Cruises - Caribbean cruise with a non-US citizen

I am planning on taking a cruise from New York to the Bahamas with a friend of mine who is an Indonesian citizen. He is not a citizen of the US. He has his Indonesian passport. Is this a problem or is a passport all that is required? We're going on the Norwegian Jewel ship, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for your help and insight!

You need to find out if he needs a visa for the Bahama's. It will be his responsibility to get any visa's needed before cruising.

The cruise line will probably advise him of visa requirements but he should nevertheless check himself and probably bring printouts of embassy webpages showing the requirements just in case. He needs to also check passport expiration date policies and to be sure to have a multi entry visa or substitute for re-entering the USA at the end of the cruise. My guess is that the Bahamas will require an advance visa, maybe even multientry depending on the itinerary, but he should be able to apply in the USA for this if he is a resident of some sort.

If OP's friend is a U.S. permanent resident holding Indonesia Passport, no visa necessary for a short stay like a cruise stopover. Otherwise, visa is required for entry.

And, for returning to US port at the end of the cruise, friend will need to have passport & other documents (such as multiple entry visa as visitor to US) available for inspection by CBP.

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/cruiser/cmsPages.html?pageId=VisaRequirements

http://www.thebahamasguide.com/travel/visa.htm

NCL will be checking all the travel documents at the pier check-in and denied boarding if the papers aren't in order. It's best to check with NCL directly as to their latest requirements prior to sailing and with the government of the Bahamas.

Thanks for all your help. I was hoping it would not be such a hassle, but we'll try to make it work. Thanks again

make sure the line ok's your friend before buying....

It's best to ignore what the cruise line reps tell you; they are not immigration experts and often provide incorrect advice. If you take it, and you don't have the required documentation, you will be denied boarding and lose all your money. Go directly to the source, which would be the embassy.

The Bahamas requires a tourist visa for Indonesian citizens. You can check requirements here:

http://bahamas.visahq.com/requirements/Indonesia/