Labadee, Haiti Questions

[Amy from Delaware]

We will be on an RCI cruise which tenders at Labadee, Haiti. My DH is in a power wheelchair and unable to transfer or walk. I would like to know if anyone has successfully tendered to Labadee while staying in a power wheelchair. Also, if it *is* possible for him to get to Labadee, I would also love suggestions of what we can do there. Getting onto the beach isn't an option, so besides the shopping...what (if anything) in Labadee is wheelchair accessible?

 

Thanks in advance,

Three Rings

[kewbrook]

My experience in Labadee is from about 2 years ago so hopefully someone will have more current info. At that time they had a few sand wheelchairs available for ppl to borrow. There was a paved walkway but it is sand covered and uneven. The sand is soft. I have MS and If I had that as a stop now I am not sure I would even get off the ship. The walkway would be difficult for me to maneuver with my rollator and the sand and seats would be available only with the wheelchairs provided but once seated I would be stuck there since the sand wheelchairs are supposed to be shared. Meaning use it to get to your loungechair and then have someone return it to the ships walkway. Different needs for all people though so experience may be different for you

[Queenie2]

yes it is possible to tender in a power wheelchair at Labadee. We had a few power wc-user sand a scooter-user do so in our group http://www.EHCruise.com. Besides the beach and shopping there isn't that much to do on Labadee. There is a dining pavillion where they have a BBQ lunch and some entertainment. Most folks transfer to a beach wheelchair and have one of the porters push them around if they want to go to the beach. But even if you aren't a water person it's very relaxing. One gal wasn't going to get off the ship (a power wc-user) but she was glad she did. She enjoyed the afternoon sitting on the beach under a palm tree reading a book. And she had a great time.

 

You sit in the front of the tender and there is barrier-free access to that. I say, give it a shot, If you hate it, you can always come back to the ship. I wasn't that impressed with the shopping -- t-shirts, baskets and stuff. Mostly we just sat and visited with friends on the beach -- and had a few drinks and lunch. Every now and again you can watch the zip liners go past, but they tend to come all at once.

 

Like I said, give it a shot. You can always come back if you don't like it.

 

Candy

[Amy from Delaware]

Queenie,

 

Thank you for your response. Now that we know it's "do-able" we'll probably give it a try!

 

Three Rings

[duceno1]

Hi, I will be aboard the Liberty of the Seas next month, making a stop in Labadee. I am a powerchair user, unable to transfer, take steps, etc. Firstly, does anyone know of the chair size/weight restrictions to board the transfer? Secondly, once at Labadee, is it possible to stay in my chair and motor around? Thanks for any feedback!

[WEELYNCRUZER]

There are no size or weight restrictions for the tender. It is an old ww2 landing craft. You wheel on and stay in the front. When you get to Labadee you wheel off. It use to have a hard packed walkway that you could take your power chair around the island. Now it is soft sand and you can travel about 10 feet past the beach chairs and you sink and can't move. I'm glad I was able to do it on my own but those days are gone. If you are a light weight and transfer easily the beach chairs will you get you to any spot you ask them to take you to then you have to transfer to a lounge or chair. It's too much for me to transfer and you can't stay in the chair. I just stay on the ship and enjoy the extra space.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

Can the beach wheelchairs go into the water? My DD is a paraplegic and really wants to swim in Labadee.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

That's not a stupid question. Yes they can go into the water.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

That is great news that the chairs are submersible, thanks so much.

 

I was worried b/c everyone was saying they take you to a lounge chair, drop you off, and take the chair back.

 

She will be so excited about being able to get in the water, I cant wait to tell her!!!

 

Any other pointers you want to give?

[WEELYNCRUZER]

They will try to drop you off into a chair or lounge. You have to tell them what you want and make it worth their time. Beach chairs are limited and the porters don't work for the cruise line. You have to be flexible and negotiate the amount of time you will need them and their chair. They will also push you all over the Island. My wife just took control of the chair and that lasted about 45 minutes. Again we made it worth it for him.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

Thanks for the info. I never would have thought that a porter would be taking her around so we will now have the extra cash for it.

 

I dont know how well she will take to getting dropped off in the water with no chair to get her back out but we will worry about that then I guess.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

I don't believe they would drop her off in the water and leave her there. You may be the person bringing her in. That'show we did it. My friend broughgt his wife in and they kept the chair until she got out.

[Cru1s1ng2009]

good deal. Thanks for the info, it should be smooth sailing now.;)

[Ribi]

good deal. Thanks for the info, it should be smooth sailing now.;)

 

Dear fellow cruisers! I'll go on my very first cruise together with my parents Western Caribbean on the Alure, August 26th and we will go to Labadee as well. Do I need to reserve those beach wheelchairs or are there enough of them around how much tip is appropriate there?

Thanks for the info's

Looking forward to cruising

Greets from Switzerland

[xxoocruiser]

Dear fellow cruisers! I'll go on my very first cruise together with my parents Western Caribbean on the Alure, August 26th and we will go to Labadee as well. Do I need to reserve those beach wheelchairs or are there enough of them around how much tip is appropriate there?

Thanks for the info's

Looking forward to cruising

Greets from Switzerland

 

The Beach Wheelchairs are on a first come first served basis. Someone from your family needs to push you so no tip needed, just a big Thankyou.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

You don't have to tender on to Labadee any more. They built a beautiful dock to accomodate the Oasis and Allure. I'm in a power chair and just wheel on and off. The walks are all paved. I haven't been on Labadee for about a year. They had two walks and to get from one to the other you had to go to the beginning. We called RCL and suggested that they put a connecting walk in the middle. They thanked us for the suggestion and said they would do it. I can't confirm that it has been done. All RCL ships use the dock. It makes it so much easier for them. Tendering was time consuming.There is not mkuch to do if your in a chair nbut you can enjoy being on the island and they do barbeque with charcoal grills. Same food different cooking. You can get on and off the ship in a matter of minutes.

[FLACRUISER99]

Dock at Labadee taken by CC member SilentBob007.

[katisdale]

I want to say a word or warning about beach wheelchairs. Please note that I can still walk a bit but still got into big trouble with one. This was at a beach in NC and I borrowed a beach wheelchair from the town hall. I can no longer walk through loose sand and thought I had found the answer to getting into the water. It was fine until the water was about up to the mid level of the wheels. The chair began to float and turned over with me seat belted into it. If my husband had not been as strong as he is I believe I would have drowned. I couldn't (probably my panic) get the belt undone nor the chair righted. I can laugh about it now but not at the time. It is much harder to manage in the water than on the sand.

[vickila]

Dock at Labadee taken by CC member SilentBob007.

 

Great pictiure. If needed, the water w/c will take you to the beach area from the ship, then you can transfer out of it to the tram that goes around and has stops. Regardless, it is flat, totally paved (few loose sand places to be cauteous of) but IT IS A WALK -- off the ship 1/3 of a mile to entrance, then another 1/3 of a mile to bbq, regular beach and shops. Be prepared -- also shaded spots, but sun is HOT. Fine with scooter -- just stay out of the sand and private vendor's hill. Vicki :)

[WEELYNCRUZER]

Great picture. It is worth 1000 words. Do you have pictures of the trails? Iy you do would you please post them