Half Moon Caye and Health Visa??

[LadyBerard]

When I oiginally booked our Rotterdam cruise for next Jan., I'm pretty certain there was something on the confirmation pertaining to a Health Visa for the Bahamas.  I have since my made payment, and I don't see anything pertaining to obtaining a Health Visa.

 

I did call Holland, but unfortunately, the rep. was unable to answer as to whether or not one was needed.  We are US citizens and will be doing a closed loop cruise from FLL.  Does anybody know the answer as to whether or not we will need one?

[grsnovi]

Isn't HMC a private island owned by Carnival? Wouldn't whatever HAL required of you be enough for HMC? Don't know for sure...

[zgscl]

1 hour ago, grsnovi said:

Isn't HMC a private island owned by Carnival? Wouldn't whatever HAL required of you be enough for HMC? Don't know for sure...

This should be the case. You have never had to show a passport or anything on HMC. I realize things could have changed with the pandemic, but it is essentially their private island so there are no officials or anything to check this. 

[FlaMariner]

We would always see a Bahamian official there (at least a guy in a uniform) at the tender dock but never a check of any sorts.....not even a key card check when getting on the tender to return....(of course they check you in on the ship to see who they are about to leave).  Where else could you be from or where else could you be going except back and forth to the ship?

 

No worries man.....Have fun....It's paradise defined.....at Half Moon Cay

[0bnxshs]

It is a Bahamian island (private in that it is on lease to CCL exclusively) where you now have to pass through a passport and customs check on the way back to the tender for the ship.  They have never stopped us though to look at anything however (and almost seem grumpy if you assume they do), but the requisite xray and metal detecting machines and podium are there along with the Disney-esque winding queues and enclosed waiting areas after the "check".

 

As far as the health visa goes, we've been told that it will not be necessary in November 2021 when we visit on the Rotterdam as we are cruise ship passengers on day visits.  I can certainly let you know how that goes but HAL has told some that it won't be necessary.

 

Will update when I've been there and done that in November.

Edited September 26, 2021 by 0bnxshs

[Caribbean Chris]

4 hours ago, zgscl said:

This should be the case. You have never had to show a passport or anything on HMC. I realize things could have changed with the pandemic, but it is essentially their private island so there are no officials or anything to check this. 

I travel with a service dog and have always been required to have full Bahamian import documentation for my dog (a permit and a follow-up health check by a vet shortly before sailing) to enter Half Moon Cay. This was regardless of whether or not the dog would go ashore and set foot (paw) on Bahamian soil.
 

Just because passengers don’t physically show their passport does not mean that an island nation does not require it.The ship has and provides that information to the authorities.

[kangforpres]

Yes, HMC is actually still part of the Bahamas and therefore their current public Health laws should apply, (I would think) Carnival Corp has a long term lease of the property, but the Government of the Bahamas is the landlord.

[CruiserBruce]

It really doesn't matter if HAL (not Carnival) owns or leases the island. Do the laws of the US apply to the land your residence (if you live in the US) is on, no matter if you own or lease? YES! HMC being a "private" island doesn't eliminate the laws of the Bahamas.

[FlaMariner]

10 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

It really doesn't matter if HAL (not Carnival) owns or leases the island. Do the laws of the US apply to the land your residence (if you live in the US) is on, no matter if you own or lease? YES! HMC being a "private" island doesn't eliminate the laws of the Bahamas.

 

The laws are there.....HAL tells you to always take your passport/ID when going ashore...even on HMC....The experience is, because of the limitations of HMC (private island, nowhere to go but back/forth on tender), there is no real passport control area.....but of course, the Bahamas could certainly do that if they wanted.

 

If I was running the Bahamas, I would not worry about any security breeches on HMC nor would I waste $$$ staffing it with Bahamian security...I would just be there to accept the nice port tax check!

 

[NCTribeFan]

Has anyone tried looking at (or asking on) the Carnival board?  They've been doing Caribbean sailings for a few weeks now so I would think they may have had a port stop or two at HMC, but I haven't been reading that board lately since I my first two cruises coming up are both on HAL.

[LadyBerard]

I had called Holland this weekend and was advised to call 866-935-8472 on Monday.  I did today, and was informed we do NOT need a health visa.  

[0bnxshs]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

If I was running the Bahamas, I would not worry about any security breeches on HMC nor would I waste $$$ staffing it with Bahamian security...I would just be there to accept the nice port tax check!

I'm sure they don't worry too much about someone stealing the chickens.  But, you can bet CCL/HAL is paying for any customs/passport officials who are sent to the island, so I imagine they expect to see 🧐 these same officials.  Was at HMC last in December 2019 and there were 2 people working the area for passports/xrays in a semi-uniform (Bahamian logo) looking golf shirt who were waving everyone through without checking docs or bags.  Go figure.  Nice work if you can find it!

[0bnxshs]

15 minutes ago, LadyBerard said:

I had called Holland this weekend and was advised to call 866-935-8472 on Monday.  I did today, and was informed we do NOT need a health visa.  

Thanks for the update!  That confirms what I've heard from others.  Will know for myself in little over a month!. 

[LadyBerard]

2 hours ago, 0bnxshs said:

I'm sure they don't worry too much about someone stealing the chickens.  But, you can bet CCL/HAL is paying for any customs/passport officials who are sent to the island, so I imagine they expect to see 🧐 these same officials.  Was at HMC last in December 2019 and there were 2 people working the area for passports/xrays in a semi-uniform (Bahamian logo) looking golf shirt who were waving everyone through without checking docs or bags.  Go figure.  Nice work if you can find it!

We don't ever carry our passports with us when we get off the ship in ports.  We  have them locked in the safe in the room.  Are you saying we need to take our passports with us when we visit HMC?

 

[NCTribeFan]

I'm the opposite.  I don't leave US soil without having my passport on me.  When I board, I put the passport in the safe but I always take it with me ashore.  If/when I trip and fall and break something and end up in a foreign ER, I want to have my passport with me so I can get home.  Yes, I've read that the cruise line will help you get your stuff off the ship but I just am not going to be on foreign soil without having my passport.

 

But, good to know a visa isn't needed.   My itineraries show nothing next to HMC except the fact that it's a tender port.  One would think that if a Visa were required, it would be noted there.

 

BTW, if anyone's on a cruise that stops in Costa Rica, my Eurodam itinerary shows that a passport is needed.  I do not recall that ever being the case in the past, but as I've said, I've always had my passport anyway, so maybe I just never noticed the little footnote on the itinerary.

[kazu]

2 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

We don't ever carry our passports with us when we get off the ship in ports.  We  have them locked in the safe in the room.  Are you saying we need to take our passports with us when we visit HMC?

 

 

I don’t take my passport in ports unless it’s absolutely required.  But, I do take a colour copy of the first two pages of our passports that are key and have sufficed UNLESS the rules are such that you must have the original.

[0bnxshs]

3 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

We don't ever carry our passports with us when we get off the ship in ports.  We  have them locked in the safe in the room.  Are you saying we need to take our passports with us when we visit HMC?

 

As you've seen by the earlier answers, there is justification for both sides of this coin.  No one wants to lose their passport; no one wants to get stuck someplace foreign without their passport.

 

I personally have never carried my passport while on HMC or in the Bahamas.  It's not at all likely that you'll be able to go from HMC directly home, sort of negating the need.  Like Jacqui, I do carry a copy of my passport while overseas though, just so I have a record of it which can be used to "verify" the passport through a US embassy or consulate.  There are places and times when I have carried it with me though.

 

My DWs uncle and aunt were on a Princess cruise in Europe only a few years ago; he got very ill while on an excursion in Portugal.  So sick that he was left in a hospital there during the excursion.  No passport.  Lots of delays and paperwork, taking a few days, just to be able to get on a plane (although medically cleared), for which he had evac insurance, to get home.  He never leaves his passport on the ship now.

 

Basically, it all depends on your experiences and your risk tolerance.  Hope that helps. 🙂