royal caribbean

Labadee - Royal Caribbean Cruises

Industry giant Royal Caribbean says the 3,654-passenger Independence of the Seas will call in Haiti Friday as scheduled -- the first cruise ship to visit the Caribbean nation since Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

Two more cruise ships, the 3,114-passenger Navigator of the Seas and 3,654-passenger Liberty of the Seas, will arrive in Haiti on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

In addition to vacationers, the massive vessels -- among the world's largest -- will be carrying relief supplies to be distributed through Food for the Poor.

Royal Caribbean operates a private beach area in Haiti for its cruise ships called Labadee that is an important source of revenue for the country. It's located on the northern coast of Haiti far from Port-au-Prince and the epicenter of the disaster. Royal Caribbean has said the buildings, pier and attractions at the resort-like area were undamaged in Tuesday's quake.  

"There were a lot of discussions about (going ahead with calls), but in the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti's recovery and hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood," Royal Caribbean associate vice president John Weis writes today.

Weis says Royal Caribbean executives talked with the U.N. Special Envoy of the Government of Haiti, Leslie Voltaire, before making the decision, and Voltaire told the company the revenues Haiti would generate from upcoming cruise calls would be critical to its recovery.

"We also have tremendous opportunities to use our ships as transport vessels for relief supplies and personnel to Haiti," says Weis. "Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most."

Weis says the supplies being loaded onto the Royal Caribbean ships include rice, dried beans, water, dried milk and a variety of other canned items.

Weis indicated that the Royal Caribbean support for relief efforts could be long-term. "This effort is going to be a marathon," he says.