Closed loop cruise on HAL visiting St Bart's Pax now need Passports

I posted this on the Hal board and thought it might be a good idea to post it on the general questions to be asked. I found this note below on my favorite site for finding cruises. As you can see even a closed loop cruise in the Caribbean visiting St. Barts now requires a passport.

Please be advised that Holland America requires a passport for all FLL-FLL voyages visiting Saint Barthelemy whether they plan to go ashore or not. Each country has its own entry requirements, and guests assume personal responsibility for having the necessary documents when boarding. You may be denied boarding if you do not have the proper travel documents and in that case, you would not be entitled to a refund.

Just an FYI

I bet if and when Cuba opens it doors to tourist they will require passports

yep, we experienced same thing years ago when we booked a cruise that was going to be visiting Martinique for the first time. Planning to travel on BC's, two months out we got notified the island was requiring passports.

Fortunately we lived close to a passport office but it ended up taking two full days to get over the counter service ... First time our documents which had been good enuf to cruise did not measure up for a passport. (Long ago ... different rules back then)

It was the motivation to get our passports and we have never looked back ... got 'em for the kids b4 their first cruise too.

I posted this on the Hal board and thought it might be a good idea to post it on the general questions to be asked. I found this note below on my favorite site for finding cruises. As you can see even a closed loop cruise in the Caribbean visiting St. Barts now requires a passport.

 

 

Please be advised that Holland America requires a passport for all FLL-FLL voyages visiting Saint Barthelemy whether they plan to go ashore or not. Each country has its own entry requirements, and guests assume personal responsibility for having the necessary documents when boarding. You may be denied boarding if you do not have the proper travel documents and in that case, you would not be entitled to a refund.

 

Just an FYI

 

I bet if and when Cuba opens it doors to tourist they will require passports

Please note that this is a HAL requirement, not a St. Barths requirement.

Of course most of the other lines that call there require passports for ALL voyages, whether they are closed loop or not, so maybe we are splitting hairs.

Please note that this is a HAL requirement, not a St. Barths requirement.

 

Of course most of the other lines that call there require passports for ALL voyages, whether they are closed loop or not, so maybe we are splitting hairs.

Do you really believe that HAL would voluntarily impose difficulty upon potential passengers if they did not have to?

St. Barth's has long required passports on inter-island visitors from St. Martin (yes, even from the equally French St. Martin).

Logically, of course, we perhaps should ultimately expect similar requirements for ships calling at Phillipsburg St. Maarten because it is so easy to cross over into French St. Martin.

Do you really believe that HAL would voluntarily impose difficulty upon potential passengers if they did not have to?

 

St. Barth's has long required passports on inter-island visitors from St. Martin (yes, even from the equally French St. Martin).

 

Logically, of course, we perhaps should ultimately expect similar requirements for ships calling at Phillipsburg St. Maarten because it is so easy to cross over into French St. Martin.

Not likely since St. Maarten/St. Martin can have a half dozen ships and over 20,000 passengers visiting on some days...with the vast majority of those passengers being from the US. The influx of tourist dollars from US citizens on cruises is a big part of St. Maarten/St. Martin's economy, and I doubt they'd want to disrupt that incoming tide of US $$. The money coming from the small number cruises visiting St. Barts is trivial by comparison.

Not surprised by the OPs info. Even if one is vacationing in St Maarten and just wants to take a quick ferry over to St Barts you need to have your passport. Sometimes it seems like both St Barts and Anguilla march to their own drum. There are many on those islands that do not want any cruise ships to visit and must admit, that if we are staying on St Barts, we are happy not to see any ships. We did notice that St Barts (and Anguilla) do qualify as contiguous territories for US Close Loop cruise purposes (which means the USA has no issues) but that does not mean that St Barts accepts our rules.

Hank

 

I bet if and when Cuba opens it doors to tourist they will require passports

It has, they are, they always have been. ;)

And it does

JB :)

Not likely since St. Maarten/St. Martin can have a half dozen ships and over 20,000 passengers visiting on some days...with the vast majority of those passengers being from the US. The influx of tourist dollars from US citizens on cruises is a big part of St. Maarten/St. Martin's economy, and I doubt they'd want to disrupt that incoming tide of US $$. The money coming from the small number cruises visiting St. Barts is trivial by comparison.

You're absolutely right - I had prefaced my comment with "Logically" - while the principal in play on St. Barth's should logically apply on St. Martin, the economic impact (which frequently trumps principal) is most likely to have the French authorities look the other way.

The bottom line, of course, is most likely tha fact that St. Barth's, along with Anguilla and other islands see more potential harm than benefit from opening themselves periodically to thousands of cruise ship passengers. Their model for profiting from tourism is different.

 

I bet if and when Cuba opens it doors to tourist they will require passports

Cuba had always been open to tourists, it was a US government ban on citizens traveling there, nothing to do with Cuban rules. The rest of the world has been visiting there for years.

I am confused. I can find no mention of this 'requirement' on the HAL site. I have confirmed with both HAL and Celebrity by phone that a passport is not required to visit St. Bart's. Additionally, the State Dept. Website continues to list the WHTI closed loop exception for its St. Bart's page. The only mention seems to be on this travel finder website that must remain anonymous.

All of this is just another reason to buy a passport. Will never understand why folks do want to spend the few dollars for something that lasts for 10 years.

All of this is just another reason to buy a passport. Will never understand why folks do want to spend the few dollars for something that lasts for 10 years.

I am confused. I can find no mention of this 'requirement' on the HAL site. I have confirmed with both HAL and Celebrity by phone that a passport is not required to visit St. Bart's. Additionally, the State Dept. Website continues to list the WHTI closed loop exception for its St. Bart's page. The only mention seems to be on this travel finder website that must remain anonymous.

I've checked that travel finder website and it does indicate passport requirement for the Maasdam sailings calling at St.Barths, but not for the Prinsendam. Interesting anomaly - perhaps Prinsendam's call had been scheduled before the requirement went into effect - or possibly Prinsendam's smaller size made her passenger load less of a threat. If it is a recently imposed requirement, it is understandable that the State Dept. site might not refer to it.

Another example of immediate gratification vs amortized expense. Folks see $140 as 14 less margaritas during their cruise rather than a bit over a dollar a month for the next 10 years.

With some cruises at $49ppd the cost of a passport seems like half the cost of the cruise itself by comparison. And there are some members who patrol the boards with anti-passport logic like:

* "my governement says I can travel like this without one so I will"

* "if I got one when I started cruising like this X years of validity would be gone"

* "I'm not going to spend that money for the one in a million possible emergency."

And my personal favorite:

* "a foreign country doesn't want to keep you - it may be a hassle but it's a 100% guarantee that you will get home".

I just hope all these travelers who won't get a passport don't find themselves in a situation where they come to regret their decision.

[quote=BlueRiband;45775892

I just hope all these travelers who won't get a passport don't find themselves in a situation where they come to regret their decision.

Personally, I hope they do

I've checked that travel finder website and it does indicate passport requirement for the Maasdam sailings calling at St.Barths, but not for the Prinsendam. Interesting anomaly - perhaps Prinsendam's call had been scheduled before the requirement went into effect - or possibly Prinsendam's smaller size made her passenger load less of a threat. If it is a recently imposed requirement, it is understandable that the State Dept. site might not refer to it.

This is, indeed, new as we stopped at St. Bart's on Maasdam cruises two and maybe it was three times. Though my late DH and I always carried passports, they were not required.

Logically, of course, we perhaps should ultimately expect similar requirements for ships calling at Phillipsburg St. Maarten because it is so easy to cross over into French St. Martin.

Not logical at all. There is no border crossing facility between the Dutch and French sides of St. Martin for anyone, and no one needs a passport to go between two sides of the island. Logically, it would make no sense to establish a border crossing requiring a passport solely for cruise passengers.

Not logical at all. There is no border crossing facility between the Dutch and French sides of St. Martin for anyone, and no one needs a passport to go between two sides of the island. Logically, it would make no sense to establish a border crossing requiring a passport solely for cruise passengers.

Absolutely correct. In fact, when we drive around the island (we have vacationed there in a Grand Case condo) you may not even notice a sign marking the border. But, as we mentioned in another post, if anyone on the island of St Maarten/St Martin wants to take the ferry over to St Barts they must carry a valid passport.

Hank

Not logical at all. There is no border crossing facility between the Dutch and French sides of St. Martin for anyone, and no one needs a passport to go between two sides of the island. Logically, it would make no sense to establish a border crossing requiring a passport solely for cruise passengers.

The logic, or lack thereof, lies in the application of passport requirements for one French overseas territory (St. Bart's) but not in a neighboring French overseas territory (St. Martin). Of course, the lack of any natural boundary between St. Maarten and St. Martin makes passport control highly unlikely - and virtually impossible without St. Maarten adopting a similar requirement - which is unlikely given the value to the local economy of both halves of the island.

Another point might just be that St. Bart's is a wealthy, somewhat elite commune while that certainly cannot be said of St. Martin - and they are glad to do without the few dollars they might earn by subjecting themselves to crowds of cruisers looking for a cheap island visit.

Trying to tie the word "logic" to government regulations in any country it totally illogical :)

Hank

All of this is just another reason to buy a passport. Will never understand why folks do want to spend the few dollars for something that lasts for 10 years.

Add several kids' passports (which expire in 5 years) and perhaps that will help you understand it.

Trying to tie the word "logic" to government regulations in any country it totally illogical :)

 

Hank

Live long and prosper. :rolleyes:

Add several kids' passports (which expire in 5 years) and perhaps that will help you understand it.

And how much do parents spend for their children's designer sneakers which will be outgrown in less than a year -- or their I-phone service?

With some cruises at $49ppd the cost of a passport seems like half the cost of the cruise itself by comparison. And there are some members who patrol the boards with anti-passport logic like:

* "my governement says I can travel like this without one so I will"

* "if I got one when I started cruising like this X years of validity would be gone"

* "I'm not going to spend that money for the one in a million possible emergency."

And my personal favorite:

* "a foreign country doesn't want to keep you - it may be a hassle but it's a 100% guarantee that you will get home".

 

I just hope all these travelers who won't get a passport don't find themselves in a situation where they come to regret their decision.

I am not anti-passport but rather analyze your own personal travel needs and use the documentation that works for you. Personally I saw no sense in obtaining something that I did not need when I already had what was needed in order to travel via the method of travel we could undertake. The risk for us was very small and for the risks that did exist travel insurance would see us through. It all comes down to choice.

Since the port in question requires a passport (as is their right as a sovreign nation) it's a moot point- if you don't have a passport you won't board a sailing with that port on the itinerary.