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The ship arrived in Labadie (RCLs private Island) at 8 A.M.
Labadee (French: Labadie) is a port located on the northern coast of Haiti. It is a private resort leased to the private company Royal Caribbean International until 2050. Royal Caribbean International has contributed the largest proportion of tourist revenue to Haiti since 1986, employing 300 locals, allowing another 200 to sell their wares on the premises for a fee and paying the Haitian government US$10 per tourist, increasing to US$12 in March 2015.
The resort is completely tourist-oriented, and is guarded by a private security force. The site is fenced off from the surrounding area, and passengers are not allowed to leave the property. Food available to tourists is brought from the cruise ships. A controlled group of Haitian merchants are given sole rights to sell their merchandise and establish their businesses in the resort. Although sometimes described as an island in advertisements, it is actually a peninsula contiguous with the island of Hispaniola. The cruise ship moors to the pier at Labadee capable of servicing the Oasis class ships, which was completed in late 2009.
Attractions include a Haitian flea market, beaches, watersports, a water-oriented playground, an alpine coaster, and a zip-line.
Hope and I probably woke up at 8 A.M. We got dressed and made our way up to breakfast. People were scurring everywhere. I guess like me, they were excited to get out and get some sun.
We'd spotted Gigi and Erma and sat with them. We were almost finished when we noticed an older woman bring a plate of 6 bagles and about 6 boiled eggs, a ton of bread. We were in awe of what she was doing. Then her husband comes and they pull out these insulated lunch boxes. I didn't think they were going to pack that food up to take out to the beach, because we were having a big BBQ out there.
Hope couldn't stand it and had to say to the woman, "You do know we're having a BBQ out on the island?" I didn't hear how the woman replied, but they were spectacles, packing up all this food.
After breakfast, we headed down to the gangway, grabbed beach towels and headed out.
We walked down towards the beach and were greeted by a gentleman boasting a badge, very similar to the RCL name badges. After he'd carried Hope and my chaise loungers to our requested spot, he was looking for a tip. I had to ask, "do you work for the ship?" He said, "no." I said, "so we have to tip you?" He smiled, and bowed his head a bit.
So, Hope and I stripped down to our bathing suits, I slathered on the suntan lotion and we commenced our sunning sessions.
Hope headed over to the covered area for lunch and a performance by a local dance group. I headed for the water. At first it was cool, but once you got in it, it was really warm and nice. There were a lot of small striped fish swimming around as the water was crystal clear. I swam around a bit and headed back to my chaise lounger. Hope came back and said that the BBQ lunch RCL had put on for the cruise passengers was really nice and the performance. We talked to a couple Mike and Michelle (I forget where they're from) awhile. The regular stuff, where you're from, the weather, the football team, etc. Then Hope and I packed up and headed up to the souvenier shoppes. Most had local handicrafts, but some things were eye-catchers. We took the tram back to the dock and headed back in. By now I was quite hungry and we headed to our cabin to change out of those wet swimsuits, then headed up to the Windjammer for dinner. The Windjammer has excellent choices for meals for folks who want to be informal and casual.
Hope escaped to the casino and I sat for a while looking out at the ocean. Headed up to the cabin, prepared for our day tomorrow. Puerto Rico!
- comments
Sandy Wow sounds like you guys are having lots of fun. Makes me want to be there since it's snowing today and very colld.
Cathy Thanks for these updates Debbie! I look forward to reading your adventure! :)