Royal Caribbean makes a tough, difficult decision

by Ned Levi on January 20, 2010

Oasis

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, had tough decisions. Should they continue stopping at Haiti during Caribbean cruises, or drop Haiti as a port of call, at least for the time being, while Haiti works its way out of its earthquake disaster? If they stopped visiting Haiti, when would it be the right time to resume visiting, a month, 3 months, 6 months, a year, longer?

To my mind, these are “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t” decisions.

Royal Caribbean has committed a minimum of $1M toward the Haitian relief effort. They will make their contribution via support for Food For The Poor, the Pan American Development Foundation, and other organizations in Haiti that are engaged in the massive effort to help Haiti recover from last week’s earthquake. Royal Caribbean is carrying relief supplies in their cruise ships docking in Haiti. They’ve already delivered food and water, and more will continue to be delivered as their ships dock in Haiti.

In addition, Royal Caribbean is donating 100% of its net revenue from its port stops in Haiti, for the foreseeable future.

Those were easy decisions for Royal Caribbean, as was making donations, including chairs, bedding and mattresses to the makeshift hospital created in the gymnasium in Cap Haitian, about 15 miles from Royal Caribbean’s Labadee, Haiti, port of call.

On the surface, one would think its decision about continuing Haiti as a port of call would be easy; discontinue having their cruise ships stop at their private beach destination in Labadee, Haiti, where their passengers would be vacationing less than 100 miles north of the destruction and death in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince, and its surrounding area.

Like most things in life, there is a lot under the surface which must be considered.

Royal Caribbean has 230 employees on Haiti who service their Labadee facility. In addition, local vendors, and local businesses which support the private beach destination in Labadee are dependent on the cruise line’s business. Over the years, Royal Caribbean’s ships’ visits to Haiti have contributed about $100M to Haiti’s economy.

Suspending stops to its Labadee port of call would have put an estimated 500 Haitians out of work and would have seriously impacted their families.

Royal Caribbean decided to continue stopping at Labadee, continue to employ 230 men and women on Haiti, continue to bring customers to the vendors of Labadee, continue to use local businesses, continue to be an important contributor to the damaged Haitian economy which was one of the poorest in the world even before the earthquake disaster.

I know some may think it reprehensible for Royal Caribbean to bring its passengers to the beach of a country in such horrible distress, but wouldn’t it be worse for Royal Caribbean to abandon the men and women who have worked hard for the company and made its Ladabee destination a success.

I’m sure many passengers will be apprehensive stopping at Haiti during these days. I know I would, yet I think Royal Caribbean has made the right decision, and I would ask its critics to consider the words of Leslie Voltaire, Haitian Special Envoy to the United Nations, who said in a statement,

Given the terrible economic and social challenges we now face in Haiti, we welcome the continuation of the positive economic benefits that the cruise ship calls to Labadee contribute to our country.

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Tagged as: Cap Haitian, disaster relief, earthquake, economic benefits, haiti, Ladabee, port-au-prince, relief effort, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd

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  • Aaron

    Royal Caribbean is in a “damned if you, damned if you don’t” situation.

    I, for one, am glad that not only are they continuing to stop at Labadee, but since they now have a real dock as opposed to tenders are using their ships to haul supplies to offload. The fact that they are donating their profits from Labadee I think is wonderful as well.

    On another forum, people are all over the place on this. Some people with Labadee stops within the next couple of weeks are up in arms that they are going, others are looking forward to helping as they can. Personally, to the people that would have a hard time enjoying their vacation knowing they are 100 miles away from “disaster”, then stay on the ship. No one is forcing you off.

  • George Kaplan

    Sorry to nitpick, but… your headline cracks me up. “Tough, difficult decision” is straight from the Department of Redundancy Department. Also, “to continue stopping…” is just awkward. End of Grammar Police section ;-)

    Please read the following article for a different view of just how much money RC contributes to the Haitian economy. It’s laughable. As is their somewhat nebulous and undefined claim to contribute $1M to the relief effort. http://tinyurl.com/y9mcx2w

    This is from a maritime lawyer’s blog who is likely not a friend of the cruise industry. However, it’s hard to argue with the pictures. Four pallets? RC has made it appear they are ferrying significant quantities of relief supplies to the country when in reality it’s just whatever they can fit into extra space in the cargo holds. It’s certainly *something* but more of an afterthought and PR move than shipping supplies that will make a true impact.

    Just for comparison, while RC has made promises of $1M in aid, its competitor Carnival, which has no relationship with Haiti, has pledged $5M.

    Also note that RC pays Haiti $6 per passenger, a cost that RC passes on to the passenger. Estimates are that RC contributes $30,000 per week to Haiti. Not a bad deal for 260 acres of prime, beachfront property that is surrounded by a 12-ft. fence and armed guards .

  • Mike T

    I don’t understand this.. If someone is opposed to vacationing “just 100 miles” away from the death and destruction, they’re okay with vacationing 200 miles? How far, exactly, does one need to be from the epicenter to escape the guilt of vacationing? Is being 100 miles away, but being mindful of your fortune and donating generously the equivalent of being 300 miles away, but being mostly carefree? What if I wanted a hedonistic, rollicking good time? How far away from the epicenter would I need to be?

    I think it’s silly to be concerned about that. If the thought of being so close to the suffering is unbearable, you need to just cancel your vacation. Simply put, short of canceling and donating any money you would have spent on it to relief efforts instead, actually going there and providing an economic boost for the island is the best thing you as an individual can do.

  • john

    Ned … I buy RCCL’s excuse on this one. Haiti’s economy is non-existent right now. As part of their continued stops, they are continuing to drive the local economy by continuing to employ people and purchasing goods.
    Their use on their cruise ship’s to ferry supplies is nice since the port is in ruins but one has to wonder why they don’t offer their port facilities to relief ships when they aren’t using them.

    I really think that RCCL can’t win on this one. If they close Labadee and layoff people, they are big business not caring about the little guy. If they continue to stop, they are big business not caring about the disaster. At least this way, they can help the locals while they take the bad press.

  • SirWired

    RCL continuing the visits was the right choice. What possible purpose would be served by not visiting a port that was in no way affected? Haiti is on board, the UN is on board, what is the problem?

    Somebody online pointed out that this would be like canceling a trip to the Poconos because of 9/11; the physical distance is about the same.

    If they offered tours of Port-au-Prince, and refused to cancel them, that would be another thing altogether, but the area visited simply won’t be affected.

  • laura townsend elion

    People are hypocrits -I haven’t noticed a large number of Americans in the US discontinuing their leisure time pursuits – we had the Golden Globes, peope are still partying, shopping, going to the movies, and otherwise seeking to entertain themselves. Would it better for Haiti to lose RCCL because, in swapping out ports for somewhere in the area during the crisis, they decide they don’t need to go back to Haiti? What about the local workers who need the income?

    I work for a large international relief agency that was in Haiti (320 workers) before the quake and is working there now, sending more staff. RCCL has made some outstandingly generous offers to help – donating money and resources – give them a break.

  • Jeff Linder

    With the caveat that I am not sure this could be done safely and health consciously, what about arranging some form of land ‘excursion’ where people could get off and help? Even if its just sorting supplies at the airport, or making food bags at the resort that get sent in…

  • Marilyn Long

    I’m glad to know that RC was helping to build up Haiti’s tourism business before this disaster and am even happier to know that they have the courage to continue their stops there. In the long run, if Haiti can be rebuilt, perhaps their share of Caribbean tourism can be much greater similar to their DR neighbor. Before the earthquake, I had been planning a trip to Haiti for 2011. I had looked in vain at one of our larger book stores for a travel book about Haiti. The fact that there was not one book with even a chapter or a mention of Haiti said a lot. With the same climate and potential for beauty to be found in other Caribbean nations as well as a rich history, Haiti should not be left out as a destination. RC is to be congratulated for promoting Haiti instead of being criticized, particularly now with Haitians so desperate for economic help.

  • TJ Thornton

    As a former accredited PR counselor and now an Episcopal priest, I say, “God bless them.” Those 500 people and their families certainly will. Every time they put food on their tables, they certainly won’t think Royal Caribbean is damned for being there. Nor will God.

    For those who are concerned about traveling there, tell them to bring something to donate. If they still don’t want to go, maybe they could donate their cabins to some of the missionaries or orphans that need to get back to the US. When all those rescue folks and TV cameras leave, and the inevitable long-term process of rebuilding begins, it will be companies such as Royal Caribbean that will be instrumental in the rebuilding of the Haitian economy and culture.

    It was undoubtedly a hard, and tortured, decision. But, this person thinks it’s the right one. I’ve never been much for wanting to cruise, but I’m thinking that Royal Caribbean is changing my mind.

    Ned, if you can, please let them know that at least one person is praying for them as they get the inevitable grief for this.

  • Sandra Sheldon

    When Biloxi was hit with Katrina, many questioned the haste to rebuild the casinos. I only understood this when I visited there and the casino employees thanked us for our business and explained that tourism was so important to bringing money and jobs to the residents who both worked in and supported the gaming industry. I think I would also feel uncomfortable stopping there but would try to contribute to the local economy at Labadee in some way – buying souvenirs and so forth. I applaud RCL’s decision.

  • DaveS

    This is VITAL to the Haitian economy. I suppose some people are well meaning, but they have no idea how cruel their thinking is to the Haitians who desperately need jobs. I hope Royal Caribbean sticks to its determination to help out by providing work to people who need it the most.

  • Marge Foulks

    Is the cruise line allowing emergency ships to dock at Labadee? It seems this would be really helpful in getting necessary people and supplies closer to the disaster. It is my understand that Port au Prince currently has no docking ability. Although privately owned, it would be a nice gesture to allow this if it is not already being allowed.

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  • Dalit

    I am against RCL discontinuing Haiti as port of call, but believe yes, it is too soon to resume stops there (1 week!!!), and yes, 100 miles is too close.
    The people of Haiti are devastated right now, many of them in mourning over dead family members, and they know ahead of them is a very dim future. I think it’s a very insensitive idea for tourists to be vacationing around them , I also don’t think tourists would enjoy their time there (which should also be a concern, people are paying for those vacations with hard earned money) knowing the devastation around and the grief the people giving them service are going through.
    I think RCL should discontinue Haiti as port of call for at least a few months, while continuing donating money, resources, and paying their 230 employees their salary.
    My feeling is that RCL, while have some good intentions, just do not want to discontinue this port for commercial reasons.

  • http://www.tripso.com/author/ned/ Ned Levi

    It is my understanding that the logistical problems of the dock a Labadee for freighters, the lack of any facilities for unloading containers, the type of dock, etc. make Labadee essentially unsuitable for freighters. In addition, the roads down to Port au Prince from the Labadee area are pretty bad making the trip a whole day affair. It doesn’t appear as though any aid organization or the government of Haiti even considered the use of Labadee, but then of course, I’m not privy to their deliberations. The arrival of the first freighter, the Crimson Clover, in Port au Prince signals that ships can now at least dock there. With the big cranes down, we’ll see how well they can unload ships. They are still inspecting the damaged piers there and apparently only 17% of the pier space is currently considered safe, but that’s apparently enough to get things at the port started. At least they have the width for big vehicles on the pier to haul the cargo.

    To me, what’s disheartening about the supplies situation is the mess at the airport, where at least the supplies can get in.

  • laura townsend elion

    My agency actually considered RCCL’s offer to use Labadee in the first days when the airport was still pretty crippled. While not close to P-a-P, it was at least as close as the locations in the Domincan Republic we were mobilizing supplies and personnel from.

    And, ironically, my husband builds boats for a living – there are floating dock systems, even heavy duty versions, that could be instituted to build a bridge out from a damaged shoreline, or a docking facility without a deep enough channel. I believe that sort of thing will be inprovised in the near future to increase the capacity of the port at P-a-P, but it could be used at Labadee and other locations.

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