brett_and_ciel

Even IF all things go to plan with vaccinations and case numbers etc ... NSW is saying end of November for the relevent level of restrictions lifted / reconsidered, and Royal Caribbean is selling coastal cruises  from mid-December, and in the US they require 14 days ship quarantines - so following the logic, the timing just doesnt align. At what point will the line be drawn? Speculation is fun huh

We literally just did this last week!

Be prepared to feel panicked and interrogated, and there will likely be a language barrier ... BUT it is all fine really!  People do this all the time - Immigration are used to cruisers, however the airlines were more cautious which took some time.

We sailed Spectrum of the Seas [Shanghai > Japan > Shanghai], and are from Sydney. We had a 24-hour transit visa on the way in, and the 72/144-hour on the way out. Souls like you  should be eligible for the transit visas at each end too.

Here is our experience and advice - hope it helps but everyone's experience is different, and we're not experts or official advisers obviously!

GETTING THERE...

• When you get to the (NZ) airport and check-in - let the airline know your plans and they can put a note on your passport record. They may be cool, or they may be confused/unexperienced!
• When you arrive in Shanghai, go to the 'Transit' area [its right at the far end] ... and basically do as your told [fill in a specific arrival document, line up, scan fingerprints, answer questions, show all your confirmation docs, etc] - you will be processed individually.
• Make a note of where in your passport the visa is - because your hotel will need to see it, and so will the cruise when you check-in

COMING HOME...

• When you get off the ship at the end of your fabulous cruise, follow the directions to the 'Foreigners' line and through immigration
• I'm not 100% sure as we didn't fly the same day - but I imagine you'll get a 24-hour transit visa which will let you out of the port into Shanghai [and to the airport] - again, note where your visa stamp / sticker is!
• The cruise offers transfer buses from the ship to airport [ours had a city-tour + airport or hotel drop off], or there are taxi's galore

GENERAL TIPS...

• Make sure you have multiple copies of your passport and your official itineraries/confirmation for the cruise and all flights [at least 3 copies of each per person]. Also print off any resources about the transit-visa's as reference.
• I would also have addresses of everywhere you're going in English and Chinese, as taxi-drivers don't speak much English. Hotel concierge can help. We sailed from "Baoshan" - but it's most often called Wusongkou Cruise International Terminal (上海吴淞口国际邮轮港) 
• Travel with CASH - in Shanghai, taxi's only take cash, and nowhere seems to offer credit card facilities except the hotel and some larger stores - it's cash or the locals use QR-codes / mobile-payments!
• Enjoy your holiday! It will be frenetic and loud and chaos, but that's the fun!

Hi... I’m on Spectrum now. Confirming Fang Lixin is CD - and he’s due to stay a while from what I’ve heard! Will try and find out timing. 

Anyway...

Back to the "do we / don't we qualify" of the visa topic ... I'm still confused about the coming and going eligibility and timing - because we fly in, cruise out, cruise back in, and fly out again ... all within a one week period. 

Let me explain...

• Fly: Sydney > HK
• Fly: HK > Shanghai
• Cruise 5n: Shanghai > Sea day > Nagasaki > Okinawa > Sea day > Shanghai
• Fly: Shanghai > Sydney

I'm 100% sure we qualify for TWO 144hr visas [blue and green above] - but are we eligible given one starts as the other ends?

The worry is if we make this assumption, and its incorrect or they decide to be difficult - then we're stuck! And are there limits in how long you spend in the pre/post China countries ?

I'm going to contact the embassy but wonder if anyone has done something similar successfully in the past to put my mind at ease!

Thanks!

Great question - I’ve been having the same consideration. I’ve not sailed on Spirit but have been on Pacific Explorer... I suppose the fact that Explorer is STILL on my list against a ship I haven’t been on is pretty telling!

I suppose it would come down to itinerary, theme, inclusions, water slides (though July?!) - especially if prices are similar... you’d have to weigh up the little things!

I would like to think they do FNDR!! I'm booked for Sunday night on Explorer OTS!

I'm also booked on Symphony OTS out of Miami in January 2019 - and I don't remember seeing it... but cruise planner did have BOGO and some really great multi-night deals [4 nights for what I've paid for 3 locally]- and of course at lower prices, sigh

It's worth it to give RCI a call to see what they can do, they're always so polite and quick [iMO], and at the very least you can ensure nothing goes wrong!

I saw a HUGE savings come up on our itinerary, however we were within a 150/100 days pre-sailing timeframe [sneaky?!?] so couldn't just 'change' it. But - the saving was so big that even with paying the stated cancellation fee, it worked out much better, and the difference almost covered a beverage package.

BUT - I called RCI to organise the change because I didn't want any accidents with the booking - we kept our preferred stateroom and the shore tours / specialty dining already booked. Confirmation email came straight away and all the transactions were processed really quickly [note that your refund WON'T be processed before your 'new' payment so you do need the funds available though we only waited less than a week... we're Australian, so i thought that was pretty good for an international transaction!]