Cruise Line Will Not Stop at Popular Caribbean Port This Year

(KMDL-FM) The battle for your disposable travel dollar is an intense one. One of the industries that has been fighting that battle the loudest and the longest is the cruise industry. They seem to be winning because cruise traffic out of the Gulf South is on the increase. However, if you booked a cruise that sails out of New Orleans or Galveston for destinations in the Caribbean, then your itinerary may have just changed.

It's true that cruise lines mix and match ports of call from one cruise to the next. However, there are certain destinations that cruise lines have been calling on for years, where the infrastructure allows for a great onshore experience. In places where the infrastructure wasn't there, the cruise companies built the spot themselves.

READ MORE: World's Largest Cruise Ship Coming to the Gulf

That's why you see so many cruise lines offering stops at their own "private islands". For example, Royal Caribbean has Perfect Day at Coco Cay, and Disney offers guests time at Castaway Cay or Lookout Cay. NCL ships will stop at Great Stirrup Cay, Carnival will allow guests time at Celebration Key, and Virgin offers beach time at the Beach Club at Bimini.

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Which Cruise Line Private Island Has Been Pulled From Current Itineraries?

For a long time, one of the private island stops for the Royal Caribbean line, which does offer sailings from New Orleans and Galveston, was a destination known as Labadee, Haiti. I have been there. It is very nice and resort-like, unless you wander around too much, which is what I did.

Labadee isn't an island; it's a peninsula on the Haitian side of Hispaniola. The resort is segregated from the general population of the town by a large fence. Every day, people from the town line that fence to beg for food from tourists. It's not a good vibe at all. In fact, the whole country of Haiti is having a bad time right now.

READ MORE: Cruise Guests Facing Higher Port Fees - How Much?

That is why Labadee, a former private island stop for Royal Caribbean, is no longer on the cruise line's itineraries. And it won't be for the balance of 2026. The cruise line cited the U.S. State Department's Do Not Travel Advisory for Haiti and decided the risk was not worth the reward. So, if you're sailing on Royal Caribbean, you won't be going to Labadee.

What Other Ports Will Ships Visit Since Labadee, Haiti, is Closed?

Where you might be going is  Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, Nassau, Bahamas, Falmouth, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico. Those ports have been mentioned as options and alternatives. Of course, the cruise line could just opt to entertain you with another day at sea.

Celebrity Cruises has also pulled its plans to stop at Labadee and Haiti in 2026. Fortunately for cruise guests, the Caribbean has a lot of other options that offer similar amenities and experiences.