Some crew members aboard Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady are being denied shore leave in New York, according to a message and shipboard announcement shared with Crew Center.
The crew member, who asked to remain anonymous, says the restrictions have affected the shore leave on embarkation days, even for basic shopping or a short break.
The announcement, posted on Friday, October 2, 2026, lists specific groups eligible for shore leave in Brooklyn/New York. It tells crew members to check an attached approved list and states that anyone whose name is missing cannot go ashore unless they are included on the working crew list.
Eligibility was limited to the following groups:
- U.S. citizens
- Canadian citizens
- Crew covered by the Visa Waiver Program
- Managers and officers
- Crew holding B1/B2 visas
Shore leave was available to some crew members, while others had to remain onboard. It does not explain who set the restrictions, why these categories were selected, or how long the limits will remain in place.
For the crew member who contacted us, the situation has become deeply frustrating. They say they have worked for Virgin Voyages for several yeras and spent more than 13 years working on ships calling at U.S. ports.
“We are treated like prisoners,” the crew member wrote, describing how it feels to remain onboard during New York calls.
They also say shopping opportunities in other ports are limited, leaving them dependent on Amazon and other online stores. According to their message, deliveries can take around 15 days to reach them.
The crew member also questioned why they cannot go ashore despite having an I-95 landing permit and years of experience working on U.S. itineraries.
Previous restrictions in New York and possible reasons
Crew Center covered similar restrictions before. In October 2019, temporary limits in New York and New Jersey required crew members to have completed five contracts before becoming eligible for shore leave. At the time, CBP linked the measures to seven crew members who had failed to return to their ships during a two-week period in September.
However, those temporary restrictions were later lifted. In a January 2020 follow-up, Crew Center cited a CBP statement explaining that shore leave permissions and restrictions were determined on a case-by-case basis. On the same article we documented further complaints from Spirit of Discovery crew about restrictions in New York.
In May 2023, Crew Center also covered the cancellation of shore leave for Marella Discovery crew in New York. A crew source attributed that decision to a crew member deserting the ship.
These earlier cases suggest that concerns about crew failing to return could be one possible reason for tighter shore leave controls. That has not been confirmed in Valiant Lady’s case. The announcement supplied to Crew Center does not mention a desertion or identify the authority behind the decision.
For the affected crew, the unanswered questions remain: why are they being restricted, how long will it last, and what can they do to become eligible for shore leave?
