Visa for Bahamas for Indian passport holders?

I have booked a family cruise for my parents( Indian citizens visiting US), and us( US citizens) in August 2018, on Royal Carribean from Miami to Nassau and back to Miami.

Do my parents need a Bahamas visa to make this journey?

Thanks in advance.

As important, do they have a multi entry visa for the US? We are not an official visa information website, better to google visas for the Bahamas. EM

Yes they have multiple entry US visa. I am checking the cruise line and the Bahamas embassy and get conflicting answers.

(Like no visa needed if they enter through sea as said by cruise line vs all tourists who don’t have US passport need visa by the embassy!) also the embassy is vague.

Just checking in the board if anyone has traveled in such a scenario and has any first hand experience or advice.

Thanks

IME the cruiselines are not a reliable source of information when it comes to visa requirements. It would be impossible to know all the permutations of requirements for every cruise port for every nationality of passport holder. Especially since visa requirements can change frequently and with no warning. The only source you can put any trust in is either the country's embassy or their ministry of foreign affairs. If your answer from the embassy was vague, contact them again and ask for clarification.

Thanks everyone..

I am still hoping someone here has a first hand experience who can tell their personal experience

@ crazyforfun can you share your experience if you completed the cruise?

February

@ crazyforfun can you share your experience if you completed the cruise?

February

We had a great cruise experience on Mariner of Seas. We did not take Bahamas Visa for our parents( they have Indian passport). They had multiple entry US visa.

@crazyforfun - That's great news. Thanks for sharing. I had one question. Did your parents passport get checked when you entered Nassau ? One of the website I read mentioned the "on arrival" visa. So, trying to understand what happened in your case. Whether your parents got to enter Nassau without visa (and hence no trouble) OR got an on-arrival visa to enter Nassau?

During our trip, my parents’ ( Indian Passport) Bahamas visa was not checked upon entering Nassau. No transit visa or visa on arrival required as it was a day trip. We had not taken Bahamas visa for them as advised by the cruise line and embassy.

They were only checked for re entry into ship for US visa.

@crazyforfun - That's great news. Thanks for sharing. I had one question. Did your parents passport get checked when you entered Nassau ? One of the website I read mentioned the "on arrival" visa. So, trying to understand what happened in your case. Whether your parents got to enter Nassau without visa (and hence no trouble) OR got an on-arrival visa to enter Nassau?