Customs and Immigration at Marina Puerto del Rey ?

[gillesja]

I am planning to sail in March from St. Martin or Saba to Puerto Rico. Of course I will have to clear customs en immigration when I arrive. Fajardo is an official port of entry, so there should be a customs and immigration office. But at the website of the marina Puerto del Rey (Ceiba) they claim: "US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintains an office at Puerto del Rey". That seems strange to me because it is not an official port of entrance. Does anyone have experience with clearing in at Puerto del Rey?

Second question: On the way back, I would like to spend a few day's on Culebra. I suppose we can clear out of Puerto Rico there. Does anyone have experience with clearing out at Culebra?

Thanks in advance for any reply's.

Gilles

[Bill_E]

Puerto del Rey is a large marina. I believe that it is the largest in the Caribbean. So they may have customs there or may have a way to get you to customs in Fajardo. Next time I'm down in that area, I'll check it out.

I'm a US citizen so I may be wrong about this but I don't think that the US has any requirements for clearing out.

[Boomp]

Noonsite says you can 'clear' via telephone...in San Juan, that the officials actually prefer this. It even lists phone numbers...

[s/v Moondancer]

We have sailed in and out of Puerto Del Rey several times and as of 9 months ago there was not an office in the Marina. We called immigration who usually cleared us by phone. Once we had to go into Fajardo to renew our cruising certificate as we are a British boat. However, I have seen immigration come and inspect boats.

June, the service manager, at the marina is a delightfully helpful lady and if you call the office she will be able to tell you the rules as they stand now.