The first port for our Royal Caribbean cruise of the western Caribbean was Labadee, Hispaniola which is actually a part of Haiti. This specific port is leased out to Royal Caribbean, so only their cruise ships come here. Labadee is actually a peninsula with a few beaches. Getting to land from the cruise ship is by tender.
There is a small section for kids with floating fake icebergs to climb and water slides but they charge an admission fee. Flotation mattresses are also available for rent for those who just want to float in the ocean. There are also locals who help with getting beach chairs for you but they expect tips. So things here are a money grabber.
The cruise ship did have optional tours for snorkelling, parasailing, waverunner and kayaking tours but we thought that they were overpriced. Most passengers just spent the day relaxing around the beaches. The area around Labadee was pleasant enough, but the beaches and shores themselves were fairly rocky, so wearing sandals in the water would be advised.
Royal Caribbean had organized a beach BBQ at an outdoor picnic facility which was okay but nothing special. There is a market there consisting of two buildings. One is a store where the souvenirs and items have marked prices and the other building is like your typical market where locals try to hustle you for business. The locals inside the market were aggressive, but polite. If you don't mind haggling, you could get some pretty good deals but if you dislike this type of pushy atmosphere, then you had best avoid the market except for the fixed price store.
One big difference between this port compared to others is that since it is pretty well being used as a private beach, you will not be hassled by locals. The vendors coming around with drinks at the beach locations are actually Royal Caribbean staff so if one wishes to buy a drink, the cruise ship passcard is all that is required. As for concerns about being in Haiti, given the poverty and political situation, Labadee was not a problem because the entire site is enclosed by a high steel fence. Other passengers later told us that they wandered off near the perimeter of the site and saw many Haitians along the fence begging for handouts and food. The fencing was mostly concealed in the distance from the main tourist areas.
We found Labadee in general to be a bit of a waste of time for us. The beaches were too rocky and we didn't have access to inexpensive activities since everything was run by Royal Caribbean. If one wanted to just go lie on the beach all day and not much else, then Labadee would be a suitable place. For those who want to experience some culture, do water sports without going through the cruise ship, or shop duty free, Labadee would not be the place to go. We decided to stay on board the ship after the BBQ lunch for the rest of the afternoon. I like Royal Caribbean and would definitely cruise with them again but would not want to go on an itinerary that included Labadee in the future.
| ©2005 Clint Leung. All rights reserved. |
If you love sealife, fast rides and beautiful scenery, then SeaWorld is for you. This is one place that is a “must visit” for us on every single trip to Orlando. From the minute you enter the park and you have your photo taken by one of the official photographers, you just know you are in for a fun packed day. There are plenty of ticket variations available including the Orlando Flexticket avaialble from this site, just follow one of the links above to see what options are available to you and your family.
We usually pick up a park map,
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Nature teaches me, and that's what I write about. My first great lesson from nature was in the summer of '88 while on a weekend motorcycle trip with my new husband, Leonard. We visited Brownville and Auburn Nebraska, known for Indian Caves, local theatre and antique shops.
We stayed in a small locally owned motel adjacent to Rotary Park,
which was a gift from the local Rotary Club. It has a small
wandering lake surrounded by grass, trees, park benches and
ducks. We walked out to the park with journals in hand to have
quiet time to write and relax. I took a park bench near the
water's edge. Although
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There's no denying it's a busy world nowadays, and most of us lead lives to match. When it's time to get away from it all, even though many people seem quite prepared to go to the more crowded spots, for my money you can't beat a bit of peace and quiet and a chance to forget about the 21st century altogether.
One of the best places to go if you're looking for this sort of thing is not difficult to get to, though you may not have considered it before. I'm talking about Bonnie Scotland, of course, where despite its size
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Many visitors to the UK choose London for their base when visiting the country. If you're planning to stay in the capital, then let's take a look at some other great locations that can easily be reached for a day trip.
The great thing about staying in London is that it truly is a city that never sleeps. With great entertainment, from musicals to plays, it's a place where you will rarely be short of things to do.
In the evenings, you'll find that England's capital city is a great place to enjoy the nightlife, with top quality restaurants, bars
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One of the ports visited on our recent Royal Caribbean cruise was Grand Cayman. This was an eagerly awaited port as I've been there before but wanted to take my girlfriend scuba diving there. We were worried that we might miss this port since the Caymans were hit pretty hard by the hurricanes and indeed, they had closed the islands off to tourist travel for part of the summer/fall.
Fortunately for us, Grand Cayman had reopened just
about two weeks prior to our cruise at the end of November.
Getting to Grand Cayman is by tender because it has a shallow
harbour. This can be a potential problem in
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