Continued instability in Haiti has led Royal Caribbean to extend its moratorium on calls at its exclusive enclave in Labadee into the fall.
In a recent letter sent to travel advisors, Royal Caribbean said, “We have been monitoring the evolving situation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and out of an abundance of caution, we’re canceling our visits to Labadee through Oct. 31.” A spokesperson for the cruise line added that the information also has been shared directly with passengers.
The change affects 23 itineraries for five Royal Caribbean ships that had been slated to call at Labadee: Freedom of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Icon of the Seas. The cruise line is substituting a variety of other port calls in the Caribbean in place of Labadee, including Nassau, Bahamas, and Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos.
Haiti is currently under a “do not travel” advisory from the U.S. State Department, updated on July 15, which cites threats to Americans that include kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest and limited health care.
The State Department ordered all nonemergency U.S. government employees and their family members to leave the country in July 2023, and Haiti has been under a state of emergency since March 2024.
Royal Caribbean Group holds a 50-year lease on its Labadee port, which in the past has been used by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. The company previously suspended port calls at Labadee in March of 2024, then resumed calls in October 2024 before halting them again in 2025.
The Labadee peninsula is about a 6-hour drive from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, where much of the country’s violent upheaval is centered. The self-contained cruise port includes a beach, water park, vendor market and food service. Local residents are not allowed to enter except with permits, and cruise guests are forbidden to leave the property.
