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Do I need Visa's

12 replies

Mizztikle · 22/10/2025 14:54

Hi, I need some help😓
I've booked My 1st cruise for next year for my big birthday and I'm not entirely sure what Visa' I need, its all very confusing. The cruise company did send some links but I'm still not 100%
I have a full UK passport, we'll be flying from London to San Juan to board, then on to:
St. Maarten
Pointe-à-Pitre
Dominica
Grenada
Barbados
Tortola
San Juan
Any advice on how to find out if I need Visa's?

OP posts:
AttilaTheMeerkat · 22/10/2025 16:15

You will need an ESTA to enter San Juan in Puerto Rico as it is a USA territory . This can be done online but only use the US government official website as there are many scammers about.

Mizztikle · 22/10/2025 16:17

AttilaTheMeerkat · 22/10/2025 16:15

You will need an ESTA to enter San Juan in Puerto Rico as it is a USA territory . This can be done online but only use the US government official website as there are many scammers about.

I was actually wondering if it would come under US or Caribbean. Thank you for the clarification.

OP posts:
AttilaTheMeerkat · 22/10/2025 16:23

If you type in Foreign office travel advice for the countries you are visiting it will give entry requirements. I would ensure you have a minimum of six months left on your passport post your holiday to these places.

samarrange · 22/10/2025 23:29

I have been to all of those except Dominica, but when we stopped in Puerto Rico we had flown into Miami to start the cruise and so I already had the ESTA.

Cruise ship passengers generally don't need visas for day stop-offs. (For example, a cruise stop in St Petersburg is a popular way to cross Russia off your bucket list without a visa.)

However, the US doesn't make this exception, so you do need an ESTA to enter Puerto Rico even for a day trip. And since you are departing on the ship from there, and re-entering the US when it docks (you're going to fly home, but they don't know that for sure!), you will definitely need an ESTA.

Dominica, Grenada, Barbados, and Tortola are Commonwealth countries, and you don't need a visa for any of them with a UK passport (and again the cruise ship exception will apply).

St Maarten is an overseas territory of the Netherlands, and Pointe à Pitre is officially a full part of France, but neither is in Schengen and so even if ETIAS has started it will not apply there. And again the cruise ship exception will apply.

The cruise line ought to be able to advise definitively, but I'm fairly confident that you only need the ESTA.

When you're in St Maarten, getting the local bus to Maho Beach (to watch the planes coming in) is a great excursion. It costs about $5 and it's perfectly safe (everyone else on the bus is a tourist). From memory, the bus stop is only a couple of metres from the cruise terminal exit.

Bjorkdidit · 23/10/2025 03:07

Yes, I'd expect cruise operators to be on top of this and give clear information to passengers when booking.

Otherwise imagine the chaos when they turn up in different countries with thousands of passengers, if some of them don't have the right visa or have relied on internet forums for their information instead of reliable places like the foreign office website?

Mizztikle · 23/10/2025 05:50

samarrange · 22/10/2025 23:29

I have been to all of those except Dominica, but when we stopped in Puerto Rico we had flown into Miami to start the cruise and so I already had the ESTA.

Cruise ship passengers generally don't need visas for day stop-offs. (For example, a cruise stop in St Petersburg is a popular way to cross Russia off your bucket list without a visa.)

However, the US doesn't make this exception, so you do need an ESTA to enter Puerto Rico even for a day trip. And since you are departing on the ship from there, and re-entering the US when it docks (you're going to fly home, but they don't know that for sure!), you will definitely need an ESTA.

Dominica, Grenada, Barbados, and Tortola are Commonwealth countries, and you don't need a visa for any of them with a UK passport (and again the cruise ship exception will apply).

St Maarten is an overseas territory of the Netherlands, and Pointe à Pitre is officially a full part of France, but neither is in Schengen and so even if ETIAS has started it will not apply there. And again the cruise ship exception will apply.

The cruise line ought to be able to advise definitively, but I'm fairly confident that you only need the ESTA.

When you're in St Maarten, getting the local bus to Maho Beach (to watch the planes coming in) is a great excursion. It costs about $5 and it's perfectly safe (everyone else on the bus is a tourist). From memory, the bus stop is only a couple of metres from the cruise terminal exit.

Edited

This is amazing thank you!

OP posts:
AttilaTheMeerkat · 23/10/2025 08:59

Tortola brought in a requirement for passengers to fill in an embarkation card in January of this year if arriving from either land or sea. Its not a visa.

Mizztikle · 23/10/2025 14:02

samarrange · 22/10/2025 23:29

I have been to all of those except Dominica, but when we stopped in Puerto Rico we had flown into Miami to start the cruise and so I already had the ESTA.

Cruise ship passengers generally don't need visas for day stop-offs. (For example, a cruise stop in St Petersburg is a popular way to cross Russia off your bucket list without a visa.)

However, the US doesn't make this exception, so you do need an ESTA to enter Puerto Rico even for a day trip. And since you are departing on the ship from there, and re-entering the US when it docks (you're going to fly home, but they don't know that for sure!), you will definitely need an ESTA.

Dominica, Grenada, Barbados, and Tortola are Commonwealth countries, and you don't need a visa for any of them with a UK passport (and again the cruise ship exception will apply).

St Maarten is an overseas territory of the Netherlands, and Pointe à Pitre is officially a full part of France, but neither is in Schengen and so even if ETIAS has started it will not apply there. And again the cruise ship exception will apply.

The cruise line ought to be able to advise definitively, but I'm fairly confident that you only need the ESTA.

When you're in St Maarten, getting the local bus to Maho Beach (to watch the planes coming in) is a great excursion. It costs about $5 and it's perfectly safe (everyone else on the bus is a tourist). From memory, the bus stop is only a couple of metres from the cruise terminal exit.

Edited

Just out of interest, do they stamp your passport when you visit each island?

OP posts:
OhDear111 · 23/10/2025 14:48

Don’t do what a person did on my recent holiday - got visa for old passport! If you need a new passport, get it and then get the Esta via the USA government web site. Much cheaper. Often cruise ships provide embarkation cards as airlines do if required. So that’s rarely an issue.

samarrange · 23/10/2025 22:42

Mizztikle · 23/10/2025 14:02

Just out of interest, do they stamp your passport when you visit each island?

I didn't acquire a single stamp on two Caribbean cruises, other than flying into Miami the night before the first one. The second one started and ended in the Dominican Republic, and I didn't even get a stamp at the airport. But in that case it was a chartered plane and everyone on it was going on the cruise.

You typically don't see an immigration official. Just port security. You are told to carry your passport, which is a good idea (in a secure inside zipped pocket), but you actually get in and out of the port with your cruise card.

Mizztikle · 23/10/2025 23:14

Good to know thank you so much, kind of disappointed thought would have been nice to have all the stamps.

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