Now here's a novel way to help the stricken people of Haiti, still devastated by that 7.0 earthquake more than two years ago.
Send a party to explore Haiti's rich history on its northern shore, where the cruise ships land, to see if shore excursions can contribute to rebuilding the country's equally devastated tourism industry.
Thank you, Royal Caribbean.
This move was conducted last week by 15 crew members from Freedom of the Seas, and Royal Caribbean would benefit, too, of course. By gaining access to a pair of buildings considered "classified historical heritage" — Citadelle and the Sans Souci Palace — the cruise line would have something unique to offer its passengers.
At the going rate of a shore excursion, naturally.
However, Royal Caribbean has long created jobs for Haitians, and this would be an extension of that. At last count, there were more than 200 Haitian people employed by the cruise line, which has an agreement to lease land at Labadee and treat its customers to private beaches. Another 300 locals apparently benefit from the tourism the ships bring.
The scouting mission was to determine the quality of the tourist attractions, and the ease with which locals could transport Royal Caribbean passengers there from the beach. Ms. Dieudonne Luma Etienne, Director of the Ministry of Tourism in the North accompanied the crew members in these exploratory visits and told the Haiti Libre newspaper: "This is a victory to be able to get tourists from Royal Caribbean to the citadelle…they gave us some tips to improve the reception and to better control the services of travel on horseback, as well for the sale of our crafts products."
Hmm…horseback?
Now that could make it challenging to "giddyap" back to the ship on time, wouldn't it?
Caribbean Princess
12 nights
May 26, 2012
Southampton (return): Channel Islands, Cork, Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Invergordon, Edinburgh, Paris
Inside: $999
Cost per day: $83
www.princess.com