New member and new to Celebrity

Hi all,

Firstly please bear with me if I post things in the wrong place, or ask questions that have been asked before or sound stupid. I've never posted anything in my life before so probably will get things wrong.

I'm going on my first Celebrity cruise on Constellation on 29th Jan 18, to Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and have a few questions.

1) I'm getting conflicting information from my travel agent, Celebrity and the Vietnam embassy regarding a visa. I'm an Irish passport holder and would like to confirm if I can get a visa on board the ship. I've been advised by the Vietnamese embassy that I need a multiple entry visa which costs £114 plus postage. However I've seen some info which suggests you can get one on board for approximately $40 but I'm not sure if that's just for US citizens.

2) On our last day our transfer is due to pick us up from the ship at 11:00am to take us to the airport. As our flight isn't till 21:00 I don't want to waste time sitting at the airport when I could be looking round Singapore. Does anyone know if there is anywhere we could leave luggage or if there is a tour that allows us to maximise our last day? The last day tour offered by Celebrity would drop us off at 14:00 again too early.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Celebrity. Your questions are valid. and you will likely find the best answers on the ports of call boards and the roll call for your cruise. We have never been to Singapore but in other ports where we had later flights we have booked a private tour for a day of sightseeing to deal with the what to do with our luggage. We have used the roll call thread to find a few others to reduce the cost of a day tour or even just transfers.

Hi all,

 

Firstly please bear with me if I post things in the wrong place, or ask questions that have been asked before or sound stupid. I've never posted anything in my life before so probably will get things wrong.

 

I'm going on my first Celebrity cruise on Constellation on 29th Jan 18, to Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and have a few questions.

 

1) I'm getting conflicting information from my travel agent, Celebrity and the Vietnam embassy regarding a visa. I'm an Irish passport holder and would like to confirm if I can get a visa on board the ship. I've been advised by the Vietnamese embassy that I need a multiple entry visa which costs £114 plus postage. However I've seen some info which suggests you can get one on board for approximately $40 but I'm not sure if that's just for US citizens.

 

2) On our last day our transfer is due to pick us up from the ship at 11:00am to take us to the airport. As our flight isn't till 21:00 I don't want to waste time sitting at the airport when I could be looking round Singapore. Does anyone know if there is anywhere we could leave luggage or if there is a tour that allows us to maximise our last day? The last day tour offered by Celebrity would drop us off at 14:00 again too early.

 

 

 

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance.

Have you checked out the Embassy of Vietnam's webpage?

http://vietnamembassy.org.uk

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hi Mr Click thank you for your reply I'll have a look at the pages you suggest.

Hi Bengaltiger1, yes thank you I have and they've told me that it will be £114 plus postage. Which is why I was looking to see if anyone has been onboard that could confirm if the information about I saw about being able to get a visa onboard the ship for approximately $40 is correct and if it is only for US citizens.

Many thanks to you both for your assistance.

Hi Mr Click thank you for your reply I'll have a look at the pages you suggest.

 

Hi Bengaltiger1, yes thank you I have and they've told me that it will be £114 plus postage. Which is why I was looking to see if anyone has been onboard that could confirm if the information about I saw about being able to get a visa onboard the ship for approximately $40 is correct and if it is only for US citizens.

 

Many thanks to you both for your assistance.

We stopped at three ports in Vietnam in 2011 on an Azamara (sister line to Celebrity) and the ship automatically obtained a group visa for everyone on board for, I believe, a cost of US$40 pp. We are British passport holders but as Irish passport are also EU passport, I am sure that the same applies to you and it is unlikely that things have changed in the meantime.

However, regulations do change even over just a few years. Speaking to Celebrity is unlikely to get you a straight answer and, as you have learned, it is difficult to get a straight answer about visas from embassies and visa agencies when you are cruising (often a "special case"). IMHO (in my humble opinion) checking out your Roll Call or the Ports boards is likely to be the best paste for information. Someone there is likely to have tracked down the correct answer.

Have a great first cruise. I am sure that you will having found this forum.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Celebrity. Here is the roll call for your cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2421982

People on here will help you with specific questions.

Hope this cruise is the first of many for you.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Celebrity. Your questions are valid. and you will likely find the best answers on the ports of call boards and the roll call for your cruise. We have never been to Singapore but in other ports where we had later flights we have booked a private tour for a day of sightseeing to deal with the what to do with our luggage. We have used the roll call thread to find a few others to reduce the cost of a day tour or even just transfers.

You can do a free tour from Singapore airport (Changi). You can check your luggage in and depart from airside. I believe you cannot leave the bus but will have approximately three hours to enjoy the sights. This might suit if you took the last time disembarkation and taxi to the airport. You can look at the timings of the tour online.

Hi all,

2) On our last day our transfer is due to pick us up from the ship at 11:00am to take us to the airport. As our flight isn't till 21:00 I don't want to waste time sitting at the airport when I could be looking round Singapore. Does anyone know if there is anywhere we could leave luggage or if there is a tour that allows us to maximise our last day? The last day tour offered by Celebrity would drop us off at 14:00 again too early.

 

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

You can leave your luggage at Singapore airport while you go on tour. Check here: http://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-experience/attractions-and-services/baggage-storage.html

You can have a tour with the Hop On Hopm Off Bus Tour. Check here: https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/singapore-bus-tours

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Re Changi airport....Last time we were there we paid to book into a business lounge (we were flying economy) as we were flown in at 2pm and not flying out until I think 10pm....

Although it was not cheap the food and drinks were plentiful and good, seating was comfortable and we could shower and change pre flight. If you add up the cost of drinks, food, coffee it makes it a worthwhile deal.

It is a couple of years now since we were there so check on line options, they do change frequently. You could combine this with the coach tour recommended in a previous post. Nice tour, relaxing meal and drinks in the lounge, freshen up and fly!

Hi All

Thank you so much for your replies, they've been fantastic. We've got loads of ideas now for our last day in Singapore from the left luggage to the lounge. Fantastic.

Thank you also for the guidance to the roll call for our cruise that will give us an idea of what excursions are available and allow us to join up on independent excursions.

Once again thank you all for your assistance you've all been great.