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Cruise Ships Still Find a Haitian Berth
Luxury liners are still docking at private beaches near Haiti's devastated earthquake zone for holidaymakers to enjoy the water
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 on Friday; a second cruise ship, the 3,100-passenger Navigator of the Seas is due to dock.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines faced a difficult decision over whether to dock as per itinerary at Labadee Beach, Haiti after last week's tragic quake. (Photograph: Daniel Morel/AP) The Florida cruise company leases a picturesque wooded peninsula and its five pristine beaches from the government for passengers to "cut loose" with watersports, barbecues, and shopping for trinkets at a craft market before returning on board before dusk. Safety is guaranteed by armed guards at the gate.
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; one said he was "sickened".
"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.
"It was hard enough to sit and eat a picnic lunch at Labadee before the quake, knowing how many Haitians were starving," said another. "I can't imagine having to choke down a burger there now.''
Some booked on ships scheduled to stop at Labadee are afraid that desperate people might breach the resort's 12ft high fences to get food and drink, but others seemed determined to enjoy their holiday."I'll be there on Tuesday and I plan on enjoying my zip line excursion as well as the time on the beach," said one.
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."
"Friday's call in Labadee went well," said Royal Caribbean. "Everything was open, as usual. The guests were very happy to hear that 100% of the proceeds from the call at Labadee would be donated to the relief effort."
Forty pallets of rice, beans, powdered milk, water, and canned foods were delivered on Friday, and a further 80 are due and 16 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 $1m to the relief effort and will spend part of that helping 200 Haitian crew members.
The company recently spent $55m updating Labadee. It employs 230 Haitians and the firm estimates 300 more benefit from the market. The development has been regarded as a beacon of private investment in Haiti; Bill Clinton visited in October. Some Haitians have decried the leasing of the peninsula as effective privatisation of part of the republic's coastline.
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25 Comments so far
Show Allshades of the tsunami in thailand, where holiday makers resumed their sunbathing whilst locals searched for missing people................
Here's hoping that those who intend to "enjoy" their stay...choke on that decision.
Yes.....It does say it all. Doesn't it?
I hope the locals break down the fence and kick these peoples asses for them.
At the very least it is positive that they delivered relief supplies.
peace
I agree. As a passenger, I wouldn't want to take the trip; however, as it stands now, the cruise ship is providing more benefits to Haiti than if it didn't come at all. I also think there could be potential issues with the renting of the Peninsula as to whether Haitians are getting the full benefit of Royal Cruise's use of it; however, that is a more broader issue than this one port call to the peninsula.
Second thought. If aid is so difficult to get to the victims, suspend the lease and cancel the cruise and open up the Peninsula to that it can provide another route for the aid to come in.
I suggested a few days ago that all the liners be commandeered and there port space used as well as using their supplies and facilities for triage and floating hospitals.I think this could be legally done with American owned lines.But someone pointed out that it would be an act of war to grab foreign lines.Maybe the U.N. could lease them.
peace
where's alfred hitchcock...
the luxury liner departs after a fun filled time in port... heads out to sea again... and starts sinking... but... no rescue assets are available in time... they're busy saving 3 million people from a nearby earthquake aftermath... the cruise line company offers families of the downed vessel's patrons a $10 gift certificate for flowers (with one of the cruise lines affiliates) to be sure...
headline you'll not see... cruise line patrons take up donations and go into port divvying up cash... clothes... and any other valuables to local residents working at the resort... and insist cruise line release all workers to help with the relief efforts of their fellow countrymen and women... with full pay...
I used to just feel ashamed that I was American--now I fell ashamed that I belong to such a selfish race of beings. These ships could have been used to save lives that have been lost because they needed urgent water and other life-saving supplies--oh well they are only poor people anyway.
Horrific. It is like something from a Kurt Vonnegut novel.
In fact - a particular one of his novels comes to mind. Can you guess which one?
cat's cradle
Yup.
First World meets Third World in high relief.I wonder what Graham Greene would have made of this? For his take on the Papa Doc regime and the sleazy doings of the Americans in Haiti, read his novel "The Comedians."
"...others seemed determined to enjoy their holiday."I'll be there on Tuesday and I plan on enjoying my zip line excursion as well as the time on the beach," said one."
here's the irony...
let's say mr. "determined to enjoy their holiday"... is a "middle class" wage earner...
and let's say... he's a devoted glenn beck... rush limbaugh... tea bagger...
you know... liberty and freedom... anti-government... capitalist loving 'merikkan...
now... (note: i realize all the following assumptions have seriously changed since 2007)... he has a regular job... house in suburbia... late model suv and mid sized sedan... cell phones... laptops... cable... flat screens... maybe a motorcycle or boat... don't forget that oversized bbq for the BIG game...
saves up a few thou... put a few hundred or so on the ol' credit card... maybe a home equity revolving line of credit...
packs a few bags... and signs up for the the cruise... and "plans on enjoying my zip line excursion"...
ooops... the sweatshop labor common in these ports of call have caused 40-50% or more of the manufacturing jobs to disappear... even though he doesn't work in manufacturing... he hasn't seen a raise comparable to the increased costs of healthcare and many other things in years... since so many unemployed and loss of unions has made the labor force a "buyers" (employers) market... they can advertise any job at a substantial reduction... and have 100's of applicants the next day...
mr. "determined to enjoy their holiday"... is looking over his shoulder a lot more these days...
but the cruise line... enjoys huge tax benefits... and leverage... at taxpayer expense... to get the loans to build the ships... loans to build out these exotic posts of call... with huge fees and interest wrapped up in his cruise line tickets to pay back the bankers...
the same bankers... who continue wildly speculating on anything that isn't nailed down... from leveraged buyouts of what job producing companies may still be left in the state... county... or locale... where he lives...
after returning home.... from... "enjoying their holiday"... with glenn or rush in the background... he starts opening the credit statements... ooops... missed that $100.000 minimum payment while enjoying their holiday"..., $39.00 fee... and now... gets the default rate of 29.99% on unpaid balance of $4,700.00...
not too worry... i'll just work a few hours OT... ooops... found out while he was "enjoying their holiday"... the office laid off 13 employees... he's free to... "work now as many hours he deems necessary to get his work completed"... while he reads the company circular increasing co-pays and deductibles... while decreasing some coverages... maybe... the little allergy he may have picked up while "enjoying their holiday" in some backward third world country recently... or maybe from being packed in like sardines for 3 weeks with 4299 other "real" americans... also "enjoying their holiday"...
"freedom & liberty"... is heard from the radio speakers in the background...
One word applies to this cruise and all of these self-indulgent cruises as far as I'm concerned: obscene.
I hold myself to that standard but let us judge not...
I've taken several Caribbean cruises but never to Labadee. Even during normal times some of these Caribbean nations are desparately poor while others seem to have modestly adequate lifestyles.
I did call at Grand Turk in the fall of 2008 shortly after Hurricane Ike had caused severe damage. It was noticeable that the beach area and nearby shops had been quickly renovated. This implies that the tourist income is a major benefit to the Turks and Caicos. Per capita GDP in the Turks and Caicos is US $29,880 compared with $717 for Haiti.
I guess the real difference here is between a stable democratic government compared to years and years of political corruption and oppression.
So far as the cruise industry is concerned withdrawal from Haiti would have far more economic impact than withdrawal from the Turks and Caicos.
As someone who traveled to nearby Cap Hatien some years ago, I saw no economic benefit to speak of from tourism. Cap Hatien is not Freeport or Nassau. There are no tourists outside of the heavily secured, small resort.
A check of Goolge maps shows the resort is protected by a rugged peninsula and accessed from Cap Hatien by a rugged dirt road. I suspect that most of the supplies, and even the employees, are brought in by the ships from elsewhere.
gives new definition to the old term UGLY AMERICAN
I don't know much about the history of Haiti except that its slave revolt is the only national slave revolt in history to be successful.
It just couldn't be that western nations under capitalism have allowed such grinding poverty to exist for so long just to demonstrate what happens to people who rebel against their masters.
Probably just a coincidence...
Disaster tourism.
On the other hand, I understand the kidnapping/ransom racket pays well. I wonder what a fat US tourist would fetch?
Sad but true, in the end the corporation always looks at the bottom line. It doesn't care if people are starving or dying. It creates marketing schemes under the cloak of humanitarian deeds for every occasion.
from the current cd article by benjamin dangl:
Brian Concannon, the director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti told Hallward of the root causes for the overpopulation of neighborhoods in the city of Port-au-Prince that were hit so hard by the earthquake. "Those people got there because they or their parents were intentionally pushed out of the countryside by aid and trade policies specifically designed to create a large captive and therefore exploitable labor force in the cities; by definition they are people who would not be able to afford to build earthquake resistant houses."...
I bought a ticket to a Celebrity Cruise vacation but after the earthquake I have canceled it because it's not ok that you enjoy the sun and at several miles people are starving .