A reunion at sea brought my extended family and me to Haiti, where we have deep roots.
I strode off the sail ship inLabadee , Haiti , alongside about 40 of my cousins . On shore , there were people dance , playing music , and singing welcome songs in Creole . Though I had never been here before , there was a familiar feeling to this berth . We joined in with the vocalizing and front , hugging the dancers like they were part of the household . After all , my family come from Haiti , though most of what I ’ve learned about the rural area has been through personal inquiry and family lore . For my cousin-german and me , this sojourn was a homecoming , made possible by the monumental cousin cruise shipreunionwe’d all embarked upon together .
Family is always complicated , but deliver a family the size of a diminished US Army makes it really hard to link and last out in touch . There are over 100 first and second first cousin on my father ’s side of the family , ranging from babies to near 50 year old — and there are fresh first cousin being born every year . As you may imagine , it is logistically unsufferable to know everyone in our family , particularly with members scatter across the US and theCaribbean . The cousins seek to stay in touch with an invite - only Facebook Thomas Nelson Page , but there ’s only so much you could link up online . It was my cousin Jasmine , our sovereign leader and head personal organizer , who eventually found a solution back in 2019 : We needed to take a cruise .
Through video calls , survey , and email screw thread , the plan tardily came together . The cruise would earmark all the cousins to last out in skinny propinquity to one another , offer activeness that did n’t postulate much in the elbow room of organizing , and keep prices comparatively manageable . We take a majestic Caribbean sail that disembarked out ofMiami(practical , since a lot of our family dwell in Florida ) , and drop anchor in theBahamasand Haiti . We were especially excited about the stop in Haiti , since for many of us ( myself include ) , this would be our first time ever place foundation on Haitian soil .
Photo by Shayna Conde
In the end , around 35 of us made the trip to Miami , fly or drive to the porthole . I piled into the car with my sometime brother Stephen and three other NYC and New Jersey - area cousins for a heartwarming 19 hours of bonding . We made a pit stop at an aunty ’s home , then room the cruise ship . We were off !
Every one of my cousins is some level of extrovert . We get it on to dance , eat , and make new friends . We garner in a conference room with the exuberance of a hoard of puppies while Jasmine share information about the cruise and our daily family meal , and hand out agree “ Cousin Crew ” T - shirts . When she was polish off going over the logistics , we all spread , heading off to whichever corner of the ship we were most activated about .
My first order of business was settling into my four - soul stateroom , which I was sharing with three other full cousin . My first cousin and I coif out our makeup by the mirror and dug into our travelling bag , discussingwhat we want to wearthat day . We claim bed ( I nabbed a top bunk ) and got caught up on each other ’s lives . Having grown up without sisters , living in close quarters with three other women was bedlam , but also all I ’d ever require . We became a room full of hype - woman , bluster each other up throughout the day : “ Girl ! Your buns ! Your hair ! Your outfit!Yes ! ”
Photo by Shayna Conde
My brothers Tyler and Stephen , on the other helping hand , move to get their money ’s deserving on cocktails , give purchaseddrinks packagesthe second we boarded the boat . This was to become a shape for them . Throughout the trip-up , on a monolithic ship full of rock climbing , volleyball , water sport , a cassino , and several restaurants , you could always find them at the bar . Those of us who had n’t bought drinks packages found ourselves rather overjealous of them , in the conclusion ; exclusive drinks really added up !
By the metre the sail stopped in the Bahamas , everyone was quick for a land adventure . We damp off into three group . One went for a more family - friendly digression coordinate by Royal Caribbean , while my brothers went off to do their own thing . My own radical of cousin-german guess unchaperoned around townsfolk , visiting a local ginmill at 10 am and making friends with the bartender , who told us where to find the best beach in township . We planted ourselves on the beach , subject in each other ’s company … at least until my cousin Stephanie and I acknowledge an exposed - water obstacle class . We go up up an inflatable rampart and slew down a slide , cheering as we plash through all the obstacles . The respite of the cousin whoop and yelled from shoring . In the final stage , we were semi - run aground 150 meter from ironic nation , exhausted from our caper and suddenly keenly mindful of our confutable swimming power . We laughed nervously , throat wry .
It was our cousin Leila who saved us , strapping into a life jacket and swimming out , encouraging us to use her as a floatation twist . Stephanie and I cling to her for dear life as we slowly made our way back to the beach . When we collapsed onto the sand , the others applauded . We celebrated our secure comeback with some more boozing — because hey , we were on a full cousin sail .
Photos by Shayna Conde
Back on board the ship , we train ourselves for the next stop : Haiti . As I advert before , my family is complicated . As much as I was enjoy spending meter with my cousins , my primary point - of - inter-group communication to my family in Haiti has historically been my father , with whom I have a strained relationship . I ’d run into him at my aunty ’s house before board the cruise , for the first fourth dimension in 11 years , and the encounter had left me rattled . But my cousins had been there for me , check in to see that I was okay . And together , we were now get ready to see the office we ’d all come from .
Royal Caribbean cruises check in Labadee , Haiti , a secret resort on the res publica ’s northerly coast . Our mob come in from further south , in a region called Les Cayes . For years , I ’d hear stories about this place — how my aunts and uncles had gotten into and out of trouble here , and all the havoc of their mischievous childhoods . I ’d also get a line that the untouched beach of our homeland were the most beautiful in the Caribbean . Because of thepolitical unrestin Haiti , many of my crime syndicate members have not been home in old age — so even though we were n’t inspect Les Cayes , the trip still felt substantial . And my cousins and I were determined to have an authentic Haiti experience .
My Creole - talk cousins befriended a few local workers , who brought ustraditional Haitian foodfrom town , diplomacy like pikliz ( a risque savour ) and conch . Together , we lounged on the beach , sipping cocktail as we eat . I idly gripped my Labadoozy ( Royal Caribbean ’s official cocktail for the embrasure ) and stare out at the beach . My sister cousin-german totter at the edge of the ocean , stump on house of cards that formed in the unmortgaged weewee . Older full cousin snapped photo with their significant others , advance by the oohing and awing of spectating cousins . Other cousins ventured to the in - port market place , haggling for knick - knack souvenirs .
Photos by Shayna Conde
A Stranger Invited Me to Our Family’s Reunion
Meeting my relatives for the first time made me feel connected to my past in a way I didn’t anticipate.
As I check , I appreciated the elbow room myfamilyis straight off well-to-do wherever we finish up , the way we always belong together . While my father was n’t who I need him to be growing up , I am forever thankful for the crime syndicate I was put up into , especially for the full cousin I am stay on to get to know .
We gathered all the cousins together for a family photo , one of my deary we ’ve ever take , all of us grin with our arm flung into the air . A lot has changed since this picture was taken , but a lot has stayed the same . The COVID pandemic came short after our sail , hold over standardised family gatherings . Some of my cousin got marry , had another baby or two , or moved across the country or the earth . But I know we ’ll all be catching up and reconnecting presently : Our second cousins cruise pose sheet in 2026 .
