#8

  .  .  .  and beyond

The first stop was at Labadee, Haiti.  This rustic tourist oriented area is owned by Royal Caribbean and they support the local people by hiring them to work in the shops, make items for sale, and do grounds maintenance.  We were served a huge b-b-q buffet and then, any leftover food from the lunch served to cruisers was given out to the inhabitants.  Well, that's what I was told by one of the stewards.  Good for them, if they are doing right by the locals.

We spent the better part of the day here, and then walked back to the ship to shower and get ready for dinner.  We had opted for the second seating, which meant there was no rush to leave any excursion as our dinner was served at 8:30.  By the time we cleaned up we were still able to see the theater production each night before dinner.  Have I told you that we really like cruising?   Yup, we do.