BVI Announces reopening protocols for Dec 1

[Zanshin]

Yes, I am sure. There is a certification process for those "approved accomodations" and neither private nor charter boats are among them...

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

I was hoping to be able to do a charter pretty much as soon as possible. But with those restrictions... Nope. Going to have to wait.

Check out charter within the Caribbean bubble. I’d look at Antigua.

We return to Antigua 31 Oct.
Covid negative 7 days max before arrival
Temperature taken.
Possibly quarantine if you are suspected or come from a bad place.

Do you know how hard it can be in the US to get a Covid test if you are healthy? State, city, county variations are enormous. Price varies from free with a doctor’s order to $400. In most places you must have a doctor’s order and an appointment. Appointments may be weeks out. Now try to get on a plane to a destination that requires a prior negative test. We had to buy kits on line. Being over 65 gets them Medicare coverage. Antigua will not accept a self inflicted test so we need to find a friendly medical professional to stick the probes up our noses and sign off. Then, FEDEX to the lab.

More Antigua details
http://abma.ag/wp-content/uploads/20...er-14-2020.pdf

From the document;

“The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has provided parameters for the establishment of a regional Travel Bubble among the OECS countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, Anguilla and British Virgin Islands, together with Barbados. This is designed to facilitate intra-regional travel of nationals, movement of essential workers, and inter-regional travel of visitors to the region while ensuring that the necessary health protocols are followed.”

BVI is insane. They are supposed to be a member of CARICOM but it appears their latest rules ignore the fact. It was clear after our last visit that their overlords did not care a tiny bit about their economy or people. Nearly all hurricane relief magically disappeared with almost no positive action. After two years there was no grocery in Jost Van Dyke. Prices for basics out of range for all but the wealthy. Costs and hurdles for customs and immigration, diving, snorkeling and fishing totally random.

Not clear from the OP if CARICOM bubble extends to BVI cruiser traffic or they must also quarantine with multiple tests.

[So It Goes]

Commencing 1st December, 2020, entry into the BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS will be exclusive to air travel via the Terrence B Lettsome International Airport (also known as Beef Island airport). Last night, October 26 2020, the BVI issued a statement about their reopening to tourism which you can read here: https://bvi.gov.vg/media-centre/stat...urist-industry
Note that there are currently ZERO positive cases in the BVIs.

The BVI TRAVELLER https://www.bvitraveller.com/officia...protocols-bvi/ has stated

"By Sea (Possibly Starting 12/8/20): Details will be forthcoming."

This could just mean ferries. Who knows? We just have to be patient. It was not mentioned in the official statement.

If you come to the US VIRGIN ISLANDS there are also policies for entry: Effective September 19, 2020, EVERY traveler aged five and older who enters the U.S. Virgin Islands is required to use the USVI Travel Screening Portal and submit a COVID-19 test result.

As far as I know, all beaches still close from 4 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. No rafting of boats and boats must distance 12 feet from each other.

See the October 13th update https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-eases-some-covid-19-restrictions/ to the September 13th update to Information for Leisure Travellers https://drive.google.com/file/d/10M4...6qxai3ZNH/view


ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES revised their "Protocol For The Entry Of Travellers to St. Vincent And The Grenadines" on 24 October 2020. http://health.gov.vc/health/images/P...d_24102020.pdf

Hope this helps.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

For most people the arrival rules are not the issue. I would not be allowed to leave the country for non-essential travel and if I left on essential business would have to quarantine for 14 days where I landed then a further 14 days once back in the local community, effectively making any foreign holiday impractical. We are very happy with this and have less cases/deaths in total than most states currently report PER DAY. Tourism is not worth risking your life over.

Tourism is LIFE for many, including some of the local BVI residents that depend on it for their income. We all have to find some happy middle ground or the future will be even more bleak than the present.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

Yes, I am sure. There is a certification process for those "approved accomodations" and neither private nor charter boats are among them...

In Antigua you may quarantine on your private vessel if it is in the water. If you left your boat on the hard this presents a problem.

[Bali43Cat]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

We are very happy with this and have less cases/deaths in total than most states currently report PER DAY. Tourism is not worth risking your life over.

Perhaps YOUR life IS on the line due to age or pre-existing conditions. But it's now pretty proven that serious illness or death is very unlikely for vast swaths of the population (younger/healthier). So according to your comment - for YOUR security - it's ok that many of these developing nations will starve their economies and bankrupt their populations. Extremely selfish comment when taken in that context....

[Nicholson58]

I noted from all of the above links that the universal assumption is that all visitors arrive by air. No mention at all is made of water taxi or private vessels.

Many of the eastern Caribbean islands are CARICOM members. They are supposed to have protocols in place for travel within the CARICOM bubble. I noted the link above for Antigua that explains this in concept. Implementation seems a bit impromptu. We have just heard from a cruiser in Grenada traveling to Antigua they must skip Bequai because the only check in is in St Vincent. The folks in Bequai should be really upset as this guarantees almost no boats will make the doubling trips to St Vincent and return for check in/out. Neither will anyone willingly stay in St Vincent due to crime concerns. (Ref CARICOM Caribbean members). Note that Trinidad is not playing ball yet.

The French islands are not CARICOM and have their own crazy rules and returning to a CARUCOM country from France will require testing and quarantine. Going and returning amounting to four weeks in quarantine. Geography shows that the French islands are located between CARICOM islands so any island hop is now a very long push. If islands are still under “Emergency rules” then you may only pass 12 miles minimum off shore.

We expect to spend nearly the entire season in Antigua but this brings up the next problem. 90 days is currently the longest visitor visa. Could become a bit tedious.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Bali43Cat

...many of these developing nations will starve their economies and bankrupt their populations.

Starve their economies? More than that, they may -- LITERALLY -- starve their people! For a lot of people in the BVI, tourism is their only way to earn a living. Without it, they cannot pay the rent, they cannot buy groceries, they cannot buy clothes for their children or themselves, they cannot LIVE!

[MultiCountryDon]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

They forgot to tell you that you pay for all the testing like Hawaii.

And just WHO SHOULD pay ?? In either case?
Visitors are not citizens.

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

The BVI announced the official re-opening protocols yesterday, October 26th. With big fanfare about how they are going to be welcoming visitors back the government has specified the following protocol (Phase One reopening

1. A negative PCR test (up to 5 days before arrival)
2. Register with a website and get clearance to travel
3. Staggered arrival of planes at Beef Island airport, no more than 90 pax
4. 2nd COVID test at airport
5. Install tracking app on phone or get GPS tracker
6. Must have travel insurance that covers COVID
7. Quarantine for 4 days at your own expense at an approved place
8. 3rd COVID test at the end of 4 days
9. If negative, movement is limited to designated areas
10. All restaurants and shops are required to take your temp and document with your name and date/time
11. 4th COVID test on the 8th day
12. If all 4 previous test are negative, you are now free to move around the islands

So far I've been told that each test is going to be about $250. The government accommodation for quarantine is estimated to be $2500. Without food. Charter guests cannot quarantine on the boat.

One can draw one's own conclusion about how busy it is going to be, considering the majority of visitors are from the USA and only have a week of vacation time available to them.

Arnd,
Were you planning to go down and try to get your boat out of BVI anytime soon?
Hope you healed up well after the major incident from the last trip.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

Yes, I am sure. There is a certification process for those "approved accomodations" and neither private nor charter boats are among them...

Zanshin, it has NOT been announced that boats will not be considered approved accomodations, and considerable effort is going into this. There are protocols that will apply. The real question is whether guests who are quarantining aboard are allowed to leave the docks, so it may all be moot. Hard to see boats being allowed out when all the motion trackers are in use! So, yes, whilst we are still working hard at this, and things may be better (the Government is by no means unanimous about all of this), whether any change or modifications can come in time for people to plan visits is doubtful. The whole thing is almost like a polite, "we are officially open, but don't plan on coming." Very sad for those of us in the industry.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

I noted from all of the above links that the universal assumption is that all visitors arrive by air. No mention at all is made of water taxi or private vessels.

Many of the eastern Caribbean islands are CARICOM members. They are supposed to have protocols in place for travel within the CARICOM bubble. I noted the link above for Antigua that explains this in concept. Implementation seems a bit impromptu. We have just heard from a cruiser in Grenada traveling to Antigua they must skip Bequai because the only check in is in St Vincent. The folks in Bequai should be really upset as this guarantees almost no boats will make the doubling trips to St Vincent and

The French islands are not CARICOM and have their own crazy rules and returning to a CARUCOM country from France will require testing and quarantine. Going and returning amounting to four weeks in quarantine. Geography shows that the French islands are located between CARICOM islands so any island hop is now a very long push. If islands are still under “Emergency rules” then you may only pass 12 miles minimum off shore.

We expect to spend nearly the entire season in Antigua but this brings up the next problem. 90 days is currently the longest visitor visa. Could become a bit tedious.

Actually, quite a few crewed charter boats spent the summer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and all went smoothly. Same thing for those who left their boats there or in Grenada, and are now returning. Same thing for those moving about in the CARICOM bubble.

[contrail]

Well, in tonight's news conference it was clear that visitors would be allowed to quarantine on their charterboats and they likely will be allowed to move around. Government is looking at other things to make chartering more workable, so things look much better than yesterday.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Looking at an Antigua bareboat charter in 2nd part of November for 6 days. Is it doable?

[Zanshin]

contrail - I had heard from a charter company that quarantining on the vessel at the docks wasn't to be allowed, but if there was another meeting yesterday in which that has changed it is all for the better. I haven't read about that change in status, do you have a link to some official source? I now know of a couple of hotels that have been certified for quarantine stays so it seems that the BVI government is at least allowing free market choices in that area. Of course the taxi mob on the island has transportation locked down, but they have always been a powerful force in government there.