Labadee Status - Celebrity has cancelled all port calls until at least April 2025. Any emails from RC this far out?

[CruiseMrB]

On Celebrity Equinox Jan 2025. Just got an email yesterday swapping Labadee for Nassau instead. Others on CC have gotten emails for itineraries out to April 2025. Has anyone received any port change emails away from Labadee on RCL this far out yet?

 

Labadee was never huge for Celebrity as it was for RCL.

 

Thanks

[smokeybandit]

Now that Celebrity is visiting Coco Cay, maybe visiting Labadee isn't as necessary.

[RFerrington]

I never even realized that X WAS going to Labadee...

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, CruiseMrB said:

On Celebrity Equinox Jan 2025. Just got an email yesterday swapping Labadee for Nassau instead. Others on CC have gotten emails for itineraries out to April 2025. Has anyone received any port change emails away from Labadee on RCL this far out yet?

Just so you are aware there are several similar threads out since Celebrity started canceling Labadee as a port of call.  Labadee has been closed for a while and RCCL has been rescheduling that port of call for a number of weeks now.  Celebrity is now catching up with their itineraries and it seems this week in particular there have been a lot of notifications. 

 

Most RCCL itineraries are replacing Labadee with ports of call in Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, and CocoCay, and possibly others, or an extra day at sea.  It appears as though Celebrity is following suit similarly.

 

Going out as far as April '25 seems consistent with RCCL and IMO may be smart to assure long enough planning for the alternative ports of call.  Hopefully the issues in Haiti will find resolution by then, and if sooner perhaps we may see changes in itineraries back to there. Only time will tell, I guess.

Edited May 24 by leaveitallbehind

[orville99]

13 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Just so you are aware there are several similar threads out since Celebrity started canceling Labadee as a port of call.  Labadee has been closed for a while and RCCL has been rescheduling that port of call for a number of weeks now. 

RCL is also starting to go to a new (and so far completely undeveloped) port on the west coast of the DR - Cabo Rojo. 

Edited May 24 by orville99

[leaveitallbehind]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

RCL is also starting to go to a new (and so far completely undeveloped) port on the west coast of the DR - Cabo Rojo. 

I saw that and IMO it doesn't look too thrilling!  

[Southern Dan]

I really hope we visit Grand Turk in November on Symphony instead of Cabo Rojo DR.  I suppose we’ll make the best of it regardless…

[smokeybandit]

31 minutes ago, orville99 said:

RCL is also starting to go to a new (and so far completely undeveloped) port on the west coast of the DR - Cabo Rojo. 

The renderings make it look like a mini Coco Cay. 

 

 

[orville99]

3 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

The renderings make it look like a mini Coco Cay. 

 

 

Maybe eventually, but currently there is literally nothing there but a one runway airstrip and a dilapidated pier.

 

[smokeybandit]

Looks like the google map image is just outdated.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/first-cruise-call-dominican-republics-cabo-rojo

[The Scurvy Pirate]

A day or so ago I booked a cruise for Feb 25 that is going to nassau, falmouth and labadee.  When I go to the planner for excursions, it is also showing excursions for Georgetown.  The only excursion for Labadee is a "coastal adventure", while there are several listed for Georgetown.  I have seen nothing about a change in the port but thought this was interesting....

[robmtx]

38 minutes ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

A day or so ago I booked a cruise for Feb 25 that is going to nassau, falmouth and labadee.  When I go to the planner for excursions, it is also showing excursions for Georgetown.  The only excursion for Labadee is a "coastal adventure", while there are several listed for Georgetown.  I have seen nothing about a change in the port but thought this was interesting....

If you choose to filter excursions by day of cruise, does it show which day G'town is, and is that the same day as your Labadee scheduled stop?

 

[orville99]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Looks like the google map image is just outdated.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/first-cruise-call-dominican-republics-cabo-rojo

We will be there in September, so I will get pictures of what is actually there.

[Sonic2012]

Does anyone know what they are substituting for Labadee on 5 night cruises with Dominican Republic? Cruise is end of March 2025. I have received no emails about changes. They are still selling the same itinerary. I wish they would give the option to cancel since they know they aren’t going to Labidee in advance.

[The Scurvy Pirate]

1 hour ago, robmtx said:

If you choose to filter excursions by day of cruise, does it show which day G'town is, and is that the same day as your Labadee scheduled stop?

 

 

The documents say:                                        The Planner says:

Day 1 - boarding

Day 2 - Nassau                                                Day 2 - Nassau

Day 3 - cruising                                                Day 3 - Georgetown

Day 4 - Falmouth                                             Day 4 - Falmouth

Day 5 - Labadee                                              Day 5 - Labadee

Day 6 - cruising

Day 7 - debarking

 

So, not sure what to make of it.  I don't think you can make it from Nassau to Georgetown in that limited amount of time.  So, may just be an IT issue.

Edited May 24 by The Scurvy Pirate

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, Sonic2012 said:

Does anyone know what they are substituting for Labadee on 5 night cruises with Dominican Republic? Cruise is end of March 2025. I have received no emails about changes. They are still selling the same itinerary. I wish they would give the option to cancel since they know they aren’t going to Labidee in advance.

If you booked with a refundable deposit, you can cancel at anytime prior to final payment without penalty.  If you booked with a non-refundable deposit you can change your booking to another for a fee (typically $100 pp).  You only loose your deposit with an NRD if you cancel.

 

What is your sailing date and ship?  Not defending anything, but as to knowing in advance, they are currently in the midst of rearranging all itineraries affected with this development over the recent weeks. This can be quite a task. Your itinerary just may not yet have been finalized.  Hopefully it will be a favorable change.

Edited May 24 by leaveitallbehind

[orville99]

1 hour ago, Sonic2012 said:

Does anyone know what they are substituting for Labadee on 5 night cruises with Dominican Republic? Cruise is end of March 2025. I have received no emails about changes. They are still selling the same itinerary. I wish they would give the option to cancel since they know they aren’t going to Labidee in advance.

We have one in July that is substituting Grand Turk for Labadee, but we had one last month that substituted Labadee with Coco Cay. I think what they decide all depends on which port has an open berth.

[Sonic2012]

My dates are 3/30/25- 4/4/25, Grandeur of the Seas. Both substitutions mentioned would be acceptable. I have NRD.

[leaveitallbehind]

44 minutes ago, Sonic2012 said:

My dates are 3/30/25- 4/4/25, Grandeur of the Seas. Both substitutions mentioned would be acceptable. I have NRD.

Interesting.  Still showing Labadee as you said. Grand Turk would seem likely instead to maintain the rest of the itinerary.  I guess if they could do CocoCay as well on 3/31 then head to DR.  I guess just keep waiting and watching.

[TeeRick]

RCG has a huge investment in Labadee overall.  Their ships will get back there once Haiti has stabilized.

[leaveitallbehind]

59 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

RCG has a huge investment in Labadee overall.  Their ships will get back there once Haiti has stabilized.

Agree. Their lease there runs through 2050. Very sad situation but one that hopefully will find resolution sooner than later, not so much for RCL's sake, but for the people of the country.

[laura85]

I’ve been to Labadee twice and really love it! I have a cruise booked for January 2025 and have not received and new info on Labadee, and the itinerary still lists Labadee. However, I fully expect it to get canceled. I saw an article that Royal has officially suspended stood there through September 2024, and I’m guessing it will continue to be pushed back until things are much better there. I understand why Royal is doing this, and hope for things to get better for Haiti’s sake most of all. 

[leaveitallbehind]

10 minutes ago, laura85 said:

I’ve been to Labadee twice and really love it! I have a cruise booked for January 2025 and have not received and new info on Labadee, and the itinerary still lists Labadee. However, I fully expect it to get canceled. I saw an article that Royal has officially suspended stood there through September 2024, and I’m guessing it will continue to be pushed back until things are much better there. I understand why Royal is doing this, and hope for things to get better for Haiti’s sake most of all. 

It is possible that things could be resolved sooner, but as I suggested in an earlier post, the cruise lines need to look rather far forward in securing alternate ports of call to assure availability, so they may be extending that window just to be on the safe side.  They may be able to revert back to Labadee should things improve sooner.

 

We have been there many times over the years, as far back as the early 1990's, and have always enjoyed the day there.  I agree with you in that hopefully for the sake of the Haitian people things will be resolved soon.

Edited May 25 by leaveitallbehind

[ONECRUISER]

On 5/24/2024 at 7:59 AM, RFerrington said:

I never even realized that X WAS going to Labadee...

Though really rare even other Cruise Lines have stopped there in the past. Also was few times 3 Ships stopping there on a single day, Their times overlapped and it didnt happen too often

[leaveitallbehind]

27 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Though really rare even other Cruise Lines have stopped there in the past. Also was few times 3 Ships stopping there on a single day, Their times overlapped and it didnt happen too often

Not aware of any other cruise lines that have stopped there other than RCCL and Celebrity.  What line?  Also never heard of three at one time. Very limited docking and venue space.  When did that occur?  Just curious.

Edited May 25 by leaveitallbehind