Posted on 01/19/2010 2:49:07 PM PST by alabama_heart
Cruise ships still find a Haitian berthLuxury liners are still docking at private beaches near Haiti's devastated earthquake zone for holidaymakers to enjoy the water Latest: Cruise company to donate sun loungers to Haiti makeshift hospital
Robert Booth guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17 January 2010 21.53 GMT
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines faced a difficult decision over whether to dock as per itinerary at Labadee Beach, Haiti after last week's tragic quake. Photograph: Daniel Morel/AP
Sixty miles from Haiti's devastated earthquake zone, luxury liners dock at private beaches where passengers enjoy jetski rides, parasailing and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks.
The 4,370-berth Independence of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International, disembarked at the heavily guarded resort of Labadee on the north coast on Friday; a second cruise ship, the 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas is due to dock.
The Florida cruise company leases a picturesque wooded peninsula and its five pristine beaches from the government for passengers to "cut loose" with watersports, barbecues, and shopping for trinkets at a craft market before returning on board before dusk. Safety is guaranteed by armed guards at the gate.
The decision to go ahead with the visit has divided passengers. The ships carry some food aid, and the cruise line has pledged to donate all proceeds from the visit to help stricken Haitians. But many passengers will stay aboard when they dock; one said he was "sickened".
"I just can't see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue, and enjoying a cocktail while [in Port-au-Prince] there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets, with the survivors stunned and looking for food and water," one passenger wrote on the Cruise Critic internet forum.
"It was hard enough to sit and eat a picnic lunch at Labadee before the quake, knowing how many Haitians were starving," said another. "I can't imagine having to choke down a burger there now.''
Some booked on ships scheduled to stop at Labadee are afraid that desperate people might breach the resort's 12ft high fences to get food and drink, but others seemed determined to enjoy their holiday."I'll be there on Tuesday and I plan on enjoying my zip line excursion as well as the time on the beach," said one.
The company said the question of whether to "deliver a vacation experience so close to the epicentre of an earthquake" had been subject to considerable internal debate before it decided to include Haiti in its itineraries for the coming weeks.
"In the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti's recovery; hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood," said John Weis, vice-president. "In our conversations with the UN special envoy of the government of Haiti, Leslie Voltaire, he notes that Haiti will benefit from the revenues that are generated from each call …
"We also have tremendous opportunities to use our ships as transport vessels for relief supplies and personnel to Haiti. Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most."
"Friday's call in Labadee went well," said Royal Caribbean. "Everything was open, as usual. The guests were very happy to hear that 100% of the proceeds from the call at Labadee would be donated to the relief effort."
Forty pallets of rice, beans, powdered milk, water, and canned foods were delivered on Friday, and a further 80 are due and 16 on two subsequent ships. When supplies arrive in Labadee, they are distributed by Food for the Poor, a longtime partner of Royal Caribbean in Haiti.
Royal Caribbean has also pledged $1m to the relief effort and will spend part of that helping 200 Haitian crew members.
The company recently spent $55m updating Labadee. It employs 230 Haitians and the firm estimates 300 more benefit from the market. The development has been regarded as a beacon of private investment in Haiti; Bill Clinton visited in October. Some Haitians have decried the leasing of the peninsula as effective privatisation of part of the republic's coastline.
Haiti should be allocating some more money into their tourism industry, incentives and whatnot, you know what Obama isn’t doing here...The nation re-building effort should include more resorts and preservation of their island for tourism purposes, it’s a beautiful area of the Caribbean
“I say capitalism is the way out for Haiti...”
Well, that insight and a dollar gets you a Coke. The people of Haiti will choose otherwise, unfortunately, thus remaining trapped by socialism until they die.
Too bad, really.
that is the complaint many Alaskans have about cruise ship tourism. The cruise lines have their own attractions staffed by their own employees, with relatively little benefit to the local economy. That said, apparently there are some locals employed at this Haitian resort, and throwing them out of work does nothing to help the recovery effort.
I agree, however, I would have never gone to Haiti on purpose in the first place.
Definitely Creepy.
Zombie tour boat, death tourists.
Creep City.
I’ve been to that port myself. Employes a fair amount of locals whom I sure would not be happy to see the cruise ships go. No sense in inflicting any more hardships on the Haitians. Put down the cocktails if it makes you feel better and leave a nice tip for the Haitian workers.
Hey Michelle I was looking at this brochure of this resort on the Big Island, I mean we got the transportation covered, let's round up Shanika and Malika and make it a weekend trip
My thoughts exactly.
I don’t blame the cruise line for keeping the schedule, I don’t blame the tourists who enjoy the place, nor do I blame the passengers who are sickened at the very idea.
I will say that I tire of people pointing out that resorts in Mexico or Jamaica or Barbados are little theme parks where rich people enjoy themselves at poor locals’ expense. I guarantee you those poor locals are better off for the tourism.
The same principle applies here, but this is obviously an extreme situation that elicits acute (and understandable) emotional responses.
I don’t think I want to see their next round of TV commercials......
ping for some background
These people directly benefit via jobs at Labadee as well as from the food and other supplies that Royal Caribbean brings in on every ship. My understanding is that this is part of the agreement that RC has with the Haitian government.
Making token gestures based upon emotionalism is what leftist dems do. We should be smarter than that and realize that while we certainly feel terrible for the suffering that Haitians in Port-au-Prince are experiencing, it would be foolish to withdraw a source of income and food aid that other Haitians depend upon in some misguided attempt to prove how sad we are.
Yes this link is NPR, but it is the CEO of Royal Caribbean discussing his decision to dock.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122716579&ft=1&f=1004
So what? Disneyland didn’t close after the Loma Prieta Quake.
I know that his vacation in Hawaii wasn't enjoyable. Has The ONE had any date nights to enjoy in New Yawk lately?
Incidentally, the port where Royal Caribbean stops is 8 to 10 hours by road from Port-au-Prince. Evidently the drive there isn't too good. A caller on Boortz's show this morning said it's like driving on a narrow sidewalk for about 10 hours.
Haiti makes money on tourism. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going down there and throwing some of your vacation money around. Everybody is better off when you do so. You are not taking food out of anybody’s mouth. In fact, you are putting food in, by supporting their tourism industry.
I’ve been going to New Orleans for the last few years, and it has been great to go down there and throw money around. The people appreciate the business, and still know how to have a good time. And vacations are a lot more fun if getting your money out of your wallet is one of your reasons for being there.
My advice to anybody considering visiting Haiti is to go to the resort areas that are not effected, have a great time, and tip like a drunken sailor on payday. You will be doing everybody, including yourself, a world of good.
I’ve docked there too. It’s also my understanding that “Labadee” (they don’t want it called Haiti) is a section of beach that is part of an agreement between Royal Caribbean and the Haitian government. When I visited, ALL of the food & drink supplies and people working in the area were directly from the RC ship or RC employees stationed to maintain jetski’s, etc...with the exception of the locals in a small souvenier market area. It’s not like docking in Grand Cayman or Jamaica....and given the Haitian government, I’m not sure how much the people of Haiti actually benefit at all from this agreement. I’d be willing to bet that if RC did not dock, the only losers would be some Haitian government fat cats.
I was referring to the island the ships stop at.
Yep.
I cannot imagine why AYONE would want to vacation there.
Reminds me of the SNL “Levi’s ‘Bad Idea’ Jeans” commercial:
“So I didn’t wear a condom. I figured, “Hey, how often do you get to got to Haiti”.
I’m feeling the same way. If people want to go -and they do- and the cruise line is helping with recovery efforts by bringing in food and supplies, it’s not necessarily a terrible thing. But I’d have a hard time enjoying myself knowing how much suffering and misery is going on an hour away. It wouldn’t be an enjoyable place for me to be right now.
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