Royal Caribbean Monitoring Haiti Violence
by Dori Saltzman
Photo: Shutterstock / Darryl Brooks
Amidst warnings from the U.S. government advising against travel to Haiti and the recent evacuation of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and diplimatic family members, it’s business as usual at Royal Caribbean’s private Haitian port, Labadee.
“We haven’t made any changes or cancelations to our calls to Labadee,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told Travel Market Report.
The U.S. State Department has had Haiti at a Level 4 – Do Not Travel level since December 2022 (most recently re-issued in May 2023).
According to the State Department’s warning, “Kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens.”
And, according to a report from the Miami Herald, the FBI’s Miami office is reporting a “marked increase in the number of kidnappings reported to the agency, with a 300% increase for the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.”
Labadee is located on a peninsula far from the violence in Port-au-Prince. Nevertheless, Royal Caribbean has been keeping an eye on the situation.
“Our Global Security teams continue to monitor the situation in the region and are working closely with authorities to ensure the safety and comfort of our guests and crew, which remains our highest priority,” a spokesperson told TMR in April. “We are communicating directly with our guests and will advise them if any schedule changes become necessary.
