Overview:
Royal Caribbean has extended its suspension of cruise stops to Labadie, Haiti, through the end of 2026, dashing hopes of a spring return. Some left without steady income are returning to low-paying local industries.
LABADIE, Haiti — Citing ongoing security concerns, Royal Caribbean Group recently announced it will not make cruise stops at Labadee, its private beach resort destination, through the end of 2026. The decision further cuts off a major source of income for hundreds of residents in the northern coastal community near Cap-Haïtien, despite the region remaining largely untouched by gang violence common in other parts of the country.
According to the Board of Directors of the Communal Section (CASEC), roughly 1,000 Labadie residents remain cut off from cruise-related jobs. Residents say the prolonged shutdown, which began in 2025, has deepened economic hardship in a community that depended heavily on cruise tourism.
The company had suspended visits in 2024, briefly resumed them early in April 2025, then paused again as violence intensified in Port-au-Prince.
“After losing your job, if you don’t find another job, you suffer,” said Ulrique Vérius, who once worked at Labadee Beach.
Labadie, the island houses Labadee, the resort. The coastal town’s economy revolves around the private cruise destination, which for years has provided steady income to hundreds of families. About 800 residents were employed directly by the cruise operation, while hundreds more earned income selling crafts, food and artwork to visitors, according to the CASEC. Others worked as servers, security guards and support staff.
“Security is a big problem, if we had security, the ship wouldn’t have turned and left. A group of men’s actions shouldn’t cause everyone in the village to suffer.”
Golensky Therssaint, former security guard at Labadee Beach
The suspension has renewed concerns about the community’s dependence on a single foreign employer — and how little protection residents have when operations stop. Over the past months, many residents have turned to fishing, carpentry and other local trades — jobs that bring in far less income and stability.
Last month, Vérius, in his 30s, sat on a wooden bench near the ocean, the breeze cutting across the shore. While on a break from his current security job, Vérius said life felt most economically stable when he worked at the private destination, earning about $40 a week handling cleaning and maintenance tasks. That income is now gone, so Vérius now divides his time between security and carpentry, piecing together what he can.
“We can still find food, but life is very hard,” Vérius said.
From steady pay to local gigs
Golensky Therssaint worked as a security guard at Labadee for more than a decade, earning about $10 an hour. Today, he fishes to support his family.
“Everything I’ve done in my life came from Royal Caribbean,” Therssaint said. “I made more money than people who graduated from university. My family, my friends benefited from this.”
Now, every day, he takes his boat out and casts his net, earning just enough to get by. He said food insecurity is partly eased by monthly distributions of rice, beans and oil provided by Royal Caribbean to Labadie residents, but the loss of wages has been devastating.
Insecurity takes toll on northern economy
Nearly 90% of Port-au-Prince is under gang control, residents note that Haiti’s Northern Department has remained relatively calm. Labadie is 35 miles north of Cap-Haïtien and Gonaïves — the nearest city facing gang violence — is roughly 68 miles away.
“Security is a big problem; if we had security, the ship wouldn’t have turned and left,” Therssaint said. “One group of men’s actions shouldn’t cause everyone in the village to suffer.”
The prolonged suspension has also reopened long-standing debates about Labadie’s dependence on a single foreign employer.
Some residents are still hoping Royal Caribbean will return sooner than expected. Others say the crisis shows the need for broader investment and local economic development — so the community’s future is not tied to one company’s decision.
“I don’t like how they manage the area,” said Berly Santel, a Committee of Coordination of Labadie (CCL) presidential candidate for La Merenn. “They focus only on the cruises. When the cruises stop, the whole community suffers.”
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