Nathan's Insights

Saturday 28 December 2024
Highlights: The Labadee Coastline, Visiting Labadee local village

Today was my first shore visit for this Caribbean Cruise. While this stop is for Haiti, basically a failed country at this point, it is in Labadee a very remote part of the country.

I went to the Main Dining Room for breakfast as soon as it opened. I wanted to get off the ship as early as possible to explore Labadee and also to scope out how the land excursions worked. While it was overcast I decided to wear shorts, a short-sleeved shirt and a cap (I later got drenched in the rain). 

Walking outside the Explorer of the Seas I realised how massive the ship it. I also recalled how this is considered a midsized cruise ship these days. The ship looked great from the coast.

I explored a little before finding the location for my first of two shore excursions, the Labadee Historic Walking Tour. I have to say I was disappointed with this first tour. The guide spent too much time thanking people for visiting when I wanted the entire focus to be on the history of Haiti and this area in particular.

We did learn a little about Christopher Columbus and his visit to this area. We also learnt about local fishing traditions. Nellie’s Rock also provided a good lookout at the ocean, so it was okay.

The next tour I booked, Labadee Traditions, was much better. We started by getting caught in heavy rains, but at least it wasn’t cold. We caught a boat to the local village which can only be accessed by water. 

At the Labadee Village, we got demonstrations of many different types of dances, prayer dances, healing dances, and fire dancing.

Entertaining for sure.

We also visited a local market for crafts and locally made alcohol products. We also got to see how they make sugar cane drinks which I got to sample (very tasty). 

The boat ride back was more enjoyable as it wasn’t raining and we got to see even more of the coastline and the village.

Back on the ship after dinner, I went to a Beatles Tribute band performance. It was high energy with the audience getting into it. It was a good reminder of just how many iconic songs the Beatles created and why they were so good.