Cruz BayUPDATE: As of Saturday, October 19th, customs is open again in Cruz Bay.
Well folks, we didn’t have the ability to clear into customs on St. John, then we did, and now we don’t again. What a bummer.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently announced that the St. John port of entry will be closed until further notice. The change went into effect this past Sunday. This means that all boats coming to St. John from the British Virgin Islands will now have to clear back into the United States over on St. Thomas. This does not affect passengers traveling to St. John from St. Thomas on the passenger ferries or the car barges.
The St. John port of entry closed this past Sunday.We reached out to Inter Island Boat Services, the company that operates ferries from Cruz Bay to Jost Van Dyke and Tortola, and they said this change will not affect their operations. Trips will continue as scheduled.
We also reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to get an estimated reopening date. We are still waiting to hear back. This is only a temporary closure. We know that for sure.
The original customs building is currently under construction. Customs had been operating out of a temporary building until the closure this past Sunday.
We will keep you posted on all of this.
Oh that’s sad. We miss the opportunity to see some of the BVIs
It’s just a temporary thing, but stinks in the interim.
Very sad news. We love taking trips each year, this may mean shorter time on the water or on those other Islands due to taking us to St.T and then back to St.J? … or do we have to pay for the ferry to get back to St.J?
It’s just temporary. But you would clear in through St Thomas on your boat and then come back.
Thank Trump
Get a life
Jean
I know this is an important issue for those living in the Islands but I have a feeling this didn’t come directly to President Trumps desk.
But you should thank President Trump for his hard work anyway.
Love it!
Please explain? Why is it his fault?
Hi all, we try to keep politics of the site, so let’s leave President Trump out of this please. 🙂 -Jenn xoxo
If you are a US citizen and chartering a boat, you may be able to check in using the US custom’s app. I don’t have personal experience with it, but last year when we chartered out of Tortola and came to STJ for a few days, the people in the office let us know that there is an app, meaning you don’t have to check in in person. Worth the google to avoid going to STT if you’re only looking to visit STJ.
Was the office every re-opened? If you have a personal charter out of St. John to BVIs do you need to check in at St.John or St.Thomas or only through the new App ROAM
Yes, it was temporary. You currently clear in via a temporary trailer. The permanent building will open at some point this year.