Caribbean and Central America Travel

Flying to Haiti anytime soon? Before you pack your bags, double check with your airline first, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stopped all civilian flights from the United States to Haiti, at the request of the Haitian government. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake last January 12 did a lot of damage in the small Caribbean country, including the international airport in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Due to this, there are no room for planes landing and as jet fuel runs low, there may not be enough for planes to refuel for the flight back. It is no news yet when the Haiti airspace will once again be clear for commercial flights.

However, there is still a way for you to go to Haiti: The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Independence of the Seas will be docking at Haiti’s northern coast three times next week as scheduled. Labadee, an island on the northern coast of Haiti, is far from the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and the epicenter of the earthquake. It is a privately owned island, where the cruiseliner dock. Labadee island offers cruisers pristine white beaches, all kinds of watersports, flee markets and a zip-line.

The next two weeks will see more than 10,000 vacationers who are on board Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Solstice. Aside from holiday makers, the cruiseliners will also be carrying much needed relief for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean has been struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake last January 12. The city of Port-au-Prince was flattened and more than 100,000 are feared dead.

Because Haiti does not have enough infrastructure for relief, aid is very much needed. Here are different ways that you can donate to the Haiti disaster relief:

Google Support Disaster Response
Gives a great overview on ways you can help the victims of this disaster. Donations through Unicef and CARE are also accepted.

Oxfam
Oxfam is the collaborative effort of 14-like minded organizations working to bring positive change. They currently have ground staff in Haiti helping out with relief operations. Donations can be made through their American or UK site.

If you’re in the US, you can send donations through your mobile phone:
Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts
Text “YELE” to 501501 to Donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief efforts