The beginning port for our Royal Caribbean cruise of the western Caribbean was Labadee, Hispaniola which is actually a part of Haiti. This specific port is taken out to Royal Caribbean and then entirely their cruiseships get here. Labadee is really a peninsula with a few beaches. Taking to land from the cruiseship is by tender.



There is a fine segment for children with versatile fake iceberg lettuces to climb and water glides but they buck an admission fee. Flotation mattresses are also available for hire for those who just want to swim in the ocean. There are also locals who help with getting beach chairs for you but they expect hints. So matters here are a money grabber. The cruiseship did have elective turns for snorkelling, parasailing, waverunner and kayaking tours but we opinion that they were big-ticket. Most riders just spent the day loosing around the beaches.

The area just about Labadee was beautiful enough but the beaches and shores up themselves were fairly rocky so wearing sandals in the water would be considered. Royal Caribbean had incorporated a beach BBQ at an outdoor picnic readiness which was alright but nothing special. There is a market there lying in of two buildings. One is a store where the souveniers and items have marked prices and the other building is like your regular market where locals try to fuss you for business. The locals only the market were hard-hitting but gracious. If you don't mind wrangle, you could get some pretty good deals but if you disapproval this type of pushy atmosphere, then you best avoid the market except for the fixed price store.

One big conflict between this port compared to others is that since it is glorious well being used as a private beach, you will not be plagued by locals. The marketers coming around with drinks at the beach locations are really Royal Caribbean staff so if one likes to buy a drink, the cruiseship passcard is all that is necessary. As for concerns about being in Haiti given the poorness and political situation, Labadee was not a trouble because the entire site is involved by a high steel fence. Other passengers later told us that they wound off near the margin of the site and saw many Haitians along the fence begging for releases and food. The fencing was mostly hidden in the length from the main tourist areas.

We found Labadee in general to be a bit of a waste of time for us. The beaches were too rocky and we didn't have access to inexpensive activities since everything was run by Royal Caribbean. If one wanted to just go lie on the beach all day and not much else, then Labadee would be a suitable place. For those who want to experience some culture, do water sports without going through the cruiseship, or shop duty free.