BVI fees !#!#!#

[ColdEH]

Just read this on Noonsite .

The BVI are now chRging a $1 per foot fee for all vessels checking in.
They also charge $10 for each island visited
$10 for a custim services fee
$10 the first time each year you enter
And $20 imigration fee.
Plus the parks fee.
For my private vessel C NUT a 42 Bavaria with just me aboard it was $81 to check in and stay for 1 day.


Private boats are automatically given up to 30 days to cruise around the BVI. Recently (Feb 2015) some officials in some ports have been charging private yachts a fee of $1/foot/day. Cruisers have suggested that having paperwork showing that you have not previously been charged this fee will allow you to avoid it. However, according to the BVI Ports Authority's own statement, it currently should not be charged at all. See 'Fees' section below.

Anyone had recent experiences with this ,,,whats going on?

Regards

[rognvald]

Typhoon,
This is unfortunate. The BVI's were, for many, the first place many Midwesterners and Canadians cut their teeth on ocean sailing. It is a protected area with good anchoring and beautiful water. A great locale for your first ocean cruise. However, as with most popular areas, the local governments do not see the benefit of cruising dollars and largely believe that their islands are being offered "for free" to the rich tourists and find it difficult to understand that most businesses on these islands are tourist driven. Without tourists/cruisers, the economies are not self-sustaining. And, as is the case with most people who are uneducated in elementary economics, taxation is the answer to all their problems and woes. They soon realize (usually too late) that it leads to their demise. As I have said in many previous posts, cruisers should vote with their dollars. If an area is cruiser unfriendly, sail elsewhere and spend your dollars where they are appreciated. Good luck and good sailing.

[onestepcsy37]

Some complain about the $300 entry fee in the Bahamas. But thats for six months. Less than two dollars a day. Try taking your family to Disneyworld for $300 - a day!

If it really is $80 a month in the BVI thats a bargain too.

[ColdEH]

This chap was charged 1 dollar a foot a day ? I have a 45 foot boat , that works out to over 900$ for three weeks . Expensive cruising permit .

I was wondering if any one else had experienced this .

Regards


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[rourkeh]

Why anyone would want to go to the BVI is beyond me. If they had no fees the people there would still be rude and obstructionist in every way possible. The local " I born here " people are the only group I have encountered in the Caribbean who go out of there way to make you feel unwelcome at every chance they have. Any interaction with government employees makes you want to take a shower afterward. They have no idea how the economics of their own country works, or their requirement for tourism for their survival. Everyone should just stop going and they could go back to tending goats for a living.

[bvimatelot]

That's a bit harsh, rourkeh!! I've lived here for 20 years and it is noticeable how much better and more user-friendly "officialdom" is. You just have to know how to treat them!

Tony

[svadagio]

Last time in the BVI (north sound) the customs guy got a big kick out of hassling me just for the fun of it. So bad the clerk behind the counter would not look at me. Just put her head down.
Bob

[Zanshin]

Where are these fees documented? There was a scare last year, for about a week, that fees per foot were being charged but that quickly died away and the governor himself cancelled that.
I keep my boat in the BVI and check in and out frequently, not one of those fees above is quite correct. I usually end up paying between $10 and $20 to clear in, and about 0.48c or so to clear out (pay for the form). I pay an annual "temporary import" fee of around $120 so that I can store my boat in the BVI during the hurricane season, and included in that are the parks fees.

[Uliad]

I used to own a charterboat in the BVI, so we went there pretty often. I also used to find the locals pretty surly until one of them was kind enough to help me understand the local culture a bit better.
I learned that it is extremely rude to them to walk up and start asking (demanding) something without first saying "Hello", "Good Morning" and perhaps "how are you today". As soon as we made a point of remembering this, it was amazing how friendly and warm the islanders became, even as they were giving the stink eye to another tourist standing next to us.
The BVI is cursed with a lot of North American city folk who rush in and are in a hurry to have their dream vacation. They haven't slowed down to cruising speed yet and the locals take that as unbelievable rudeness. Since they can't really get a way with saying "Get the F out of my country a-hole!" they will find more subversive ways to tell you the same thing. Making up some outrageous cruising fee is probably one of them.

[ColdEH]

Hey Arnd , I was hoping you were going to chime in as I know you are frequently in and out of the BVI . One of my favorite places as well.

Glad to hear it was all a mix up , I figured as much. We have spent many years (27) chartering down there and we are about to break loose and head south with our own boat , the BVI is one of the places we would like to spend a lot of time in , as well as Antigua and the French Islands .

Hope to see you there , we will stop by and say hello if we do .

Regards John, S/V Salserenity

[ColdEH]

Originally Posted by Uliad

I used to own a charterboat in the BVI, so we went there pretty often. I also used to find the locals pretty surly until one of them was kind enough to help me understand the local culture a bit better.
I learned that it is extremely rude to them to walk up and start asking (demanding) something without first saying "Hello", "Good Morning" and perhaps "how are you today". As soon as we made a point of remembering this, it was amazing how friendly and warm the islanders became, even as they were giving the stink eye to another tourist standing next to us.
The BVI is cursed with a lot of North American city folk who rush in and are in a hurry to have their dream vacation. They haven't slowed down to cruising speed yet and the locals take that as unbelievable rudeness. Since they can't really get a way with saying "Get the F out of my country a-hole!" they will find more subversive ways to tell you the same thing. Making up some outrageous cruising fee is probably one of them.

I agree with all you just said

Regards

[ryon]

Originally Posted by Uliad

I used to own a charterboat in the BVI, so we went there pretty often. I also used to find the locals pretty surly until one of them was kind enough to help me understand the local culture a bit better.
I learned that it is extremely rude to them to walk up and start asking (demanding) something without first saying "Hello", "Good Morning" and perhaps "how are you today". As soon as we made a point of remembering this, it was amazing how friendly and warm the islanders became, even as they were giving the stink eye to another tourist standing next to us.
The BVI is cursed with a lot of North American city folk who rush in and are in a hurry to have their dream vacation. They haven't slowed down to cruising speed yet and the locals take that as unbelievable rudeness. Since they can't really get a way with saying "Get the F out of my country a-hole!" they will find more subversive ways to tell you the same thing. Making up some outrageous cruising fee is probably one of them.

This^^^

[Rubikoop]

In August I cleared into the BVI for the day on a 40' boat and it cost $15.


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[rognvald]

Originally Posted by Uliad

I used to own a charterboat in the BVI, so we went there pretty often. I also used to find the locals pretty surly until one of them was kind enough to help me understand the local culture a bit better.
I learned that it is extremely rude to them to walk up and start asking (demanding) something without first saying "Hello", "Good Morning" and perhaps "how are you today". As soon as we made a point of remembering this, it was amazing how friendly and warm the islanders became, even as they were giving the stink eye to another tourist standing next to us.
The BVI is cursed with a lot of North American city folk who rush in and are in a hurry to have their dream vacation. They haven't slowed down to cruising speed yet and the locals take that as unbelievable rudeness. Since they can't really get a way with saying "Get the F out of my country a-hole!" they will find more subversive ways to tell you the same thing. Making up some outrageous cruising fee is probably one of them.

Uliad,
There is no excuse for a lack of common courtesy. A little bit can go a long way. However, when you are in business, in this case-- tourism, you must take the good with the bad and make everyone feel welcome--even if you don't like them or their manners. Otherwise, your business will never prosper or grow. Government agents who handle tourists should be professionally trained to the idea that "the customer is always right" even if he/she isn't. You are not in the business of teaching manners to paying customers, but to help yourself(your job) and the revenues of the country for which you represent. Otherwise, the rumours will spread and your business will suffer-- whether rightly or wrongly. Unfortunately, this is a major problem in the Caribbean where the people of an island nation cannot see the connection between tourists and the prosperity of their islands. Tourism is the driving force of most of these economies. If it stops, so do the paychecks. People vote with their dollars. It is the history of commerce everywhere in the world. Good luck and good sailing.

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by rognvald

There is no excuse for a lack of common courtesy. A little bit can go a long way. However, when you are in business, in this case-- tourism, you must take the good with the bad and make everyone feel welcome--even if you don't like them or their manners. Otherwise, your business will never prosper or grow. Government agents who handle tourists should be professionally trained to the idea that "the customer is always right" even if he/she isn't. You are not in the business of teaching manners to paying customers, but to help yourself(your job) and the revenues of the country for which you represent. Otherwise, the rumours will spread and your business will suffer-- whether rightly or wrongly. Unfortunately, this is a major problem in the Caribbean where the people of an island nation cannot see the connection between tourists and the prosperity of their islands. Tourism is the driving force of most of these economies. If it stops, so do the paychecks. People vote with their dollars. It is the history of commerce everywhere in the world. Good luck and good sailing.

Hmmm, do you want to be right or do you want to get what you need?

A little oil on the hinge works a lot better than kicking the door in.....

Dave