Celebrity Cruises Removes One Key Port From Multiple Itineraries
While it’s not uncommon for cruise lines to tweak itineraries as embarkation day approaches, what is a bit unusual is for a dozen sailings to be modified across multiple ships to remove one specific port of call.
Indeed, Celebrity Cruises has removed Labadee, Haiti, from 10 sailings that will be operated by Celebrity Apex and two cruises onboard Celebrity Beyond.
Labadee is a private resort that is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean. But since Royal Caribbean Group owns Celebrity Cruises, this brand also has access to the exclusive destination.
The Celebrity Apex itineraries impacted include several of the identical 7-night “Key West, Bahamas & Labadee” cruises – all of which sail from Florida’s Port Canaveral and feature calls on Key West, Florida; Bimini, Bahamas; Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic; and normally, Labadee, Haiti,
The 2025 sailings in question are scheduled to embark on November 15 and December 13.
However, most of the changes affect the 2026 voyages – including the sailings that begin on January 10, January 24, February 7, February 21, March 7, March 21, April 4, and April 18.
The majority of these sailings will be calling on Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos instead.
“To provide you with a better experience, we have made the decision to cancel our visit to Labadee, Haiti. Instead, we’ll visit Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM,” Celebrity Cruises wrote to booked guests.
However, the 2026 sailings that embark on January 10, January 24, February 7, and March 7 will call on George Town, Grand Cayman, instead – and also add a stop in Cozumel, Mexico.
“To provide you with a better guest experience, we have made the decision to cancel our visit to Labadee, Haiti. Instead, we’ll visit George Town, Grand Cayman…And we’ll add a stop to Cozumel, Mexico,” the letters from the cruise line read, in part.
The impacted voyages that will be operated by Celebrity Beyond include a 6-night voyage that embarks on April 28, 2025, and a 7-night sailing that begins on August 17, 2025. In both cases, Labadee was swapped out for Grand Turk.
Why Was Labadee Replaced?
Curious cruisers will certainly be wondering why Labadee was removed from so many itineraries – and unfortunately, the short answer is Celebrity Cruises has not provided a concrete reason.
Some cruise fans have theorized that the change is in response to President Trump’s proposed travel ban – which would impact 43 countries and would restrict travel in Haiti. However, Cruise Hive was in touch with Celebrity Cruises, who said this was not the case.
Read Also: Labadee, Haiti: What You Need to Know
It’s true that there have been some safety concerns associated with the peninsula due to civil unrest within other parts of Haiti – with Royal Caribbean avoiding their destination for several months in 2024 out of an abundance of caution.
Royal Caribbean’s Labadee Destination in Haiti (Photo Credit: fitzcrittle)
The island nation has been in a state of emergency since March of 2024 and is currently under a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory from the US government. This is the most severe advisory a destination can receive.
That said, the cruise line has since resumed sailings to Labadee and reassured guests that their 260-acre destination is safe – largely because it is far removed from the unrest plaguing the country’s capital and is monitored using strict security protocols.
Royal Caribbean has also shown no sign of slowing its operations in Haiti, nor does the cruise line’s website list any travel or itinerary updates as of the time of publication.
Several Royal Caribbean ships are still scheduled to visit the Caribbean paradise in the days surrounding the now-cancelled calls from the Celebrity ships – which makes the changed itineraries feel like even more of a mystery.
Celebrity Cruises Removes One Key Port From Multiple Itineraries