Picking up passengers in St. Thomas from BVIs

[contrail]

Originally Posted by doublewide

There is lots of good advice in the above posts, and, I think, one error.

The error: When we were there in March 2018, the Cruz Bay USVI Customs house had been blown to bits by the hurricane so all clearances had to be made either by phone, if you have the Local Boater Option, or at the customs house at the St Thomas ferry terminal.

The good advice:
Have your guests take the ferry from Red Hook and clear customs and immigration in Road Town where you can pick them up and add them to your crew. Never call them or let them describe themselves as "passengers."

I would add:
In most countries, the captain must take new crew to customs with their entry documents and add them to his/her crew list, the list you made out when you entered with your boat. Before your guests leave, you should go back to customs again and remove them from your crew list. They usually will need proof of their pending flight reservation. This can usually be done the day before they fly. You should ask about this procedure next time you are at the customs house in the BVI.

Things have gotten better, and you can now check in at Cruz Bay, once again.



With regard to your "crew list", in the BVI you simply add or delete crew when you check out, if that's the case. No extra visit is necessary. They will have to have been correctly checked in, however.

[jmschmidt]

No, all aboard when leaving the BVI must clear out. Then all aboard must clear into the US at St. Thomas. Next all aboard must clear out of the US. Finally all aboard must clear back into the BVI. Just buy them tickets to EIS (Beef Island Airport, Tortola) and pick them up at Trellis Bay, a short walk from the airport. You'll pay more in clearance fees that the cost of a couple of ticket.

And can we on this forum stop using the acronym BVIs, it's like saying British Virgin Islands Islands. After all the Philippine Islands is just the PI.

[scobane]

C&I is up and running in Cruz Bay. I was just there two weeks ago. I did not have to bring my crew ashore in the BVI.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

No, all aboard when leaving the BVI must clear out. Then all aboard must clear into the US at St. Thomas. Next all aboard must clear out of the US. Finally all aboard must clear back into the BVI. Just buy them tickets to EIS (Beef Island Airport, Tortola) and pick them up at Trellis Bay, a short walk from the airport. You'll pay more in clearance fees that the cost of a couple of ticket.

And can we on this forum stop using the acronym BVIs, it's like saying British Virgin Islands Islands. After all the Philippine Islands is just the PI.

Let's get some clarity and accuracy here!



When leaving or entering the BVI, the vessel and all aboard must be cleared in or out, but that can all be accomplished by one person. HM Customs does retain the right to demand that everyone appear, but that's a one in a thousand occurrence...almost unheard of. Although it is almost always the captain who does the clearing in or out, there are a number of boats who send someone else. Occasionally, I do that myself.



Almost everyone who is cleared in is charged an "environmental fee" whether arriving by sea or air. Cruise ship passengers (!) are exempted, as well as residents and a few other groups. The boat, itself, pays a number of fees that vary whether it is being operated commercially or privately, where it is based, etc etc. and you will get a receipt. There are also National Parks fees for places such as the Baths or the Indians, which are National Parks. Overtime is fairly draconian because it starts and ends within the times of normal operation!



When clearing out, there is a departure tax that varies whether a person is a resident, a tourist. Crew is exempt. If you are a private vessel, as opposed to a charter boat, yes, everyone should be listed as crew, unless you want to pay unnecessary fees. You will need to pay this fee if you on a ferry, too.



To operate in the BVI, a charter boat has to have a Commercial Recreational License and pays a Cruising Tax that varies according to whether the boat is based in the BVI or elsewhere, such as the USVI. These can really mount up....$16 per person, per day, if you are not a BVI based boat. Being a BVI based boat depends upon a number of things and there are fees for this, as well. Mess with this at your own considerable peril.


If you leave without the persons with whom you entered, you cross them off your form. That's it. If you have persons aboard who were not with you when you entered, you add them. That's it. Upon entry, each person gets a white card that they will be asked for when they leave, but it is not the boat's responsibility to manage that.



When arriving in the USVI by yacht, everyone has to go ashore, no exceptions, unless everyone has a Local Boater Card, for which they will have registered and for which they will need to be US citizens. In this case, a yacht can check in by phone.



Arriving on a yacht requires visas from lots of countries (UK, for example) whose citizens don't need them when arriving by ferry. When leaving the USVI by yacht, no one has to go ashore, which is inexplicable, considering the requirements the US imposes on other countries. When leaving the USVI for the BVI by ferry, there is a departure tax.



There are too many fees that vary by the exact circumstance to be able to state at what point it is more expensive to travel by one means or another, but it is safe to say that a portion of one's airfare to Tortola can be saved. It is also accurate to say that you save lots of hassle and time taken out of your vacation, by arriving by air. However, Customs may ask you where you are staying, and a favourite way for Customs at the airport to terrorize new arrivals is to ask the name of not only the charter company, but the boat itself. So, make sure everyone knows the answer! Mindless, I know. By the way, although some of the Customs Officers can make mistakes, all of these fees are lawful and identified. No bribery or tips! You will get a receipt. Should you actually know book and verse regarding these fees, and you feel that something is in error, by all means question it, although I am the only person I know of who actually does this. It will quickly be evident if you know what you are talking about, in which case the discussion will be friendly and the fees adjusted. But, you better be sure you know what you are talking about or it will be taken as harrassment and you will lose friends!



For my own personal travel, I check fares from Tortola (I live here, so am going in the opposite direction to most of you), and then compare that with fares going through the USVI and using the ferry. FWIW, Seniors get a discount on the ferry for a roundtrip, if they know to ask. The last choice is to take the boat to the USVI, or ask to be picked up there. Way too much time lost, but it's the way lots of people choose to do it.


Oh, and if we are going to be accurate on terminology, the official name of the BVI or BVIs is simply the Virgin Islands, NOT the British Virgin Islands. The USVI is officially the United States Virgin Islands. However, lots of Americans, and folks from the USVI, colloquially refer to the USVI as the Virgin Islands, and incorrectly call the Virgin Islands the BVI. It's common usage, and even those of us in the Virgin Islands, including myself, are often guilty, as we usually confuse people, otherwise! If you re-read this post, you will see that I generally say the BVI, but it's not actually correct.


All the best to everyone, and come on down!

[contrail]

PS. You can now enter, via yacht, in both St. John and St. Thomas.

[1jparker]

Can you purchase advance tickets for the ferry?

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by 1jparker

Can you purchase advance tickets for the ferry?

You can, but you don't really want to. The ferry services publish schedules, but do not seem to put any effort into sticking to them. The best thing to do is to show up at the ferry terminal, and buy a ticket on the next ferry going to your destination.