Royal Caribbean cancels stops at controversial Caribbean cruise port

Security reasons are being cited for the cancellations.

Apr 16, 2025 - 16:39

Royal Caribbean cancels stops at controversial Caribbean cruise port

Although many Caribbean islands are extremely safe to visit, that isn’t the case for all of them. In fact, there are generally at least a few Caribbean islands that are under U.S. travel advisories at any given time.

For example, Jamaica – which features popular cruise ports such as Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Royal Caribbean staple Falmouth – is under a Level 3 travel advisory, which suggests that U.S. citizens reconsider their travel plans to the nation.

In Jamaica’s case, the major reason is crime. While the advisory specifies that tourist areas (like all of the cruise ports) generally have lower violent crime rates than the rest of the country, things like armed robberies are still rather common. Plus, health care isn’t nearly as readily available in Jamaica, and the advisory specifies that if you get sick or injured, it can be very difficult and costly to find adequate care.

Even some of the most popular cruise ports in the world are under elevated travel advisories. The Bahamas, including the heavily trafficked Nassau area, are under a “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution” advisory. In fact, the advisory mentions certain (non-tourist) parts of Nassau where there is an elevated level of gang activity.

However, despite these warnings from the U.S. Department of State, major cruise lines still visit both Caribbean nations frequently. To be clear, they certainly do a good job of advising passengers of what not to do and where not to go. But the point is they don’t necessarily avoid areas where a heightened level of danger exists.

(Although they do make every effort to ensure passenger safety and cruise ports, as well as cruise-line sponsored excursions) are broadly considered safe).

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Harmony of the Seas as viewed from Labadee, Haiti.
Image source: Daniel Kline/ComeCruiseWith.com

This Caribbean island is an exception

Haiti has been under the highest level of travel advisory for well over a year, which is “Level 4: Do Not Travel. The entire nation has been under a State of Emergency since March 2024 due to political unrest. The State Department’s warning says that crimes involving firearms are common, kidnapping is widespread, and that violent protests and mob killings are on the rise.

To be clear, there are no major cruise ships that maintain ports in Haiti that are accessible to the general public, or anything close to it.

However, one of Royal Caribbean’s fan-favorite private destinations, Labadee, is technically located in the country.

Labadee is located far from Port-au-Prince and any other areas where violence is widespread, and is in a remote area of the country. Plus, the port itself is inaccessible to local residents and is heavily guarded by private security. In short, going to Labadee and “going to Haiti” are two very different things.

Labadee visits are being cancelled

Although Labadee isn’t nearly at the same level of safety concern as Haiti in general, it’s tough to ignore the security concerns. The gang violence and political unrest in the island nation has escalated recently, and Royal Caribbean Blog’s Matt Hochberg reports that the cruise line is once again canceling visits to Labadee.

More Royal Caribbean news:

Scheduled stops by Voyager of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas on current sailings have been cancelled and replaced with other destinations. Voyager is going to visit Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic instead, while Oasis will add a stop in Nassau to its itinerary.

At this point, we don’t know how long Royal Caribbean’s Labadee pause will continue. But it’s worth noting that stops in Labadee were suspended beginning in March 2024 (when the violence originally caused the Level 4 advisory) and the suspension was extended several times before Labadee visits finally resumed in October. It remains to be seen if this will be an extended pause as well.

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