Cruise for Indian citizen with multiple entry U.S. tourist visa

My sister and family are visiting us from India and we would like to take a cruise (looked into Royal Carribean so far, for preferably for ~4 nights, but open to other options). They have U.S. passports with multiple entry U.S. visa. I tried searching for Bahamas/Carribean cruises, but there are confusing messages that visa is required.

1) Which are the cruises that only cover places in United states and not require visa?

2) If visa is required for Bahamas, and we don't have it, will we not even be allowed to get on the cruise, or is it just that we will not be allowed to disembark in Bahamas? Trying to understand the risks/consequences.

I have been eagerly looking forward to taking them through a cruise experience, and would greatly appreciate your advice and inputs. Thank you so much!

OP: If they have US passports, visas will not be an issue on any short round trip cruise out of a US port.

Does OP mean that they have Indian passports and US multiple entry visas?

Thank you so much for your response, and yes, they have Indian passports with multiple entry visa for U.S. So, would you mean that if they took Bahamas cruise via Royal Carribean for example, they won't need visa to disembark for shore excursions? Thanks again.

You will have to look at the website of Bahamas' embassy, (consulate, or high commission) in India to determine whether your family will require a Visa in order to visit. Usually, if you do not have all of the required travel papers, you would not be allowed to board the ship at embarkation. Remember that even if you were to remain on board, you are still within that country's territory, and are thus subject to their passport/visa requirements.

There's next to no cruises that only go to US ports due to a federal law. I think it's PVSA but I could have the letters out of order. There's one in Hawaii and I think the Mississippi has a river cruise. Not sure of any others but I could be missing some.

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My sister and family are visiting us from India...They have U.S. passports with multiple entry U.S. visa. ...

I'm confused - you say that they have "US passports with multiple entry US visa"? A US citizen with a US passport can enter and leave the US whenever he or she wants. The Bahamas and other Caribbean countries don't require visas from US citizens.

Now if you meant that to say that they have Indian passports with multi entry US visas that's entirely different. Those visas only let them back into the US. What matters is what the Caribbean countries require for citizens of India. You would have to check the consulate web sites, for each and every country on the cruise itinerary, for what they require for citizens of India. Don't rely on curise line telephone agents as they are not experts in international immigration law. Without the proper documentation to enter each country they would be denied boarding whether or not they intended to go ashore. They would be left at the pier and lose their fare. Travel insurance does not cover the lack of proper travel documentation as that is considered under the passenger's control.

The website for the Bahamas is not clear but I did find a page called Entry Requirements. There is a chat function on the website so you might be able to use that to get an answer to your question and you could likely email the transcript so you would have a copy.

I also found this TripAdvisor link. It started back in 2015 I think but if you sort replies from newest to oldest, they are some posts from 2018 that indicate closed loop cruise, Indian passport with multiple entry US visa, no Bahamas visa is needed.

One thing to watch is, some countries have different requirements for cruise passengers versus other visitors.

I noticed this when researching for a cruise. My SO is not a US citizen, so one country on the cruise itinerary said a visa would be required, but then I found that for a cruise ship passenger, the visa was NOT required.

It seems many Caribbean countries are very lenient about cruise ship passengers, as they know the cruise ship will take them away at the end of the day.

Thanks for all your responses. Here's what I did so far:

1) Chat with agent on https://www.bahamas.com/entry-requirements who told me that since they will only be on Bahamas for < 24 hours, not flying and not staying overnight, they don't need Bahamas visa and that their passports won't be stamped by Bahamas.

2) Called Disney cruise embarkation guest services at 1-800-395-9374 who told me that they won't need Bahamas visa and that her passport will not be stamped.

3) Called Royal Carribean cruise customer service who also said they won't need Bahamas visa and that their passports won't be stamped.

4) I also called Commonwealth of the Bahamas directly at 242-397-9300 and they also said that they won't need Bahamas visa, but that there will be a immigration officer at the end of the boat before getting off the boat for shore excursions and that he/she would stamp the passport.

I have taken Disney cruise 5 times and never had to take my passport with me nor get it stamped before shore excursion. All I had to take was my disney card.

I might finally land up taking Royal Carribean cruise as that suits our plan most at this time, but I am guessing that the rules may be same for both cruises.

Question a) So is it true that Bahamas immigration officers will stamp the passport before shore excursion?

Question b) Secondly, are the above sources I called reliable or should I be checking with any one else?

While I wouldn't guarantee the accuracy of a cruise line call center, you have spoken and been given the information by the only authoritative sources- the Commonwealth of Bahamas office. I think your family is good to go.

Thank you very much! I am grateful for all your responses and advice, which has been very helpful.

I have taken Disney cruise 5 times and never had to take my passport with me nor get it stamped before shore excursion. All I had to take was my disney card.

 

Question a) So is it true that Bahamas immigration officers will stamp the passport before shore excursion?

Question b) Secondly, are the above sources I called reliable or should I be checking with any one else?

YOU may not have had to show or take your passport if you are a US citizen, but they will need to do so, as they are not.

Thank you so much for that info Cool Cruiser. yes, I am a U.S. citizen, though I didn't see any one checking passports when we got off the ship to determine if we were U.S citizens or not, but I could be mistaken. So, will their Indian passports be stamped if they get off the cruise for shore excursions? Or will their passports be stamped at the entrance of the cruise itself? That would help us determine whether we should even take the cruise. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for that info Cool Cruiser. yes, I am a U.S. citizen, though I didn't see any one checking passports when we got off the ship to determine if we were U.S citizens or not, but I could be mistaken. So, will their Indian passports be stamped if they get off the cruise for shore excursions? Or will their passports be stamped at the entrance of the cruise itself? That would help us determine whether we should even take the cruise. Thanks again.

I’ve not been in the shoes of a non-US citizen on a Caribbean cruise. I have been a US citizen on a med cruise. In that instance, we were required to turn our passports into the cruise line upon check in so they could take care of all customs paperwork for us. We did not need to show our passports in port. The situation may be similar to yours. I’ve seen US citizens retrieving passports from guest services on Caribbean cruise before.

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For passengers who use a passport to travel on the cruise, the passport nationality and number are listed on the passenger manifest that each country's immigration service gets when the ship enters port. If a passenger's information shows that they are from a country where a visa is required, the immigration people may want to see the person and passport before anyone is allowed to leave the ship. The cruise line may ask that that person's passport be held by the purser for the trip to expedite port clearance (if they see the passport and visa, they generally won't need to see the person), or they may include the visa number on the manifest, having collected that at embarkation check in. The country may or may not stamp a passport upon port clearance, typically the Caribbean ports don't, which is why you'll see US citizens getting their passports before going ashore, they want to get a passport stamp at the customs house (this is the answer to your question #4, there will be an agent to stamp your passport, if you want it. Typically, Caribbean ports do not require passports to go ashore.

My SO is not a US citizen, but last year in Bermuda, she just got on and off the ship, nothing special.

But she is from a country were no visa is required (EU).

@varshakgan

Did you actually complete the cruise? If so can you share if your sister was able to board without any issues?

@podiyan, not yet. I will let you know once we get to it in September.

@varshakgan

Thanks :)

I wish you all the best and a safe sailing

Thank you @podiyan! :-)