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RCCL to resume Labadee calls, loaded with relief supplies

January 14, 2010

Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas will call at Labadee, Haiti, on Friday, stocked with relief supplies.

John Weis, RCCL's associate vice president of private destinations and overseer of Labadee operations, wrote on Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein's blog, "We are committed to continuing calls to Labadee with Independence of the Seas tomorrow. There were a lot of discussions about this, but in the end, Labadee is critical to Haiti’s recovery and hundreds of people rely on Labadee for their livelihood."

Weis said that the U.N. Special Envoy of the Government of Haiti, Leslie Voltaire, said that Haiti would benefit from the revenue generated from the call, "which is critical to their recovery."

"We also have tremendous opportunities to use our ships as transport vessels for relief supplies and personnel to Haiti," Weis said. "Simply put, we cannot abandon Haiti now that they need us most."

The Independence will carry relief supplies to Labadee tomorrow, and the line plans to send additional relief on the Navigator of the Seas and the Liberty of the Seas on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

"This effort is going to be a marathon, so we will be partnering with Food for the Poor on the back-end distribution in Haiti," Weis wrote.

Goldstein was in New York today, meeting with former President Bill Clinton to discuss the disaster response.

Goldstein said on his blog that the meeting was planned a while ago, and was originally to have been about economic progress and investment in Haiti. Prime Minster Jean-Max Bellerive originally was going to be in attendance.

"When I was on Governor Bush’s Haiti Advisory Group about four years ago, we identified disaster response as one of the top three priorities for rehabilitating the country," he wrote.

"There have been several disasters since that unfortunately reinforced the priority. But no one ever imagined a disaster like this."

From 1 to 5 of 6 Comment(s)

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#6January 19, 2010
Congratulations to the management and team at RCL. This is exactly what the travel and tourism industry is known for, jumping in and helping during a disaster. Hotels house homeless victims, restaurants feed them, airlines fly in rescue teams and supplies and now cruise ships bring tourist dollars and supplies. Good for them.
#5January 19, 2010
I had mixed feelings about whether I'd want to be vacationing so close to where people are suffering but knowing that RCCL will be bringing relief supplies to Haiti makes me feel better. I have never been to Labadee but I hope the relief effort is successful and the supplies get to the people who need them.
#4January 18, 2010
I have a pastor friend that has a church/school in Labadee, and needs help badly. Can he meet one of the ships,and get food for his people and children? Sincere thanks, Clint Goddard, Administrator for Coastal Haiti Mission . . . a 501 C3 organization. Clint@coastalhaitimission.org
#3January 15, 2010
I knew that RCL would support the relief effort in Haiti, and I am sure that they will go beyond... Excellent news!
#2January 15, 2010
Put myself and yourself in the shoes of those living each night out in the open and each day baking under the Tropical sunshine with no food, no water and no permanent shelter. What would I do in such circumstances? Answer and Act upon your HEART response. MAX HARTMAN Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
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