question about excursions in haiti...cruising feb 2010

[stmkcruise10]

Hi everyone,

I will be going on a cruise mid-February and one of the ports of call is Labadee Haiti. We were thinking of booking the Castaway at Malfini Beach excursion. Does anyone know if there are activities available from that beach such as wave runners, etc.? I was reading that it is not necessary to book an excursion since Royal Caribbean runs a section of the port and it lets you off on the beach? If this is so, wouldn't the beach be extremely crowded with all the ships passengers?

Thanks!

[Cruise Fanatic]

Hi Welcome to Cruise Chat. Labadee is Royal Caribbean's private island. Yes, they have Wave runners you can rent. They also have snorkeling, and mats and floats. They will have a big BBQ on the island for lunch so you don't have to go back to the ship. They have more than one beach area.
Read more about the island here

[Dave]

I was reading that it is not necessary to book an excursion since Royal Caribbean runs a section of the port and it lets you off on the beach?

The entire Labadee peninsula is operated by the cruise line. They recently opened a pier so the ship now docks at Labadee. It is really like a small village now, with sidewalks several open air bars and buffet lines scattered around the resort. The same menu is served for lunch at each buffet area. You don't have to book anything if you just want to hang out on one of the beaches. However, all excursions are operated by the cruise line. The property is quite large and crowding isn't a problem.

[lovemalfini]

Malfini beach is a quiet, beautiful and peaceful piece of heaven with gentle souls offering you a complimentary rum punch to entice you to buy some of their 'specialty drinks'. Try the Malfini Connection. A tropical drink light in taste, kind of limey and not too sweet. It is served in a coconut with a straw...yum. We were just there last week (first wk of Feb, 2010) and they only offered a floating mat and a canoe with a glass bottom and some beach chairs. We thought we were in heaven. It is a totally relaxing place. We did the wave runners later that afternoon on another excursion, so we got to relax and have fun! It is truly a beautiful and wonderful place. We were the first to use their new dock and the whole place was beautiful. It was my fave of the trip! Have fun!

[stmkcruise10]

just out of curiousity what boat did you go on?
how were people dressed on the non-formal nights? were there people wearing nice jeans with dress shoes and nice shirts?