Cruise Destination Removed From Schedules AGAIN Due To Unrest

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Just months after Royal Caribbean resumed calls to its private Haitian destination of Labadee, the cruise line is once again pulling out – at least temporarily – due to escalating unrest in the country.

Aerial view of Labadee, Haiti

Guests currently sailing aboard Voyager of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas have confirmed that Labadee has been removed from their itineraries, replaced by alternate Caribbean ports.

One guest onboard Voyager of the Seas reported that the captain announced all calls to Haiti have been suspended for the next month.

“The captain has just come over the Tano and said that Royal Caribbean have [cancelled] all stops to Haiti for the next month due to the ongoing situation which is rapidly escalating. We are now going to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic,”

That sailing, a 5-night Eastern Caribbean cruise that departed Port Canaveral on 14th April 2025, will still include a visit to Royal Caribbean’s other private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas.

Similarly, guests aboard Oasis of the Seas, currently on a 6-night voyage from Fort Lauderdale, were informed of a switch from Labadee to Nassau, Bahamas.

Letters distributed onboard cited “an abundance of caution” as the reason for the itinerary change.

More Changes Likely

Initial reports suggest Royal Caribbean will avoid Labadee through at least mid-May, meaning other ships scheduled to call on the port – including Adventure of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, and Grandeur of the Seas – may also see changes to their itineraries.

This comes after Royal Caribbean Group’s Celebrity Cruises made a similar move, quietly adjusting a dozen sailings to remove Labadee.

No official explanation was given at the time, but many suspected the ongoing unrest throughout Haiti was behind the changes.

While Labadee itself is a fenced-off, controlled-access resort with private security and limited access to the broader country, Haiti as a whole remains under a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory from the US State Department.

The alert cites risks such as kidnapping, violent crime, and civil unrest.

The worst of the violence is centred in Port-au-Prince – more than 100 miles away from Labadee – but the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen, prompting concern even for restricted-access locations.

When Royal Caribbean resumed visits to Labadee in October 2024 after a seven-month hiatus, they did so with limited shore excursions that stayed within the safe bounds of the 260-acre destination.

However, in light of recent developments and worsening conditions reported by agencies like the UN and Red Cross, the cruise line is once again erring on the side of caution.

Travellers booked on upcoming cruises featuring Labadee should prepare for potential itinerary changes.

Royal Caribbean has not yet released an official blanket statement, but based on shipboard announcements, the destination may be off the schedule for at least the next month.

Guests are encouraged to monitor communications from the cruise line and check for itinerary updates in their cruise planner or booking portal.

For now, it seems Labadee is once again on pause – a decision made to prioritise guest safety amid an unpredictable and rapidly shifting situation on the ground.

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