Most major cruise lines are currently targeting a August restart date to resume cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas.
While we don’t know if this time frame is possible yet due to the fluid situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, Caribbean islands are beginning to reopen to tourists.
One of the biggest questions cruisers had about cruises starting back up is asking about which ports will be open for cruise ship visits. After all, the ports are an important part of the cruise planning process.
The good news is that some islands in the Caribbean have already begun to reopen. Most plan on reopening sometime this summer and most by August.
Here are the reopening dates for several Caribbean islands, countries, and areas:
- U.S.V.I. (St. Thomas) – Open for tourism as of June 1
- Cozumel – Began to reopen to tourists on June 8
- Jamaica – Opening for tourism on June 15
- Bahamas – Planning on reopening for tourism on July 1
- Dominican Republic – Planning on reopening for tourism on July 1
- Turks & Caicos – Planning on reopening for tourism on July 22
- St. Maarten – No date given, although the earliest they would open is July 1
- St. Barts – Opening for tourism on June 22
- Antigua and Barbuda – Open for tourism as of June 4
- Cayman Islands – Planning on opening sometime after September 1
- Aruba – Planning on reopening for tourism between June 15 and July 1
- Bermuda – No date given yet for reopening
- St. Lucia – Open for tourism as of June 7
- British Virgin Islands (Tortola) – Planning reopening this month
The reopening dates are subject to change due to the fluid situation with COVID-19.