As 200,000 people are estimated dead from Haiti's 7.0 earthquake last week, Royal Caribbean cruise line defends its right to ferry vacationers to private beaches on the island. This weekend thousands of passengers boozed, para-sailed and sunned themselves just an hour's drive from the earthquake's epicenter. And other ships are scheduled to arrive!
Royal Caribbean says the trips are justified since ships carry "the equivalent to over three semi-trucks-full two or three times a week" of relief supplies. True, there might be more room if they weren't also carrying boatloads of tourists, but the cruise line has plans to donate $1 million to rescue efforts and is keeping hundreds of Haitians employed, reported the NY Daily News. Vice-president John Weis even went so far as to call the cruises "critical to Haiti's recovery," in an interview with The Guardian.
But can a trip to Labadee, just 60 miles from the mass graves, looting and starvation of devastated Port-au-Prince really be called a vacation? Commenters on the website CruiseCritic.com couldn't stomach the thought of it. "It was hard enough to sit and eat a picnic lunch at Labadee before the quake, knowing how many Haitians were starving," said one former passenger. "I can't imagine having to choke down a burger there now." Those poor people sure know how to ruin a good time.
