Royal Caribbean once again cancels visits to Labadee, Haiti

Royal Caribbean has once again cancelled visits to Labadee, Haiti, where the cruise line operates a private beach, due to security concerns in the country.

At least two ships have so far informed passengers that they will skip visits to Labadee, which is located on the northern coast of Haiti, some 209 kilometres north of the Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, which has been gripped by a wave of violent gang attacks.

While the resort area is fenced in and monitored by private security, Royal Caribbean isn’t taking any chances.

According to Royal Caribbean Blog, passengers on Voyager of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas were recently told that their ships would be skipping Labadee “out of an abundance of caution.”

Oasis of the Seas will skip its stop to Labadee on Thursday (April 17) and head to Nassau, Bahamas, instead on Friday (April 18), reads a letter that was sent to guests and then posted online.

Voyager of the Seas, meanwhile, will head to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic instead.

Guests that purchased shore excursions in Labadee will be refunded the value to their SeaPass Account as an onboard credit. "We’re terribly sorry for the last-minute change,” the letter reads.

It is unclear how long Royal Caribbean will avoid visiting the destination. 

Travel disrupted

The changes come as Haiti sees an escalation in the gang violence. It also isn’t the first time Royal Caribbean has suspended visits to the 260-acre beach destination.

As reported more than one year ago, the cruises line suspended calls to Labadee after one of Haiti’s criminal gangs, which already controls large parts of the economy and most of Port-au-Prince, launched a series of attacks on police stations, prisons and other government buildings, deteriorating local security.

The suspension of 2024 lasted six months, and Royal Caribbean eventually returned to Labadee in October.

Airlines have also had to suspend service to the Caribbean country. Last November, two U.S.-based airlines, Spirit and JetBlue, were hit by gunfire while flying through Haiti’s airspace. The incident led to Air Transat, which operates flights to Haiti out of Montreal, suspending its service to Haiti. 

In an update posted March 12, 2025, all of Air Transat's flights to and from Port-au-Prince are cancelled until September 3. 

Labadee is accessible only to cruise ships passengers. The Government of Canada’s advice for Haiti, however, is to “avoid all travel” due to the threat posed by kidnappings, gang violence and the potential for civil unrest throughout the country.

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