. This has been the case since June of last year. This means that the State Department has not increased its DR travel advisory due to the current conflict in Haiti.

All of this is to say that if you’re taking a cruise soon that has a call to the Dominican Republic, don’t be overly concerned about whether your safety is at stake due to what’s happening over the border hundreds of miles away.

Treat the visit as you would a visit to the DR any other time of the year. Be aware of your surroundings, don’t bring or wear expensive jewelry or accessories ashore, and stick to the more touristy areas as much as possible.

Comments

What are your thoughts on the recent news that Royal Caribbean suspends calls to Labadee, Haiti? Have you had concerns about cruising to the Dominican Republic since this recent political crisis? Drop us an anchor below to share your thoughts on these recent events.