Reply to Royal Caribbean Cruise to Labadee, Haiti

Forum Index » Travel Discussion

Reply to "Royal Caribbean Cruise to Labadee, Haiti"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I went there with RC and it's a private beach only available to RC passengers. I had wanted to take supplies and things because our church works with groups in Haiti but we had no access to them and vice versa. It's a nice beach, I guess (I'm not really a beach person). RC removes all the seaweed too, which is weird to me but I guess that's what happens at a private beach. :)[/quote]

Responding to myself. We took a guided tour of the area and I asked the tour guide how they feel about all the cruise ships etc disrupting their island. He told me the locals love it, because it means opportunity and jobs they didn't have before and wouldn't otherwise.[/quote]

I’m the pp who had travelled to Haiti working for an NGO.  This was my experience as well.  I had a couple of conversations about Labadee with Haitian colleagues, because some friends had been there during a cruise while I was in the country.  They were really positive about the jobs it created.  I remember them sounding proud that it was a cruise stop. I’d assume most cruise stops are not genuine examples of the life of that country.  There’s nothing upsetting or shocking about that.

Just btw, Haitians I’ve met are really proud of their country’s beaches.  I used to go for breaks at a couple of beautiful beach clubs, not far from the capital.  They weren’t just for foreign tourists and they were “real” beaches filled with Haitian families. They were gorgeous! And the food was amazing.

[/quote]

Agreed.

Only some privileged Americans can’t recognize that cruise ships and the passengers they bring fuel economic opportunity. The people working at Labadee have a safe job where they receive cash tips on top of their salary.

Haiti is a beautiful country. A friend with an ngo traveled across the country many years ago and her pictures were gorgeous. She said it was one of the most beautiful places she had ever visited—both the beaches and the mountains.

When you arrive by ship, the landscape is breathtaking. It’s so lush and striking, unlike any other island I’ve seen.

In Labadee by the buffet, there are performers who do flips, tumbling, etc. on the bare cement. Definitely bring cash to tip them. They are amazing. [/quote]

Oh great. The cruise ship apologist is back. Sorry, but those ships pollute massively and contribute a pittance to the local economy (in this case most locals can’t even get near the tourists!). You are the definition of eyes wide shut. [/quote]

I don’t think you understand what a mess Haiti is. The jobs in the RC private beach at Labadee are highly desired positions for locals. Their economy is a mess and people live in abject poverty.

I didn’t bring up pollution. That’s a different debate.

But ICYMI: cruise ships have no issue with recruiting and retaining workers. Why? Because they are desperate for economic opportunity—and many are looking for safety. The cruise industry is widely known as a safe haven for the lgbtqi community. People literally run from family and home countries that refuse to accept them and find their tribe on board ships. If you bothered to speak with the crew, you’d understand where they are coming from.

Your solution is simply not to go to Haiti since practically speaking the only tourists arrive by RC (or sometimes their sister line Celebrity) to Labadee. Whether you admit it or not, that’s a big Screw You to the Haitians who work there. Their jobs sustain their families. [/quote]

No, you couldn’t be more wrong. Very few locals can even access the tourists at Labadee, who are completely locked away in their own world to take advantage of and pollute the local environment, totally oblivious to the actual local conditions in the adjacent village that they can’t even see if they want to. The way to do it is to travel independently, hiring local guides, taxi drivers, and boats, and staying in local resorts where the waiters and staff are Haitian. And to do if for more than an afternoon. I have traveled to Haiti independently twice, and it was wonderful. Anyone who supports the cruise ship mafia in Labadee, where virtually all of the money goes to RC and RC alone, is clueless at best and morally contemptible at worst. Got it cruise ship lady?[/quote]

I cannot say strongly enough that traveling independently in Haiti right now is not a good idea.  I ended my time with an NGO being driven in a car with an armed guard.  There is no one in my organization, and many others, still in country.

We are not talking about cruise tourism vs. independent tourism.  We are talking about cruise tourism vs. no tourism.  Those are the options for Haiti right now.  We live in the real world.  Join us.

The RC ship that docks in Labadee holds 4,375 passengers.  If just half of them disembark, that brings the country $26,250.  For a single day.  Talking about the value of $12 per person as though it is nothing is just stupid.

There are definitely things wrong with this whole scenario. Corruption and pollution would be the top two.  There are arguments to me made against cruises to any of these Caribbean ports.  PP just doesn’t know what they actually are.[/quote]

So I guess my two independent travel experiences in Haiti weren’t real then? OK. I see you live in the NGO world, and that explains a lot. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics