Falmouth Harbour, English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard. Antigua wants an import permit, which we arrange through the agent. Once it is on file, 48 hours’ notice.
Antigua is one of the destinations that requires an import permit before cut flowers can land. This is the single most important thing to know about flowers here, and it is why boats that leave it to the last minute end up with whatever the island has rather than what they wanted.
The application is made by the agent at the destination, because it has to come from someone registered in the country. We arrange it and we chase it, so it is our job rather than yours, but the name on the form is the agent’s. It takes 5 to 7 working days, and it is done once for the season. Once granted it stays on file and every later order on the same species list goes straight through.
It also does something people do not expect: it fixes the species list and the country of origin. Once granted, nothing can be substituted at the auction. If the permit says Dutch-grown roses and the auction that morning has better Kenyan ones, the Kenyan ones cannot go.
What that means in practice is simple. The permit, not the flight, sets the lead time. Tell us the date early and the rest is routine.
Once the permit is in hand, we buy at the Aalsmeer auction in the morning against the approved list, pack cold, and have the consignment inspected and certified on site. It flies out of Schiphol as perishable cargo, consigned to your yacht as ship's stores in transit. The agent in Antigua has all four documents 48 hours before the flight lands and clears against the permit. Boxes to the passerelle, cold.
The Antigua Charter Yacht Show in early December is the week the entire Caribbean charter fleet is alongside in Nelson's Dockyard and Falmouth, being shown to brokers. Every boat wants flowers, all on the same two mornings, and the island cannot supply that from local stock. It is also the week where the flowers on your table are being looked at by the people who decide whether your boat gets chartered.
The permit takes 5 to 7 working days. Work backwards from that and start in October.
Yes. Antigua requires an import permit before cut flowers can land. We arrange it, though the application itself is made by the agent at the destination because it has to come from someone registered there. It takes 5 to 7 working days and it fixes the species list and the country of origin, so nothing can be substituted once it is granted. You only do this once. After that the permit stays on file.
Once the permit is in place, 48 hours’ notice and then about 35 hours in the air, so roughly three days from your message. The permit has to be granted before anything is bought, so plan it about two weeks ahead of your first order. After that it covers the season. Tell us the dates as early as you can and it is in place before anyone needs it.
Yes, and it is the busiest week of the Caribbean year. Every boat in Nelson's Dockyard and Falmouth wants flowers on the same two mornings. Start in October, because the permit alone takes 5 to 7 working days.
Falmouth Harbour including the Antigua Yacht Club Marina, English Harbour and Nelson's Dockyard, Jolly Harbour and North Sound.
The agent at the airport, working from the four documents we send 48 hours before the flight lands. Nobody on board speaks to anyone.
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