Cruising in Style

Royal Caribbean cruise ship on its way to Labadie Beach

A boat being constructed in the traditional Haitian style near Labadie

During Zach's recent trip to the the Jean-Rabel area off the northern coast of Haiti for pastoral training, he saw a four or five of Royal Caribbean's cruise-ships off the coast between the Haitian mainland and Ile de Tortue.  The ships were heading to/from Labadie, a beach that Royal Caribbean has leased from the Haitian government for 50 years.  Labadie, according to the Royal Caribbean website (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ports/group/home.do?portCode=LAB) has zip-lines, roller-coasters, large inflatable swimming toys, para-sailing, and a number of other amenities.  However, the landward entrance to the Labadie is permanently closed to the Haitian public, and any courageous Haitian attempting to land a boat on one of Labadie's three beaches will be immediately met by very grumpy armed security guards.

Labadie beach, leased from Haiti by Royal Caribbean

 One interesting aspect to the story of Labadie is the contrast between how Haitians and Royal Caribbean clients travel the seas.  Above is a picture that we took in 2006 of a traditional Haitian sail-boat being built from hand cut palm planking and tropical hardwoods outside Labadie.  The spaces between the planks are stuffed with oily cloths and the whole thing is painted.  Usually it takes one or two people (out of a crew of four or five), bailing almost constantly, to keep these boats afloat.  Of course, there is no GPS, radar, generator or diesel engine.  On the other hand, the Royal Caribbean ships accommodate up to 4,000-5,000 (several thousand paying customers and a large crew/staff for their care).  They are powered by generators, guided by modern navigational equipment, have cellular and internet infrastructure, etc.  They have swimming pools, water slides, many restaurants, and first class accommodations.  One thing that both the Haitian boats pictured above and cruise-ships have in common--the possibility of getting stranded (Carnival's "Triumph" which got stranded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2013), running aground on reefs ("Costa Concordia" which partially sunk on the Italian coast killing over 30), and crew/passengers suffering epidemics (Royal Caribbean's recent experience with norovirus on the "Explorer of the Seas").  What is the benefit to Haiti of these visits from Royal Caribbean's cruise-ships?  Other than the souvenirs sold on the Labadie Beach and the employment of local security guards, there is very little since everything for the guests (food, snacks, etc.) comes from the cruise-ship itself.  Nevertheless, Labadie gives a positive image to Haiti, which is beneficial!