Royal Caribbean Group recently announced it would extend cancellations at its private port of Labadee, Haiti, through June 2027 – a move that raises questions about the long-term viability of the port.
Earlier this year, Royal Caribbean announced it would cancel calls through the remainder of 2026 as Haiti continues to experience political and social unrest. The 260-acre piece of land was first leased to Royal Caribbean in 1986 and for many years functioned as its private “island”, despite being part of the Haitian mainland.
Now, with Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay and private beach clubs in Cozumel and Nassau, the ongoing viability of Labadee would seem to be in doubt – particularly given that calls to the Haitian port have been suspended frequently, if not regularly, since 2024.
Royal Caribbean has frequently made improvements to amenities and infrastructure at Labadee, investing millions of dollars over the past four decades to build a zipline, new docking facilities, and improvements to food and beverage locations.
To complicate matters, Royal Caribbean reportedly has a long-term lease on Labadee that extends until 2050.
But with Royal Caribbean cancelling calls well into 2027 and passengers already leery of the instability in Haiti, a return to Labadee seems increasingly unlikely in the long term, particularly as the line courts new world-class destination development projects.
And while some of these, like Perfect Day Mexico, are no longer going ahead – at least, not in their current form – the group’s focus is rightly on building better branded experiences for its guests.
As for Labadee, no official statement has been made either way about the site’s long-term future as part of the Royal Caribbean brand.
