A cruise passenger has reportedly died after falling from the Harmony of the Seas, according to a passenger who contacted us.
This evening we received an email which stated that between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today, there was a suicide/accident on Harmony of the Seas; someone fell/jumped from his balcony and died.
Later this
Today is the third occasion when Royal Caribbean has canceled a port call in its private destination of Labadee, Haiti. The Vision of the Seas was supposed to call on Royal Caribbean’s fenced-off private port today but instead the cruise line has chosen to avoid Labadee and take passengers on the Vision of the Seas
By Tom Fox, currently aboard the Freedom of the Seas.
Dozens of chanting protesters, banging pots and cymbals, and packed onto a half dozen small vessels, greeted Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas cruise ship as it docked this morning in Labadee, Haiti.
Labadee is a 260-acre peninsula – dubbed a “vacationer’s paradise&rdquo
Many news sources are reporting that thousands of Haitian protesters have rioted in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and other locations in Haiti against President Michel Martelly and the upcoming election to determine his successor, which some say is rigged in favor of his ruling party, according to Time magazine. The turmoil comes before the scheduled runoff
Haiti-Caribbean News Network reports that Haiti will require Royal Caribbean cruise passenger to pay an extra two dollars to visit the cruise line’s "private destination" in Labadee.
The extra money, to be paid by the cruise passengers and not the cruise line, is intended to fund social projects benefiting the local community.
Effective March
This weekend I ran across an interesting opinion piece from Caribbean News Now. Entitled "Turning Haiti’s Historic Sites into Tourist Destinations," the article begins with a quote from an article I wrote in January 2010 following the horrific earthquake in Haiti:
Is it appropriate to sail into the idyllic port of Labadee, Haiti on a pleasure cruise
The New York times published an excellent article about a small school which Royal Caribbean built in Haiti. Entitled "In Haiti, Class Comes With a Peek at Lush Life," the article was written by Sarah Maslin Nir and contains some interesting photographs by Piotr Redlinski.
The little school is called "École Nouvelle Royal Caribbean," which
The Miami Herald published an article on Friday entitled "New School, New Hope for Young Haitians" about Royal Caribbean Cruises building a new school in Labadee on the 260 acres which it leases from the Haitian government.
The article points out that the new 6,500-square-foot campus consists of six buildings, twelve classrooms, administrative offices and a
Barbados Free Press reports that in September, Royal Caribbean is hosting a "Tea Party At Sea" aboard the Liberty of the Seas.
In an article entitled "Anti-Obama Tea Party Cruise Conceals Haiti Destination As “Hispaniola,” the Barbados Free Press explains that Royal Caribbean is teaming up with the right-wing conservative website World Net Daily to sail
Syracuse New York local news station Channel 10’s "Travel with Val" takes a look at Royal Caribbean’s controversial decision to continue sailing to its "private resort" of Labadee, Haiti.
While the cruise line is shipping pallets of food and supplies to Labadee and committed $1 million from its net proceeds, is this enough from a