Labadee, Haiti

Our first stop was at Labadee, Haiti, which is a private beach area leased by Royal Caribbean for their ships only. It was cut off from the rest of the island, and it was a really neat little slice of paradise.

It felt kind of weird going to Haiti because of the earthquake that happened so recently. But Royal Caribbean donates all the money it makes while in port directly to Haiti, and they unloaded 140 pallets of things like water, food, etc. The ship being there helps the economy and the people get back on their feet.

We did a lot of little excursions while in Labadee. The first was wave runners. I had never been on one, so Mike drove and I sat behind. It was a rush!

It was a tour, so the guide led us around and talked to us about Haiti. Labadee is actually one of the richest towns in Haiti because of Royal Caribbean. Before the cruise line started going there, they had no running water or electricity. Royal Caribbean actually provides the town with these utilities and gives the people jobs. Only 38% of the people have jobs, the rest live off the land. The people that live outside the actual town live as people did 300-400 years ago, making their own coal and everything. Crazy.


After that we went on a kayak tour, which neither of us have ever done. It was tiring but fun!

We also went on this alpine slide type coaster, which was kind of fun, and then played at this water park type place that had a bunch of huge blow up toys in the water, like a huge slide and stuff to climb up. It was fun!

View from the top of the coaster. You can see the ship out in the distance.