Caribbean Yacht Firm to Rebate Passport Costs

A yacht charter company headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and the Grenadines, jumped on the bandwagon to offer refunds on new passports for U.S. citizens bound for a sailing vacation in the Caribbean next year.

Horizon Yacht Charters (HYC) will refund the full cost of up to two first-issue passports, which amounts to $97 per adult, "to minimize the impact of the proposed travel initiative set to take effect December 31 on those who do not have passports but have plans to sail with us next year," said HYC Director Andrew Thompson.

U.S. citizens currently can travel with birth certificates to and from many Caribbean destinations, but the proposed regulation stipulates that they will be required to have a passport for reentry into the U.S. next year.

To qualify for the passport refund offer, guests must book their bareboat or crewed sailing charter of seven nights or more by Dec. 31 and present their new passport and official receipts upon checking in at the base.