After a seven-month hiatus caused by political instability in Haiti, Royal Caribbean International is returning to call at Labadee in Haiti.

The cruise ship "Symphony of the Seas" is scheduled to arrive in Labadee on Thursday, October 10, thanks to a change of itinerary related to Hurricane Milton.

As a reminder, Royal Caribbean had suspended its calls at Labadee https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42188-haiti-flash-royal-caribbean-cancels-its-stopovers-in-haiti-until-the-fall.html due to political instability in the country. At the time, gangs had carried out a series of attacks, including freeing thousands of inmates from prisons. Royal Caribbean had been gradually withdrawing from Haiti, first stopping calls for a week at a time, then for several months...

As Royal plans its return, tensions have flared again in Haiti, on Thursday, October 3rd, gang members killed at least 70 people in Pont-Sonde https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43350-haiti-flash-pont-sonde-massacre-more-than-70-killed-and-dozens-injured-provisional-report.html which is about 160 kilometers from Labadee.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said the company's global security and intelligence team is closely monitoring the evolving situation in Haiti, reiterating "The safety of our guests, our crew and the communities we visit are our top priority."

It remains to be seen whether Royal's return to Labadee will be held in time. Although Labadee is located on a small part of the country's northern coast and is entirely fenced, the latest advisory from the US State Department, published on September 18, once again advised Americans not to travel to Haiti https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43246-haiti-flash-the-country-maintained-on-maximum-alert-do-not-travel-to-haiti.html

Other cruise ships expected to make a stopover by the end of the year are the "Explorer of the Seas", the "Freedom of the Seas", the "Grandeur of the Seas", the "Independence of the Seas", the "Oasis of the Seas" and the "Voyager of the Seas".

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42188-haiti-flash-royal-caribbean-cancels-its-stopovers-in-haiti-until-the-fall.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43350-haiti-flash-pont-sonde-massacre-more-than-70-killed-and-dozens-injured-provisional-report.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43246-haiti-flash-the-country-maintained-on-maximum-alert-do-not-travel-to-haiti.html

S/ HaitiLibre