TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Don't shoot the messenger..

That original story is WAY old, August of last year. It's unclear what the date of the 'update' is. Again, I believe the rules for ships sailing from US ports are going to be different than the rules for ships sailing from outside the US. Unless things change before then, the ship sailing from St Maarten will NOT have the bubble concept.

Thanks. It looks like even if the passengers had a designated space and the ship staffed it themselves, at a minimum the taxi drivers would be exposed.

Can't really imagine a way to do this safely so it will be interesting to see how it evolves.

I do hope it forces the conversation about eliminating the quarantine requirement for vaccinated guests.

Can we elect Jason to head the Tourist Board?

I am hopeful we will see some policy changes for the BVI by May. The effects of the vaccination seem to be exceeding any expectations. The best example to date is Israel. With just over 50% of the population vaccinated they are seeing herd immunity. They are now down to 500 new cases a day and dropping from a peak of 10,000. Considering that Covid rates are raging in the Middle East and Europe this is a remarkable result especially when you factor in the Palestinian situation where the vaccine rate is nil and they intermix within Israel. The only European country with a semblance of control over covid is the UK with a 30% Vaccination rate. They are running about 5000 new cases a day compared to France at over 30,000. France has a very low vaccinated rate.
The BVI could easily adjust the current policy to eliminate the current day 4 test and release vaccinated tourists from quarantine after receipt of the day one test at zero risk to the local population. Tourism would boom!
G

That is EXACTLY what we are hoping will happen in time for our June trip, George!

I'm hoping for it in the next month!!

The hoops all the restaurants and bars had to go through before 1st December will be enforced and will keep everyone safe, now they should also let overnight guests in this way so the economy can start before the season ends as if it stays as is, they might be more plcaes lost.

Pusser's in CGB closed last week. It's happening everywhere.

Jason `- is that closed for good or temporarily until things pick up?

permanently

As they were leasing the restaurant from Val and Kareem I guess it reverts back to them now..interesting to see what happens. Fewer and fewer options on CGB..I miss Stanley's!

They just took back the operations of the Chill Zone on the Pier Park so I'm not sure they are really prepared to restart in CGB too.

Love to see Tony /Stanley take it over..

I second that! Jason, you are wealth of knowledge and up to the minute information. Thank you!

Thought you were my friend...

Haven’t read all the posts here, just caught the early disdain for cruisers and I agree with you Fran. Some land vacationers who have never cruised - or have tried cruising with no research and hated it - look at cruising as an inferior travel experience based on their limited knowledge, and can be a bit arrogant as a result. We too cruised 20 years ago and it was a great exposure to the different destinations, and we found our favorite places to spend more time and where we wanted to retire in the Carib. The right ship and itinerary make a world of difference of course...I was hoping cruises would not be restarted for awhile yet but it is a huge industry. We’ve been enjoying some of the other huge port destinations like Cozumel during this cruise respite...

We love cruising as well - for all of the reasons above. We typically do our own thing in each port and have discovered new places to us - such as Belize and Roatan - that we have loved!

My only hope here....is that the protocols are relaxed for charterers and villa customers who are fully vaccinated. It just seems ridiculous not to....

Agree...And that may happen as further testing confirms that these vaccines actually prevent infection, which would reduce concerns of those vaccinated being asymptomatic and spreading the virus.... The newer data seems to be pointing that way

Good news from CGB this morning. Myett's will reopen and will be operated by the Rhymer's again. Val and Kareem back in control!!

Great..just bring back Kapeye and all will be well!!!

Fantastic news, I always need a bowl of that Conch chowder!
G

"Pusser's" was a horrible fit for that location..maitre d' wearing a tie!! The food and drinks prices were not right either ( being kind)..went there once and never returned. Good for Val and Kareem and with Quito's and Stanley/Tony's gone they should thrive..will they keep Indigo House as a bar too?

Quito's is still there. Thursday-Sunday for now.

I’d hoped with the admittance of cruise ship passengers who have been vaccinated with no quarantine that they would do the same for other travelers who had been vaccinated.

I know last month the health minister said when they got 70 % of the population vaccinated they could relax their protocols. Today I see a news item that they have only half 7,000people take the first dose of the vaccine . That is very few more than they had more than a week ago.

It is hard to tell from the piece if the vaccine was now open to anyone who wanted a dose or not. If so and from the comments and from what a friend told me about a number of C&I people not planning on being vaccinated, they are going to be way under that 70%.

https://bvinews.com/end-of-vaccine-shelf-life-nearing-but-number-of-vaccinations-low/

If this is accurate I suspect the BVI is going to see a spike in cases as they open ports and cruise ship passengers and not be opening fully as I hoped and be removing the quarantine for all travelers this summer.

Personally, I don't think we'll ever come close to 70% vaccination but at the current pace of 418/week here is how the math works out. We have 30,030 residents and roughly 24,000 are 18+. To get to 70% (16,800) would take another 24 weeks at this pace. Add 10 weeks to get to the second shot, 2 additional weeks for the 2nd shot to be fully effective, and you'd have 36 more weeks to go. Just in time for Christmas.

And most recently, the Minister of Health actually said 70-80%. That is the point in which they said they would consider evaluating the current protocols. Draw your own conclusions from that.

Looks like they are vaccinating 150 a day give or take. The UK should redirect the next shipment where it can be properly used.