A Day in Haiti

Beach Cabanas on Labadee, Haiti
July 7, 2017

The title is a bit misleading. We did spend a day in Haiti, but it was not the real Haiti, it was the specially constructed playground for Royal Caribbean ships on a small isolated peninsula named Labadee. 

Beach Chairs and Activities
Labadee, Haiti
Oasis of the Seas in the Background
July 7, 2017

Our ship arrived at about 9:30AM for a day of fun in the sun. The weather was perfect. The beaches were manicured. The activities were planned and executed to direct money into the cruise line's coffers.  

It was, for all practical purposes, a sea day on land.

Palm Tree
Labadee, Haiti
Zip Line in Background

I admit, I thoroughly enjoyed being ashore and having about seven beaches to choose from. I enjoyed having lunch catered and drinks provided, but if I had any expectation of visiting Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world, I was sadly mistaken.

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. The water was magnificent, the activities stimulating, and the shade under the trees was cool.

Chris on the Beach

I found the prices for some of the attractions to be a bit inflated, for instance although  advertised as the longest overwater zip-line in the world it was $119 for about a 45 second event. The beach cabanas were almost $500, and the beach beds, seen in the background of the palm trees photo, were almost $200. Fortunately, the chairs that we spent the day in were included.

Sadly, however, the day ended and we are now headed back to port to end our cruise. It is hard to believe that almost a week ago we boarded the ship and headed out into the Atlantic to visit places that we had only dreamed about.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Oasis of the Seas in the Atlantic Ocean