Bahamas Fees

[sailpower]

Just received this from our Freeport office:

Cruising fees to enter the Bahamas have gone up to $250 under 35 feet and $400 over 35 feet.

Hmm, I wonder which one is for exactly 35 feet? Anyway...

[Teknav]

It is "35 ft and under"...$250. What a ripoff!

Mauritz

[Boatguy30]

They'll no doubt change to a daily fee in no time. Southwinds magazine calls it a "turnstyle society" where nothing is considered tenancy in common of all, but owned by a certain entity for their sole financial gain.

Still, $250 for 6 months cruising is not a bad deal......

[CSY Man]

Paid $300.00 for a 33' boat a year or two ago, then they changed their mind and promised me a refund from the "nearest" custom office.
Never happened, out the money for good.
Sold the boat anyhow. Will miss the islands but not the screwed up government system and clerks..

[bobconnie]

Sometimes I wonder about folks ! Most of us have a boat that costs at least 100,000 bucks or more and some of us complain about less then 500 bucks to use them in tropical waters for 6 mos?? Seems like thats what my old daddy called cuttin off your nose to spite your face !! LOL Heck I guess yall will have to go to Mexico, no big entery fee, but a much longer trip both ways and they speak spanish not english !! LOL O well it's cheaperLOL

[Teknav]

Hiya BobConnie! I wouldn't mind it at all, if the fees collected are used in improving moorings, WiFi availability and marinas infrastructure; very little of that is happening.

Mauritz

[MarkJ]

Fine for 6 months.

But if you are cruising through from or to the Caribbean its a lot of money for a week or two. Or a day or two!!!!

I went through New Providence Channel from Florida to St Martin and could have done with extra fuel, maybe a day or two swimming.... no way for that much!!!!!



Mark

[Sunset]

Cleared my 40 footer at Cat Cay on 6/3 and it was $300. Bahamas official website Boating Entering/Exiting Policies | The Official Site of The Bahamas still says $300. When is this effective?

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Fine for 6 months.

But if you are cruising through from or to the Caribbean its a lot of money for a week or two. Or a day or two!!!!

I went through New Providence Channel from Florida to St Martin and could have done with extra fuel, maybe a day or two swimming.... no way for that much!!!!!



Mark

Yea, it would be really nice if they offerred a 7-day cruising permit for a reasonable price.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Fine for 6 months.

But if you are cruising through from or to the Caribbean its a lot of money for a week or two. Or a day or two!!!!

I went through New Providence Channel from Florida to St Martin and could have done with extra fuel, maybe a day or two swimming.... no way for that much!!!!!



Mark

Amen. Its a good deal for the old people sitting in Georgetown, but anyone that wants to see more than the treeless wasteland of the Bahamas, the fee is too high for just a quick stop.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Sunset

Cleared my 40 footer at Cat Cay on 6/3 and it was $300. Bahamas official website Boating Entering/Exiting Policies | The Official Site of The Bahamas still says $300. When is this effective?

Mon, this is island time.
It's effective when it's effective.
That's part of the charm your entry fee is paying for.
Relax.

[Mystic38]

In the grand scheme of things its peanuts money.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Mystic38

In the grand scheme of things its peanuts money.

It is to cruisers who are going over for a few months. I used to live in Miami, and was there when they had just started the 150/300 fee.

It virtually stopped weekend traffic to the Bahamas from Florida and is the single reason Bimini went into a depression back then.

I would go over to Bimini for a day or weekend trip fee that wasn't too unreasonable. But, no way in hell would I spend $250 on top of fuel, marina, restaurant, etc.

It's shortsighted and I wonder if it isn't directed towards drying up the "riff-raff" that the new billionaires and multimillionaires don't like anchoring off of their private islands.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Group9

It's shortsighted and I wonder if it isn't directed towards drying up the "riff-raff" that the new billionaires and multimillionaires don't like anchoring off of their private islands.

I dont think it would be that. Ask a politcal economist. When someone says "weekend boaters are worth this much money" people wonder where they are plucking the figures. But when its a government fee they can say: "Last year we received exactly.... $xxxxxx". Then they say why should we give up $xxxxxx for the unknown?
Plus also the government is making that money... they dont really give a stuff about the local businesses!

[MarkJ]

Theres one other point...
The Bahamas are nice, and all.... but for international cruisers i.e. not from the USA or Canada, but for cruisers from the rest of the world coming up from the Caribbean to the USA, the Bahamas has been a nice stopping off point... but the real deal, the big target is the USA so if the price is this high an International cruiser will get much more value getting to the USA and spending the extra $400 there.

After doing the Caribbean the Bahamas are not unique.

And $400 in the USA buys a LOT compared to Europe, the Caribbean or anywhere else.