Emma101010

Yes, just visited yesterday on Icon and it was awesome. We loved Honduras - lovely welcome too as the ship arrived at the port. We too have confirmation that the visa requirement was rescinded. Hoping uk gov website is updated soon - it seemed to take approx a week to be updated back in July after first communiqué. So perhaps soon it’ll be updated so no more people are worried. But definitely relax as we really had zero issues boarding, disembarking and returning to the ship in Roatán. Happy cruise all.

Hi Al, just like David, I’ve now managed to also talk to someone in UK RCI who told me that they’ve now been having “an unprecedented number of calls on this”. Thank goodness people started to notice. That other person’s post on the other site seemed to get a lot of cruisers attention. RCI assured me we’ll be allowed to sail from Miami on Saturday. He said that if we were only in transit we’d be exempt from the visa requirement. The lovely man seemed to think we would be allowed off in Roatan as we’d ”be there for less than one day”. This is exactly what the Miami Honduran embassy told me but couldn’t confirm in writing yet. Let’s hope this is sorted now. Going to try now to relax and enjoy holiday. Good luck everyone.

Oh no I didn’t know 😢

Thanks MandyMoo - do you know where? I’ve been on with Royal Caribbean for 3 x transfers and still no one can help. Each transfer has been 20+ mins. Another lovely lady again couldn’t help! Now I’m being told to try uk number but I can only do that tomorrow morning now.

thank David. Did you call USA number? I’m in USA now was going to call the local number today. Will let everyone know what happens.

I sail Saturday. I’ve not heard anything back from last three emails from embassy in London. I got a message from Honduran immigration call center telling me to contact the regional embassy today. It’s ruined my holiday pretty much with worry, even if we board now.

Good luck David - and I promise to post on here the min i know from actually going to port of Miami on 15th. If there’s any denied boarding risks I’ll be posting on all places I can to help others have a chance to cancel. I think there’s a lot of people clueless! I only found out on 19th July because I clicked on the documents issued… I like you checked in June (actually a few times over the last 18 months!!)! But one odd morning I decided to check again and nearly had a heart attack. The uk Honduran embassy calmed me down on the 19th but since then it’s become quite clear, the situation is pretty much hanging, waiting to see which way it goes on the 15th. 😢 wishing you and everyone good luck. 🤞 let’s hope all those verbal reassurances come true.

Thank you David! I’m on the same cruise. RCI only gave told me they could not help - to call cibt. I know I’m cynical but I’m worried that they lack of clarify means zero…. We’ve until 11:59pm on 15th Aug to cancel all the extras to get a refund. That gives us at least some money (quite a lot as extras are extortionate!) towards another holiday- as we won’t get the cruise fare back. If we’re denied boarding at the port of Miami we lose everything! I’m going to go to port of Miami on 15th August and ask the officials if they will be letting us board. Apparently, according to RCI, they’re the only ones who know! It’s all just rubbish and no one knows what’s going on until 15th. 😢 Thanks so much for phoning, spending all that time on with RCI and sharing.

Ems, thank you! That’s interesting as all the advice on their website is that we’ll be denied boarding. But I’d be happy with staying on the ship.

Good summary of the mess Omega1. I started calling embassy on 19th July, was told I couldn’t have an appointment as I was going on a cruise therefore wouldn’t need one. But two weeks later the message changed to “highly unlikely” I’d need one, but now 3.5 weeks later there’s still no email to confirm. I called the embassy again yesterday who said emails should be coming soon. I think they need to decide by Sunday 11th as that’s when the first cruise ship departs which will be affected by change on 15th as it docks in Roatan on the 15th. Just to add…. I’ve tried to get appointments with Honduran embassy in Miami a few weeks ago and was told I couldn’t have an appointment I wouldn’t need a visa for a cruise. And again anyway, no appointments available for August. Didn’t try other US locations though - will decide in the states if it’s worth all the pain of trying to get an emergency appointment in the states next week vs losing cruise. If I hear UK people are denied boarding on 11th or I get confirmation from the port of Miami that I will be denied boarding on 17th, then the only thing I can think of to cut losses, will be to cancel all cruise extras (as I can 48 hours before sailing)…. To give us some money back to find a hotel/holiday somewhere near Miami/mexico etc. Then it’ll be a battle to make uk passports holders aware so they have a chance to get money back or change cruises as it doesn’t seem that there are even appointments available at London embassy for 3 months. I’ve tried everything I can to get a visa since 19th July and cannot. I’m having to just make peace that there’s a high risk I’ll lose my cruise without any recourse. I feel like the cruise companies should at least have some responsibility to rebook consumers, especially when there’s issues like this. I know it’s tough all round though.

I just read in another forum that UK tourists (not on a cruise) who need to definitely get a visa, have been told there are no appointments at the London Honduran embassy for over 3 months. Also they’re talking about having to get DBS checks done to show letters of good standing which are required go through the process when you submit details alongside bank statements etc. I can only imagine that this process will just stop any UK tourists from being able to book any of the Caribbean cruises going forward. It’s surely a big issue for the cruise lines?! Or are we not really that numerous on these cruises over in the Americas? Hopefully some clarity will come at the end of the week and what I was told by the Honduras Miami embassy official is true…. we’ll all have to fill in a form at the Roatan port upon arrival, declaring we’re there for less than a day, pay a fee and be allowed to enter Roatan for a few hours. Fingers Crossed 🤞 We all need a bit of luck 🍀.

Good Luck John. I’m wishing you all the best and all is ok for your trip too.

I’ve been battling the Honduran visa change for the last two weeks and my situation is desperate. I noticed the change on 17th July, coming into force on 15th August. Our cruise with Royal is on the 17th August! I phoned the Honduran embassy in London immediately and was told cruise passengers would not need a visa and to send in an email which they would reply to within 3 days. 10 days later - still no email, so I phoned again last Tuesday and the embassy said that they still did not have authority to send the emails. They said it will be “highly unlikely” i would need a visa and they could not get me an appointment just in case as they were inundated. The fallback would be to try the Honduran embassy in Miami before the cruise. I called the Miami embassy- this very nice lady again verbally reassured me that I would not need a visa. Also there’s no appointments available for August! So I’m utterly stuck, worried beyond belief, not knowing if we’ll be able to go on this cruise. There’s no information- CIBT visas didn’t even know of the change when I called two weeks ago. Their websites still show UK nationals not needing a visa for August! Royal Caribbean just pointed me to CIBT. I called CIBT again last week - now their call center staff know about it. And I was reassured that they were waiting for information from the Honduran embassy - they expected cruise passengers not to require a visa and told me to hang tight. Even if we do need visas CIBT won’t be able to help as they’re not setup with the Honduran embassy’s in order to process on behalf of clients yet. I’m not sure, given the complete lack of clarity, that it’s at all easy to get a visa. The only progress available is an in person appointment on Tuesdays or Thursdays. But given that the London Honduran embassy is swamped, it can’t get an appointment. Trying to stay calm faced with this pressure is ruining what should have been a once in a lifetime holiday for us. The threat of losing all of our cruise is heartbreaking. Good luck with your September trip. The minute I find out what happens for us on the 17th Aug, I’ll post our experience.