Cruising offers a wonderful opportunity to see multiple places without the hassle of having to navigate the business of airports and train stations, hire cars or choose hotels. The comfort of a luxury yacht or ocean liner makes the entire journey a pleasure.
There are a couple of options when cruising to or around the Maldives. It is an extremely popular region of the world, for good reason. The coral reefs are exquisite, the beaches powdery white and the azure ocean warm and inviting.
A number of ocean liners call at Male the capital of the Maldives. The capital is the only deep water port able to take cruise ship, so your visit will be restricted to Male or you could arrange, ahead of time a private excursion to a number of different islands. As part of the service to you, the passenger, you will be entitled to disembark and go on either one of the ships organised excursion tours or you could visit the capital and surrounding islands yourself. The disadvantage to this is that the ship usually only stays a day and you have limited time to really soak in the magnificence of this wonderful archipelago.
If you are planning your cruise to the Maldives in a private sea-going vessel and are coming in from a different country, there is local legislation about which you need to be aware. The process is regulated and there procedures and regulations which need to be maintained.
If you come on a foreign tourist vessel, you will need to appoint an agent who is both authorised by the Maldives Customs Service and resident in the Maldives. He will act on your behalf and fulfil the requirements that need to be met for you to cruise to the Maldives. He actually does all the work. You just need to know about it.
It begins with an application for a permit to enter the harbour. This would be made to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture with a fee to get the permit.
The second document that you will require is a Charter Licence which will entitle you to cruise the island chain. This licence will contain information pertaining to the captain and the number of tourists on the vessel. There are official ports across the Maldives, through which you are expected to enter and exit.
There is one further fee about which you need to be aware. There is a tax of $6 per day per tourist staying longer than 12 hours. This money would have to be paid to the Maldivian Inland Revenue Service prior to your departure.
Special permission needs to be given to bring pets to the island, although, please note, dogs are not allowed.
Most of this red tape is easily dealt with via your agent. It is just very important for you to know about when you are planning your next cruise through the Maldives.