THE NAVIGATOR CRUISE

Day 3 Labadee "The private Island."

Labadee is a section land on Haiti that Royal Caribbean either owns or leases to use as a private beach for it's cruises. Some people thought it was an Island just off of Haiti, but it is not. It is located on the Northwest tip of the country.

Haiti, is among the poorest nations on earth and makes it an un-likely place to have such a lovely beach paradise. There is a dividing line. Haitians over there and tourist over here with the exception of those natives that work for the cruise line and those that can participate in the market area.

Royal Caribbean does a great job keeping the place clean and ready for each cruise ship that stops there. We have seen the place change slowly since our first visit there.

Labadee requires tendering, which in case you don't know what that is, means you need to access the port by way of a small ferry boat. This can be a bit time consuming, so it pays to get an early start. Earlybirds get choice spots and some shady spots which are really nice on a hot beach.

A popular thing to do here is to do the Waverunner excursion. This is not just renting a waverunner.....instead it is a full speed follow the leader trip out past the ship and beyond. You actually can start getting into the rolling ocean waves which you can "jump" with the waverunner.

There is a swim park sectioned off for kids. It has fake icebergs to climb and jump or fall off of. Some folks like to wander around........going for a walk to see and hear "Dragons Breath." This is a natural rock formation that captures air as the waves crash in and makes a roaring sound and blows out a mist. Mostly this is a full sun day for me....good tanning opportunity.

At mid day the barbeque and buffet is open. They bring everything from the ship. Food, drinks, desserts....so it's "eat up."

Eventually, the day is over. Enough sun and sand or time to head for the ship. Don't get stuck here......no place to go.

Now it's back on the ship, a dip in the pool to cool off or head to the cabin and shower and nap on the balcony. Our balcony is very large and offers sun and shade. I'll take the shade right now. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.