On my recent press trip on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas in the Western Caribbean, a lot of the fun I had was – surprisingly – on sea days. But we also had three terrific port days during the action-packed seven night cruise.
Our first stop was Labadee, Royal Caribbean’s privately owned peninsula on the north coast of Haiti. This beach resort really is like a paradise island. I wouldn’t have minded being left there!
The shore excursions in Labadee can be pricey but this is the one port in the Western Caribbean where even anxious cruisers can relax and skip the excursions in favour of unwinding on the beach if they want to.
One of the major perks of booking a shore excursion on any cruise is the guarantee that you’ll be taken back to the ship on time, but in Labadee you can’t possibly miss back on board time. Like, even if you try your hardest to stay stranded in paradise.
All of the staff onshore are employed by Royal Caribbean so if they see you loitering too close to the time you need to be back on board, they’ll tell you to get a move on!
The best shore excursions in Labadee, Haiti
Because Labadee is owned by Royal Caribbean, you can use your Seapass to pay for your food, drink, lockers, activities etc onshore. It means the cashless experience at sea continues seamlessly on land, so you don’t have to worry about carrying local currency. I found this super convenient.
If you don’t want to book a shore excursion for Labadee, you can of course just laze on one of the several beaches. There are ample stretches of spotless white sand, and plenty of palm trees that provide shade.
Labadee even has its own signature drink: the Labadoozie, which is a blend of citrus juice and of course, rum!
Dragon’s Breath Flight Line
I’m proud to say that I braved the world’s longest over-water zip line in Labadee: the Dragon’s Breath Flight Line. This is probably the best excursion in Labadee for adventurous cruisers. It’s definitely not for those with a fear of heights.
After getting rigged up in our harnesses, we did a practice run on the ‘Little Dragon’, which is shorter than the main attraction, then clambered into an open-air safari truck and hurtled up into the hills.
The take-off point is 500 feet above sea level. The view from up there is just surreal: all lush greenery, turquoise water, silver sand and Harmony of the Seas residing majestically in her bay.
The flight line itself is 2,600 metres long. Strangely, it was very relaxing once you got going (at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour). Just look at those views!
The flight line doesn’t take up much of your day, so you can spend time chilling on the sand or swimming before you have to be back on the ship.
Other things to do in Labadee
I was pleased to find that there’s a local handicrafts market in Labadee, so the cruisers’ playground is contributing to the local economy.
Among other things to do in Labadee are kayaking, hiring one of the private cabanas, parasailing and an aqua park with giant inflatables. You can book a ‘snorkelling safari’ to see Labadee’s coral reefs.
If the Dragon’s Flight Line gets your adrenaline pumping, you might also like to try the Dragon’s Tail coaster, which reaches speeds of up to 30mph and also has spectacular ocean views.
If you’d prefer to learn about Haitian culture, you can book a walking tour of the island. Led by a local historian, the tour teaches you about events over the past 500 years, from Christopher Columbus to the ruins of Nellie’s Tower and Dragon’s Rock.
Our day in Haiti was so much fun and I’m really pleased we chose to do a shore excursion in Labadee. It meant combining a bucket list activity with downtime in the sun, which is just what a Caribbean cruise should be all about if you ask me!
Other excursions from our cruise
River tubing and partying in Jamaica
Mayan ruins and beach time in Cozumel
If you want to see all of my updates from my Caribbean cruise, follow me @danniellelily and check out my ‘Royal Caribbean Cruise’ highlight. I also wrote a full review of Harmony of the Seas, in case you’re thinking of sailing on her or her sister ship, Allure!
To keep up to date with my blog posts, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest or sign up to emails so you don’t miss any new posts. I also have a Youtube channel.As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was a guest of Royal Caribbean UK. Views are my own.
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