Cruise liners continue to dock in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE – Cruise ships are continuing to dock in Haiti, an hour’s drive from the earthquake devastated capital Port-au-Prince.
The Guardian newspaper in the UK said the 4,370-berth Independence of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International, disembarked at the heavily guarded resort of Labadee on the north coast of Haiti on Friday; a second cruise ship, the 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas, followed at the weekend.
The Florida cruise company leases a picturesque wooded peninsula and its five pristine beaches from the government for passengers to enjoy water sports, barbecues, and shopping at a craft market before returning on board before dusk.
Safety is guaranteed by armed guards at the gate, The Guardian noted.
The decision to go ahead with the visit has divided passengers. The ships carry some food aid, and the cruise line has pledged to donate all proceeds from the visit to help stricken Haitians.
But many passengers will stay aboard when they dock.
“I just can’t see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue, and enjoying a cocktail while [in Port-au-Prince] there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets, with the survivors stunned and looking for food and water,” one passenger wrote on the Cruise Critic internet forum.
The company said the question of whether to “deliver a vacation experience so close to the epicentre of an earthquake” had been subject to considerable internal debate before it decided to include Haiti in its itineraries for the coming weeks.
“In the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti’s recovery; hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood,” said John Weis, vice-president.
“In our conversations with the UN special envoy of the government of Haiti, Leslie Voltaire, he notes that Haiti will benefit from the revenues that are generated from each call.
“We also have tremendous opportunities to use our ships as transport vessels for relief supplies and personnel to Haiti.
Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most.”
Forty pallets of rice, beans, powdered milk, water and canned foods were delivered on Friday, and more will be delivered on two subsequent ships.
When supplies arrive in Labadee, they are distributed by Food for the Poor, a longtime partner of Royal Caribbean in Haiti.
Royal Caribbean has also pledged US$1m to the relief effort and will spend part of that helping 200 Haitian crew members.
Ian Jarrett
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