Royal Caribbean is taking much needed emergency  supplies to Haiti from Labadee, the cruise line’s undamaged private beach on the north edge of the country.   RCI’s passengers will continue to disembark for a day of sun and fun in this tropical idyll  located roughly 100 miles from devastated Port-au-Prince.

According to the South Florida Business Journal, reactions Royal Caribbean decision to resume port calls were mixed.

For example,  on Wizbangblog poster Rick said, “cruise ships could help fulfill needs on the island, “but to vacation less than one hundred miles from where perhaps 200,000 are dead and where millions are suffering … I can’t fathom it.”

There are similar postings throughout the internet on heavily-trafficked cruise web forums.

A columnist at the Guardian, however, pointed out that RCI’s passengers will continue to contribute much-needed money into the country since Royal Caribbean has pledged to donate all profits it makes from stops in Labadee directly to the country.  In addition to supplies delivered the cruise line is donating $1 million to Haitian relief organizations.

Would you take a cruise that stops in Haiti?   Is Royal Caribbean right in continuing to call in Haiti while relief efforts are underway?