Cruise line cancels trip to popular Caribbean destination out of ‘abundance of caution’

Travelers with a popular cruise line will skip a Caribbean port for the foreseeable future.

Travel + Leisure reported Royal Caribbean has altered sailing itineraries to omit Labadee, the line’s private resort on the northern coast of Haiti.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily paused our upcoming visits to Labadee. We have already communicated with guests directly,” Royal Caribbean said a statement to Travel + Leisure.skip

It is unclear how long the pause will last or if Labadee will be added back to itineraries.

Visits to the Haitian resort spot were paused last summer due to increasing violence in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, located about six hours away from Labadee. That pause lasted until September.

Haiti remains under the U.S. State Department’s Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory, putting it alongside places such as Iraq, Ukraine, Russia and Somalia. In its advisory, the State Department cited robbery, carjackings, sexual assault and kidnappings for ransom.

The airport in Port-au-Prince is a focal point for armed activity, the notice said, and armed robberies and carjacking are common.

International officials have warned of escalating gang violence that’s spreading outside the capital city. According to The AP, gangs recently seized the city of Mirebalais in central Haiti and freed more than 500 prisoners held there, the fifth prison break in under a year.

Gangs have grown in power since the July 21 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and are now estimated to control 85% of the capital.