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Info on Labadee?

jeast

By jeast,
in Royal Caribbean International

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jeast

jeast

Posted
Posted

Is this port a private RCCL island/property? There isn't much about it in the brochures.

 

If so, what types of facilities (chairs, snorkeling equipt, food, etc.) does it have available or do you have to book an excursion?

 

Thanks for the info.

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GMoney

GMoney

Posted
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Labadee has really grown into a good beach destination. The only private island I prefer is Disney's Castaway Cay. It has several beaches, all with lounge chairs (bring dollar bills to tip the folks who will get your chairs for you).

 

The island has snorkeling equipment, floating mats, jet skis, and kayaks. You can rent these while on board, and the snorkeling stuff and mats are generally available while on the island without reservations as well. Snorkeling at Laba is non-existent so don't waste your money.

 

There are cabanas on the island for massages. They also sponsor a yoga class on the beach.

 

Labadee has a small shopping area (mostly with native art) a volleyball stadium, several bars and a small water park for kids (nothing too fancy). There is a floating jungle jim or kids as well. Both attractions have a charge.

 

BBQ lunch is prepared in 3-4 picninc areas from about 11 - 2. Burgers, dogs, chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, salads, fruit, etc.

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but others will remember them. All in all, it makes for a nice beach day.

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GMoney

GMoney

Posted
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Labadee is located on a Haitian peninsula. It is a private destination owned and run by the cruise line.

 

There is no charge for food. Drinks are priced as per the ship. Try a Coco Loco - they are the best!

 

Floating mats are $10. I htink the water park is $5, but I'm not sure. Someone will know.

 

The only downside about Labadee is that it gets very little wind, and the beach days can get very warm. But that's what the ocean is for!

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zotzer

zotzer

Posted
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Beware the Labadoozie! :)

 

Labadee is actually a close-to-perfect beach day. We had three kids with us (my niece and nephews, ages 5, 6, and 7) and they were perfectly content floating around in the lagoon on the floating mats...think those were $10 each for the day.

 

There is a little trail that connects the lagoon to a bigger beach, and you can get gorgeous photos of the ship up there.

 

The food is free, and you use your Seapass for drinks at the bar....the bar waiters also come off the ship and serve drinks on the beach, just like at the pool. :)

 

If you want to shop in the merchant area, bring cash. Very aggressive though, so if that puts you off, just steer clear of the vendor area.

 

Tracy

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Slam308

Slam308

Posted
Posted

Neat photo of Labadee:

Using GoogleEarth, look up CapHatien, Haiti

pan back a bit and look for a small white/sand colored peninsula to the west (left). Zoom in on that, and you've got a great view of Labadee.

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cb at sea

cb at sea

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It's the best "port of call" (aside from Coco Cay) that you will have. You can do as much as you like, ie: wave runners, etc.. (for a charge) or hang out in a hammock under a palm tree, or sun in a secluded area (at no charge!) The further from the tender area you go, the fewer people you will find. Except for sodas and alcohol, there's no need to spend a dime and you'll have a great time! The only downside to Labadee, (for me) was seeing the homes the natives live in perched on the hillside above where the ship anchors. These people live sub-sistance lifestyles and here we are, living it up like royalty. Being American makes us the luckiest people in the world. Even when I was young and didn't have a penny to my name, my lifestyle was so far above the Haitians... don't mean to carry on. It just gets me to thinking when confronted with the rest of the world and how they live.!

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cb at sea

cb at sea

Posted
Posted

It's the best "port of call" (aside from Coco Cay) that you will have. You can do as much as you like, ie: wave runners, etc.. (for a charge) or hang out in a hammock under a palm tree, or sun in a secluded area (at no charge!) The further from the tender area you go, the fewer people you will find. Except for sodas and alcohol, there's no need to spend a dime and you'll have a great time! The only downside to Labadee, (for me) was seeing the homes the natives live in perched on the hillside above where the ship anchors. These people live sub-sistance lifestyles and here we are, living it up like royalty. Being American makes us the luckiest people in the world. Even when I was young and didn't have a penny to my name, my lifestyle was so far above the Haitians... don't mean to carry on. It just gets me to thinking when confronted with the rest of the world and how they live.!

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jeast

jeast

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wow, this is great information.

 

has anyone done both Labadee and Cococay? I'd be interested to hear the benefits of both. I am considering an eastern or western on the mariner.

 

I much prefer a simple beach day to booking excursions as I am more into relaxing than sightseeing. Thanks for the great info, am downloading googleearth right now!

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Giventofly

Giventofly

Posted
Posted
Neat photo of Labadee:

Using GoogleEarth, look up CapHatien, Haiti

pan back a bit and look for a small white/sand colored peninsula to the west (left). Zoom in on that, and you've got a great view of Labadee.

 

Here's a link on Google Maps.

 

http://maps.google.com/?ll=19.786547,-72.25112&spn=0.002362,0.005032&t=k

 

The red building complex in the center is the "Dragon's ROck Cafe". If you scroll south east you can see the jet ski bays, and the aqua playland thingie.

 

If you scroll west from there, out into the bay, you can make out the yellow mooring bouys.

Of course the GoogleEarth view is a bit better.

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benjidog

benjidog

Posted
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There is a little tram that will take you from one end to the other. If you're not into walking, take that. We also walked up to look out point. When you get to the fork in the path, go left. The right leads to nowhere you can see anything and it much more rocky.

 

My Labedee pix were all taken on a disposable camera, so I'll have to scan them to attach them. Then I have go figure out how to make them small enough to fit them here. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post a few in the next day or so.

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Twaincruisers

Twaincruisers

Posted
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Labadee is one of our favorite "private islands", actually it is a pennisula of Haiti. We booked NOS in Feb, 2004, but were unable to go to Labadee due to political unrest. So, we tried again in Dec, and made it! Use the tram and explore the whole place. Be sure to make it out on the very tip. My wife took the tram and saw lots of people pressed up against the fence as the tram turned around...maybe the leftovers were distributed to them. Don't know. Beautiful place. Watch the dancers perform...and be sure to tip them...most people don't.

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cruise.mode

cruise.mode

Posted
Posted

So access to Labadee is restricted to RCCL passengers only? Are the people working on the island RCCL employees?

 

As to the food, I just want to clarify: it's available at no extra charge? Is it prepared by the cruise line? We're very careful about what we eat/drink when we're not aboard ship. Any comments welcome.

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benjidog

benjidog

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RCCL lets in sellers for the market that they approved. And the day we were there, there was two groups of school children on a field trip.

 

They bring food from the ship to serve for lunch. They had ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, salads, fruit and cake.

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KelJ

KelJ

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As far as pricing, you can check the RCCL excursion board, but here is what we paid.

To ride the slide all day was $20 per person (any age). Our boys (10 and 13) absolutely loved it! The SeaTrek Arawak Aqua Park was $15 per person (any age). That is supposed to be for an hour, but they were lenient in December as this activity wasn't busy. That was also a favorite with the kids, though we did see a couple jelly fish. Luc's Splash Bash is $5 per person (any age). This is supposed to be for two hours, but the person working it said we could go back and forth to it all day. While anyone can play at the Splash Bash (my kids did for half an hour), it is basically geared to younger children.

We booked these things through RCCL ahead of time, but that's not necessary, unless you want a particular time for the water park. If you want to book them while at Labadee, they will put it on your seapass. Only one ship is ever at Labadee, so it never feels crowded.

As stated, there is no extra charge for the buffet lunch, which is set up in I think three areas.

Have a great time! Labadee was one of our favorite stops and we will be returning there this December.:)

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