Cruise ship stays away from Haiti amid protest
MIAMI, USA (CMC) — Royal Caribbean has confirmed the cancellation of the visit of the Freedom of the Seas to Haiti on Tuesday, saying the 3,634-passenger ship had encountered a number of Haitian nationals in small boats staging a protest.
“Although this protest was peaceful in nature, it was clear that if the protest continued there would be a significant impact on our guests’ ability to enjoy Labadee,” the cruise line said in a statement.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and are in close communication with local and government officials in Haiti,” it said, adding, “At this time, we have not made any decisions regarding future port calls to Labadee.”
Haitians have been protesting the electoral process in the French-speaking Caribbean Community country as they prepare to vote Sunday to elect a new president to replace outgoing President Michel Martelly.
Royal Caribbean’s next scheduled port call is Thursday, when the 3,276-passenger Navigator of the Seas is expected to visit the beach resort on Haiti’s northern coast.