Celebrity Cruises Joins Royal Caribbean In Canceling All Stops At Haiti's Dangerous Resort

If you have a cruise booked with Celebrity Cruises in the coming months, double-check your itinerary. The premium line has followed parent company Royal Caribbean in canceling stops at Labadee, Haiti. Once lauded for its security and pristine conditions, the private peninsula is now considered one of the most dangerous cruise ports in the Caribbean. Labadee, roughly 100 miles off Haiti's north coast, is leased by Royal Caribbean and serves as an exclusive port for its cruise brands. Guests can reach it only by boat, spending the day on the 260-acre beachfront, or exploring zip lines, roller coasters, a water park, snorkeling, and other resort-style amenities. 

Celebrity previously offered 28 various shore excursions to Labadee, and frequently included it on itineraries to Key West and the Bahamas. The line now states that tours scheduled to stop in Labadee through the rest of 2025 and into 2026 will be rerouted to destinations such as Turks and Caicos, Grand Cayman, or Cozumel. At least 12 itineraries have been altered, mostly impacting two of its 15-deep fleet: Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Beyond. Celebrity has notified affected guests, but it's always smart to double-check if you think your cruise plans might be impacted.

The cancellations come amid growing safety concerns in Haiti. The country's been under a state of emergency since March 2024, and the U.S. Department of State maintains a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory. Armed crimes — including kidnappings, carjackings, robbery, and sexual assault — have surged as political instability and poverty escalate into what Amnesty International calls "a severe humanitarian and human rights crisis." Many areas, including the capital, Port-au-Prince, are primarily controlled by gangs. Although Celebrity has updated some of its itineraries, the line has not cited safety or security concerns as the reason for the decision.

Royal Caribbean initially suspended visits to Labadee in March 2024 after Haiti declared a state of emergency. While the company did not explicitly cite safety, Celebrity canceled shore excursions to Labadee in June 2024 aboard Celebrity Apex, replacing them with visits to Nassau and Grand Turk, as well as Perfect Day at CocoCay, another Royal Caribbean private island in the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean resumed stops at Labadee in October 2024. However, in April 2025, the cruise line again canceled all stops to Labadee "out of an abundance of caution." The company has since indicated that cancellation will extend until at least April 2026.

Although neither Royal Caribbean nor Celebrity has made claims about the future of the private Haitian port, speculation has circulated online. On Reddit, one user wrote, "I predict that Royal Caribbean will eventually pull out of Labadee altogether." Another added, "My wife thinks once Perfect Day Mexico is up and running they'll ditch Labadee," referencing Royal Caribbean's under-construction private port and resort slated to open in the fall of 2027. "It's a shame, from the human rights perspective to the island being gorgeous," commented another.

According to Travel and Tour World, the suspension is expected to have an adverse economic effect on the local community that relies on the tourism industry. Vendors, local staff, and businesses that rely on cruise tourism for income will be particularly impacted, exacerbating an already fragile economic ecosystem. In September 2025, the U.N. Security Council approved a "gang suppression force" to help support humanitarian efforts and suppress gang violence in Haiti.