Labadee Haiti – Royal Caribbean Cruise Tips

Labadee, Haiti – Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination is solely for Royal Caribbean cruises. Most cruise lines have their own private cruise destination(s), and Royal Caribbean’s is located in Labadee Haiti.  We cruised on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas, which had a call of port in Labadee, Haiti.

When you arrive at the dock, you will see that there is quite a bit to do.  However, the earlier you get off, the better.  As you will see, it looks like there is a lot of space, but you have a small town getting off of the cruise ship that will quickly be taking over everything.

When we traveled to Labadee, Haiti on our recent cruise, we were off fairly early and by the time we got to the beach, all front row chairs on the beach were taken, so were ended up having to drag chairs together for our group that was on a busy walkway on the beach.

There are plenty of excursions to choose from there but do keep in mind, you cannot leave the private Labadee community there.  Haiti has had a lot of crime over the years, and Royal Caribbean does not want to have issues with cruisers leaving and getting harmed.  Due to that and the fact the Royal Caribbean owns the land, you are forced to do Royal Caribbean excursions, which will cost you quite a bit.

As you get off the ship there are stands where you can sign up for excursions.  You will see a few of them listed below that we recommend.  We did the Amiga Island shore excursion, rented some kayaks and also did the Dragon’s Breath zip line.

Labadee Haiti Top Travel Tips

  • Get off the ship early to get a good spot on the beach
  • You will not be able to leave the private Labadee port
  • Be prepared to spend a lot of money if you want to do activities, eat and drink while here
  • Bring some drinks using a rum runner to avoid high costs and long lines
  • If you are looking for some privacy, find an excursion that will occupy your time.  We highly recommend the Amiga Island Shore Excursion.

Popular Labadee Haiti Shore Excursions

Royal Caribbean does a good job with the Labadee Haiti cruise port as it offers many great activities and excursions.  Cruisers are in Labadee Haiti for several hours where you can experience a variety of those.  Here are a few that we tried out…

Amiga Island Shore Excursion

We had wanted to do some snorkeling while on shore in Labadee Haiti so we saw the Amiga Island shore excursion and immediately booked that.  The price was only about $69/per person (in 2016) so was not too bad.   We really enjoyed this as it is a private island that takes less than five minutes to walk around.   There are only about 20 people that are sharing the excursion with you so it’s not overly crowded.

They will take you there from the cruise boat via a 20-minute boat ride along the Haitian coast.  You do not have to worry about packed lines to get drinks, fighting over seats and all that other non-sense. You are free to roam the island, snorkel, but watch out as it can be rocky in some parts.  They also have a bar to purchase drinks.  Hammocks and chairs to relax in.  I think in total, you are there for a good 3 hours.

 Dragons Breath Zip Line

Upon our return from the Amiga Island shore excursion, we even had time to get a run in on the Dragon’s Breath Zipline.  The Royal Caribbean staff drives you to a practice area where you do a quick run through of how it works.  Then you are driven to the edge of the mountain there in Labadee Haiti.   You are taken up an extremely bumped path up to the Dragon’s Breath zip line.

Once up there, you will walk to the setup area, which you should expect several other people with you.  You will wait in line for a bit while they send people down, and then you are strapped in and pushed away.  The views are absolutely gorgeous as you overlook the entire Labadee Haiti cruise port, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship(s), the beaches and everything else.  The only thing is that the ride lasts about 30 seconds.  The cost is about $100 (2016 prices).  It’s an extremely fun, but short and expensive ride.  If you have the funds, go for it, otherwise, there are other ways to give Royal Caribbean your money.

Other Labadee Haiti Excursions

As mentioned above, there are many excursions in Labadee Haiti that you can do once you get off your Royal Caribbean cruise ship.  Some of the more popular excursions that they offer are:

  • Beach bungalows
  • Boat rides
  • Waterslides and roller coasters
  • Water activities
  • Kayaking (see info below)
  • Jetskiing
  • Parasailing

We rented some kayaks for about $20 for 30 minutes in which you are pretty limited in the cove that they allow you operate.  After about 10 minutes, you kind of get bored.  We returned our kayak’s about 15 minutes in.  Not sure we would recommend this as we would probably have rented jetski’s or just enjoyed the beach more.

The post Labadee Haiti – Royal Caribbean Cruise Tips appeared first on Plentiful Travel.

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