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Antigua embarkation


ohmiss
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Excited to be boarding my happy place once again next week. I was wondering if anyone has experienced embarking SeaDream and getting to the pier in St. John’s. I’ve never been here and would appreciate any tips and/or recent experiences. Thanks!!:cool:

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We were on one of the first departures from Antigua in November, and it was a mess! (Due to Antigua authorities, not SD!). My DH (Tiki_Man) included a detailed account in his review found in the thread "SD1 Nov 20 Review".

 

Key points include:

 

1. Be sure your transportation drops you at the correct pier. That's where our problems began.

2. Have cash on hand for $30 pp departure tax if you have been on island for more than 24 hours prior to departure.

3. Be prepared to give up your passport. (On our sailing, Antiguan authorities collected passports, processed them en masse, and delivered to the ship, reversing the process upon disembarkation.)

 

Also, traffic was very thick along the narrow downtown streets, allow plenty of time and patience to get there.

 

My hope for you is that they have all of this figured out by now. But on a more positive note, my stress began to melt away as soon as I stepped onboard and was handed a glass of bubbly!

 

Bon voyage!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Thank you, Mrs. Tiki. Appreciate the key points and advice. I am wondering if things have gotten any better and more organized since Nov and the first few sailings in/out of Antigua. Has anyone been through this more recently? Thanks in advance!

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ohmiss -- Please let us know how your embarkation goes. Hopefully it is without strees as Mrs. Tiki reported. We are on the Eastbound TA Crossing in April, and will be taxing in from English Harbor. Thanks.

 

I certainly will, BB! I was on the eastbound to London several years ago. It was epic! I’d love to do it again!

Robin

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I certainly will, BB! I was on the eastbound to London several years ago. It was epic! I’d love to do it again!

Robin

Yep.. we were on that trip also, it it was outstanding. Especially sailing under the Tower Bridge. We would do it again, but I don't think that SeaDream will go for it. But we can hope!

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Thank you, Mrs. Tiki. Appreciate the key points and advice. I am wondering if things have gotten any better and more organized since Nov and the first few sailings in/out of Antigua. Has anyone been through this more recently? Thanks in advance!

 

No, it has not gotten any better. We boarded on January 4th and it took 2 hours. Bring bucket loads of patience, a hat and an umbrella for the showers and sun. Pathetic display of incompetence by Antiguan Immigration. :(

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No, it has not gotten any better. We boarded on January 4th and it took 2 hours. Bring bucket loads of patience, a hat and an umbrella for the showers and sun. Pathetic display of incompetence by Antiguan Immigration. :(

 

Oh my! Thank you so much for the heads up. I’ve got 5 first timers with me and I was hoping for a good experience. Now, at least I’m aware. Thanks again, Bermudabum.:o

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Everyone...My SeaDream embarkation was a bit better than past postings. We were dropped off at the correct pier, but an hour early because of the long, difficult immigration procedure I had read about here. I went to the little white immigration building at the entrance to the dock. They said I had to wait until 2:00PM. There is a little bar right there, so my party waited there and had a beer. In the meantime, George (piano bar and marina guy) came and tagged all our luggage and it was taken to the ship. At 2:00 we went to the ship, boarded as usual....they are now doing the immigration and customs in the Main Salon. It still took some time, but it was out of the sun and we could have food and drinks there. So, things are improving in Antigua! Hope this helps!

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Sounds like things are vastly better, ohmiss, if you get to wait in the SeaDream lounge instead of on a pier. What I don't understand is why this is done at the beginning of a cruise. We have never had to deal with immigration at the front end - always at disembarkation. What is different about Antigua that they have so much red tape to leave the country?

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Sounds like things are vastly better, ohmiss, if you get to wait in the SeaDream lounge instead of on a pier. What I don't understand is why this is done at the beginning of a cruise. We have never had to deal with immigration at the front end - always at disembarkation. What is different about Antigua that they have so much red tape to leave the country?

 

This, I believe, is because Antigua/Barbuda, although a British territory, is their own country with their own laws. Correct me if I am wrong anyone else....

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Looking back at Mrs. Tiki's post, I think I get it. They are charging you to leave. Have been in a few countries that do that (I think Belize does, if I remember correctly), but in my limited experience it is rare. Most countries are happy to have Trapper leave, and there might even have been one that paid him to do so, or at least threatened him if he didn't. Some don't even bother stamping your passport on the way out. In Mexico last week the airline stapled the departure portion of the immigration form to the boarding pass, and that was it.

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Looking back at Mrs. Tiki's post, I think I get it. They are charging you to leave. Have been in a few countries that do that (I think Belize does, if I remember correctly), but in my limited experience it is rare. Most countries are happy to have Trapper leave, and there might even have been one that paid him to do so, or at least threatened him if he didn't. Some don't even bother stamping your passport on the way out. In Mexico last week the airline stapled the departure portion of the immigration form to the boarding pass, and that was it.

 

Love it, you are too funny!! Yes we were charged $30 each even though we arrived at 4PM the previous day and went thru customs at 2:30. 22 hours give or take...but the agent said they go by the time the Yacht leaves. But what most do not know is the departure fee is embedded into your airline ticket fare so in essence you are paying double and there’s nothing you can do about it! I worked for the airlines, so I know this.

Robin

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