shebasbooknook

Thanks everyone for your help

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So I was looking to book the dolphin shore excursion directly from the vendor to save on cost. And the vendor at Dolphin Discovery told me that we had to have a passport to get on to Tortola. I told him that my ship the Norwegian getaway is docking directly at the Tortola port that I would not be taking a ferry from St Thomas or any of the US Virgin Islands which I know is common. He insisted to me that customs and borders would still require everyone disembarking the ship to show a passport. I know I know I need to just break down and get a passport for everyone in the family and after this I will. But at this point I don't have enough time to get it so I'm just going to keep on truckin with my birth certificate and drivers license. At any rate I called Norwegian Cruise Line to ask them and the lady on the phone had no idea but said there are some ports of call that you do have to produce a passport when you disembark the ship even on closed-loop cruises. So to make a long question short has anyone recently gone to Tortola and did they have any issues where they had to produce a passport to disembark? Thank you everyone for your time this board is awesome

yup

Is a "closed loop" a cruise that doesn't visit a port outside the U.S. Or just one that starts and ends in the U.S.

Starts and ends in the US

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Thanks!! Eagerly waiting for more review and/or pics and the dailies. :D

thanks for the review. I am getting on this boat in 4 weeks. Did you do any shore excursions? Also, I have been hearing some confusion by some about British Tortola. I went to book a dolphin excursion and was told I had to have a passport. I think they are confusing this with people coming from St Thomas by ferry. But the Getaway is docking at British Tortola, so I don't think that should be an issue. I am assuming that was your itinerary. If so, did you get off at port, and did you have to go through any customs with BVI?

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Thanks everone for your efforts! I cant imagine they would tighten it without a lot of chatter, but the natives keep insisting

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Hear you! Seems it would have changed by now ... but it hasn't. :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

Ok, so I am still hoping for some input here on my original question. I know the way it normally has been, but i am getting told by vendors it has changed. So i called BVI board of tourism. They told me I had to have a passport. I i reiterated that my cruise ship is pulling into tortola itself, not St Thomas. They said that they really think I have to have a passport, but to call immigration. So i made the international call to immigration, placed on hold a lot, and then was hung up. So that was an expensive call for nothing. Can anyone tell me if the have recently been to tortolla, and did they have to go through immigration and customs and present a passport?

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So I was looking to book the dolphin shore excursion directly from the vendor to save on cost. And the vendor at Dolphin Discovery told me that we had to have a passport to get on to Tortola. I told him that my ship the Norwegian getaway is docking directly at the Tortola port that I would not be taking a ferry from St Thomas or any of the US Virgin Islands which I know is common. He insisted to me that customs and borders would still require everyone disembarking the ship to show a passport. I know I know I need to just break down and get a passport for everyone in the family and after this I will. But at this point I don't have enough time to get it so I'm just going to keep on truckin with my birth certificate and drivers license. At any rate I called Norwegian Cruise Line to ask them and the lady on the phone had no idea but said there are some ports of call that you do have to produce a passport when you disembark the ship even on closed-loop cruises. So to make a long question short has anyone recently gone to Tortola and did they have any issues where they had to produce a passport to disembark? Thank you everyone for your time this board is awesome

thanks for the review. I am getting on this boat in 4 weeks. Did you do any shore excursions? Also, I have been hearing some confusion by some about British Tortola. I went to book a dolphin excursion and was told I had to have a passport. I think they are confusing this with people coming from St Thomas by ferry. But the Getaway is docking at British Tortola, so I don't think that should be an issue. I am assuming that was your itinerary. If so, did you get off at port, and did you have to go through any customs with BVI?