INCREASED DEMAND

With 2,700 more passengers -- a total of 6,300 -- on days the ship visits, demand has increased for excursions beyond the snorkeling and other jaunts the cruise line currently offers through a tightly-managed experience.

Enter Delatour and Haiti's tourism operators, who want to open the north to cruise passengers by turning the Citadelle -- an impressive mountaintop fortress -- into an international destination.

The $40 million plan involves transforming the now quaint town of Milot, home to the Citadelle and Palace of Sans Souci ruins, into a vibrant tourist village with arts and crafts markets, restaurants and stoned streets.

Guests would be ferried past a congested Cap-Haitien to a bay, then transported by bus past peasant plantations. Once in Milot, they would either hike or horseback to the Citadelle, built by 20,000 Haitians and named a World Heritage site in 1982.

``The four countries around us, regardless of their ideology or political system, all bet on tourism,'' said Delatour, who also hopes to have Clinton visit the Citadelle. ``There is a lot of pressure for Haiti to get into the fold.''

Weis said Royal Caribbean is willing to listen to plans to add day trips to its itinerary.

``Tours to the Citadelle is definitely achievable,'' he said. ``We have always expressed our strong support for the Citadelle and feel this would be an incredible experience for our guests by showing them the rich cultural heritage that Haiti has which is often forgotten.''

But in a country where paved roads and 24-hour electricity are luxuries, Delatour's proposal is an ambitious one. Just constructing the seven miles from the bay to Milot -- now a tortuous 45-minute, 17-mile trek -- would cost about $8 million. Then the Citadelle has to be made accessible by adding guardrails and other amenities.

``It's good to think long-term, but at the same time we have to employ short-term strategies as we go along,'' said Jean Lionel Pressoir, a tour operator involved with Fondation Destination Haiti, which works with local communities to help them develop sustainable tourism models.

LACK OF SUPPORT

Meanwhile, government support for tourism initiatives has been slow. Case in point: After raising expections that the Cap-Haitien international airport would finally be modernized, allowing large jets from Miami and New York to land, parliament has yet to ratify the $30 million loan agreement between Haiti and Venezuela.

Simonnet, the local tourism leader, says business owners are excited by the prospects for the long-neglected region, but they are also looking for guarantees.

``Everyone is just living from day-to-day trying to figure out how to make payroll,'' Simonnet said. ``The international community is doing its part and we have to do ours, too.''