Royal Caribbean says the cancellation will disrupt several planned itineraries and passengers might be diverted to another location
Royal Caribbean has axed all its May cruises to a sought-after spot in the Caribbean.
The cruise line has stopped sailing to Labadee in Haiti amid ongoing turmoil in the country. The cruise giant initially paused voyages to the exclusive island back in mid-March and has now prolonged the suspension until at least the end of May. A company spokesperson said: “We have suspended all visits to Labadee fleetwide through May 2024, and we continue to monitor the situation with our Global Security and Intelligence team.”
The cancellation will disrupt several planned itineraries, with Royal Caribbean’s ships including Allure of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, and Symphony of the Seas all scheduled to dock at Labadee during May. Passengers might instead be diverted to another location such as Royal Caribbean’s private Bahamian retreat, Perfect Day at CocoCay, or they could enjoy an additional day at sea, reports the Express.
Despite being a private resort for Royal Caribbean vessels, the Haitian government retains jurisdiction over Labadee. Haiti is currently embroiled in political chaos following a siege in March that led to the resignation of the country’s prime minister. A massive jailbreak ensued, resulting in around 4,000 prisoners fleeing, and the subsequent unrest has led to numerous fatalities. It has been reported that more than 53,000 individuals have had to abandon their homes in Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti.
The UK Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Haiti. Its website reads: “There are currently no British consular officials in Haiti and our ability to provide consular assistance is severely limited and cannot be delivered in person in Haiti. If you choose to travel to or stay in Haiti against FCDO advice, try to avoid all crowds and public events, and take appropriate security precautions.”
Over the Middle East a number of airlines have had to make diversions due to the conflict between Israel, Hamas and now Iran.
Earlier this month more than 300 drones and missiles were fired at Israel by Iran during its unprecedented attack, which the UK and US helped to repel. The strike saw several countries shut down their airspace and has led to the long-term disruption of certain flight routes.
This week easyJet announced that a huge number of scheduled flights to Israel will not go ahead as planned, with the total ban in place until October 27. The move is a serious extension of the pause on services which was due to continue to April 21. Deutsche Lufthansa, Qantas Airways and Singapore Airlines are all currently considering what to do, Euronews reports.
It is currently possible to fly from the UK to Israel, with Wizz Air, Vueling, El Al and Austrian Airlines all advertising flights departing this weekend. Wizz Air said that it was “closely monitoring the situation with the relevant authorities and keeping its passengers informed of all schedule changes”. “All passengers affected by the schedule changes will be provided with rebooking or refund options,” it added.
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