Labadee canceled

[Honolulu Blue]

20 hours ago, HBE4 said:

Didn't Royal build the pier at Falmouth, Jamaica? Or was part of a joint venture. But they'll let other lines use it. I guess there is a reciprocal agreement among competing cruise lines when it comes to non-private islands?

I'm pretty sure Royal built up Falmouth. I don't know the details of it and only have limited tools at my disposal to look it up.

 

I've been to Falmouth twice on Carnival ships where they were scheduled stops.

 

The "agreement" for Falmouth might be as simple as everyone is welcome, if there's room, and if you're willing to pay the fees.

[xpcdoojk]

I think 2 days at Falmouth is a better option than Nassau.  

 

Watching the news is usually as in depth as watching the results of a football game on the 10 o clock news.  IE not other than the score.  

Edited March 18 by xpcdoojk

[ChittyChittyBangBang]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm pretty sure Royal built up Falmouth. I don't know the details of it and only have limited tools at my disposal to look it up.

 

I've been to Falmouth twice on Carnival ships where they were scheduled stops.

 

The "agreement" for Falmouth might be as simple as everyone is welcome, if there's room, and if you're willing to pay the fees.

We visited Falmouth during b3b in December.  It's a very nice port.  I'd inquired with Ship Officers if RCI had any ownership.  As I recall he so no and indicated the Falmouth Heritage society owned the area. Hope this helps!

[caribsun]

2 hours ago, ChittyChittyBangBang said:

We visited Falmouth during b3b in December.  It's a very nice port.  I'd inquired with Ship Officers if RCI had any ownership.  As I recall he so no and indicated the Falmouth Heritage society owned the area. Hope this helps!

The Falmouth cruise ship pier, which was built at a cost of approximately US$269 million, is currently owned and operated by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) in partnership with cruise ship company Royal Caribbean International. 

[orville99]

4 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

 

I think this excerpt is referring to the airport in Port Au Prince and not Cap Haitien. 

 

But it would be once harrowing journey if you had to make it from Port Au Prince to Cap Haitien to be evacuated.

 

"Cap-Haitien is more than 100 miles from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where the airport has been under siege by gangs amid fighting between the clans and police in the surrounding area."

The article I posted this morning specifically talked about the situation surrounding the Cap Haitien airport, which is where the evacuations were supposed to be staged. 

 

The link that I posted has been updated (apparently the situation throughout Haiti is very fluid), and the sentence you quoted was not in the original article.

[Pochi Hanaki]

On 3/14/2024 at 8:10 AM, AandBmom said:

I find it fascinating that this post has so few replies. What happened to all the individuals that were saying this would never happen just two days ago?

Yep I am glad RCI listened to reason instead of them. 

[ChittyChittyBangBang]

42 minutes ago, caribsun said:

The Falmouth cruise ship pier, which was built at a cost of approximately US$269 million, is currently owned and operated by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) in partnership with cruise ship company Royal Caribbean International. 

Thanks for the owner update. The ship officer indicated RCI had no ownership.  It is still a nice port.  

[OnTheJourney]

I'll take the old "Barefoot Beach Club" (used to be for suite guests) on Labadee over Coco Cay anytime. Used to be a great buffet. We weren't impressed with what they put out on CC. Next time after spending some time on the beach we'll go back to the ship for lunch.

Edited March 18 by OnTheJourney

[time4u2go]

5 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

cococay such a big improvement over Labadee.

I actually feel quite the opposite.  But it's obviously a personal preference.

[ChittyChittyBangBang]

3 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

I'll take the old "Barefoot Beach Club" (used to be for suite guests) on Labadee over Coco Cay anytime. Used to be a great buffet. We weren't impressed with what they put out on CC. Next time after spending some time on the beach we'll go back to the ship for lunch.

I've not visited Barefoot Beach Club yet.  I had hope to visit as soon as we hit Pin.  unfortunately, we may never get the opportunity. 

[Cruise a holic]

17 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I actually feel quite the opposite.  But it's obviously a personal preference.

Yes.  Have been to labadee at least 6 times, and cococay 3.  Our last stop at labadee about one year ago was very disappointing.  My husband and I got many bites from sand flees. Also the buffet selections were poor, with flies all over.  I will agree that the landscape is beautiful.  I can deal with the flees and flies (bug spray) and a poor buffet, however safely should be a number one priority 

[orville99]

1 hour ago, ChittyChittyBangBang said:

Thanks for the owner update. The ship officer indicated RCI had no ownership.  It is still a nice port.  

They don’t own it, but they footed most of the cost to build it.😇

[OnTheJourney]

48 minutes ago, ChittyChittyBangBang said:

I've not visited Barefoot Beach Club yet.

You don't need to be Pinnacle. It used to be for suite guests. They did away with it quite a few years ago already, at least I believe I'm right about that. It was simply a special area on Labadee reserved for suites. Everybody got a buffet lunch, but BBC got much better food.  Used to enjoy going snorkeling there also.

[OnTheJourney]

31 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Our last stop at labadee about one year ago was very disappointing.  

Sorry to hear that. Been a good many years since we were there. CC is certainly a beautiful (and large) facility, but we liked the smaller, less 'Disneyesque' feel that Labadee used to have. Oh well, like my Mom is always fond of saying, "nothing stays the same".

Edited March 18 by OnTheJourney

[TeeRick]

2 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

You don't need to be Pinnacle. It used to be for suite guests. They did away with it quite a few years ago already, at least I believe I'm right about that. It was simply a special area on Labadee reserved for suites. Everybody got a buffet lunch, but BBC got much better food.  Used to enjoy going snorkeling there also.

We were in a suite several weeks ago on Symphony and went to the suite area on Labadee.  Barefoot Beach.  Honestly nothing special.  The buffet lunch was mediocre at best with very limited selection and low quality versus my past visits there.  We should have gone back to the ship for lunch. I do remember going on Celebrity ships and the suite lunch buffet on Labadee was much better.

[kitkat343]

32 minutes ago, orville99 said:

They don’t own it, but they footed most of the cost to build it.😇

I'm really disappointed in this because last time I went to Jamaica the ship stopped in Ocho Rios, which is right next to Dunn's river falls and Dolphin's cove (a really nice animal place for kids).  Now, its an hour drive each way to these attractions from Falmouth.  

 

An overnight in Falmouth would make it easier to reach these attractions, but I don't know why they would want to route the ships in Falmouth versus  Ocho Rios (if anyone knows of better excursions closer in Falmouth please tell me since I'd love to know!)

 

Edited March 18 by kitkat343

[brevardcruiser]

A few asked about grand Turk.  Currently on adventure.  Grand Turk was a total success yesterday. 2 ships can dock. Only us there yesterday.  Lot of folks talks about Labadee on board and safety.  We are a party of 8 and rented golf carts and drove around island.  Drove to secluded beaches on other side of island.  Totally safe and a great choice for labadee. 

[T-2]

Not sure if there is a limit on the size ship that can dock, like Odyssey or Oasis class using the dock, how large was your ship? It would be someplace we have never been on 30+ cruises.

[ChittyChittyBangBang]

55 minutes ago, brevardcruiser said:

A few asked about grand Turk.  Currently on adventure.  Grand Turk was a total success yesterday. 2 ships can dock. Only us there yesterday.  Lot of folks talks about Labadee on board and safety.  We are a party of 8 and rented golf carts and drove around island.  Drove to secluded beaches on other side of island.  Totally safe and a great choice for labadee. 

Never been to Grand Turk. Perhaps our 5N on Explorer OTS 3/31 will make a port of call.  We'll wait until Friday 3/29 for a 3 day notice. 

[fla33023]

On 3/17/2024 at 7:42 AM, Seespot said:

Will you please keep us all posted?  We are on that same itinerary April 4

 

"Dear Guest,

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. We’ll now enjoy a visit to Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos instead of visiting Labadee. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by these changes. Nevertheless, we’re excited to take you to a new port! Below, please find our revised Independence of the Seas March 21^st, 2024, itinerary.:

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

Yes.  Have been to labadee at least 6 times, and cococay 3.  Our last stop at labadee about one year ago was very disappointing.  My husband and I got many bites from sand flees. Also the buffet selections were poor, with flies all over.  I will agree that the landscape is beautiful.  I can deal with the flees and flies (bug spray) and a poor buffet, however safely should be a number one priority 

Thats too bad, been to Labadee many times in last 36yrs never an insect issue. Sea Urchins, yes. Though nature happens. Where I'm at last year tons of Bunnies, this yr Coyotes everywhere chasing the bunnies. Came within 30yards one in my subdivision at 2 in the afternoon on Friday

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, T-2 said:

Not sure if there is a limit on the size ship that can dock, like Odyssey or Oasis class using the dock, how large was your ship? It would be someplace we have never been on 30+ cruises.

Been there many times but only on Carnival owned brands, i.e. HAL and Princess. Carnival Corp financed the dock and port shops. It is not exclusive though. So if there is unbooked berths available other lines can dock there. 

[Charles4515]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

I do remember going on Celebrity ships and the suite lunch buffet on Labadee was much better.

Celebrity serves a better lunch buffet at the regular stations on Labadee too than Royal. Royal usually is just hamburgers and hot dogs. Celebrity had those flat steaks they offer in the onboard buffet.

[Baron Barracuda]

2 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I'm really disappointed in this because last time I went to Jamaica the ship stopped in Ocho Rios, which is right next to Dunn's river falls and Dolphin's cove (a really nice animal place for kids).  Now, its an hour drive each way to these attractions from Falmouth.  

 

An overnight in Falmouth would make it easier to reach these attractions, but I don't know why they would want to route the ships in Falmouth versus  Ocho Rios (if anyone knows of better excursions closer in Falmouth please tell me since I'd love to know!)

 

Been sailing to the Caribbean more than 30 years and the ONLY port we felt totally unsafe was Ocho Rios.  Last time we were there (and it's been a while) machine gun carrying soldiers and unhappy looking locals everywhere.  Couple of excursions to plantations had recently been robbed at gunpoint.  

[HBE4]

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Oh well, like my Mom is always fond of saying, "nothing stays the same".

 

The only constant is change.