Cruisy Guy

Thank you so much for the information and recommendations JAGR. You answered all my questions in full. You are obviously well aquainted with MSC and Seaside, it's always good to get advice from knowledgeable people.

We are sailing on MSC Seaside in the Caribbean this January. Reserving specialty restaurants is very confusing. We don't want to buy a package, as some of the restaurants in the package don't appeal to us.We just want to reserve our choice of restaurants on specific nights. Hopefully, we can then order from the fixed price "Dining Experience" section. Do we have to wait until after boarding to make a reservation? The same for requesting a specific dining time in the main dining room? That seems very chaotic since everyone will have the same idea once we board. Can anyone who is knowledgeable provide some advice?

As an update to my post in August, we were on a cruise on the Apex in October and were informed by the staff at the Martini Bar that they no longer serve martinis in the smaller glasses on the Classic Package. I found this to be very upsetting and felt these decisions were random depending on the ship and the whims of it's hospitality department. I complained to guest relations and they arranged an exemption for us. However, in order to avoid future problems, we upgraded our package. We later met another couple enjoying "small glass martinis" with a Classic Package..... I didn't ask.

It's official now. This is taken from the Egyptian Embassy facebook page today. Also worth noting, if you apply for an e-visa before the deadline and are on a cruise stopping for several days in Egypt, the embassy says I will only need a one time entry visa, not a multiple entry visa. BTW, single entry is cheaper. Celebrity Cruises advises that all passengers are covered by their "transit visas" for 72 hours. I like to be safe than sorry and got the e-visa.

Egyptian e-visas are good for 6 months.

Hurray! New information from the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa. Taken from their facebook page today, read the yellow box at the bottom.

Just got a reply from my email to Michael Pilach, Managing Editor PAX Global Media. He wrote a large article regarding Egypt's visa change. Here is what wrote me. I just came across your message in our inbox regarding Egypt visas for cruises. What a mess this has been for travellers, travel agents and tour companies. It appears the update came out of no where. I may, however, have some information for you about your upcoming Celebrity cruise. I was speaking with Celebrity's head of sales for Canada yesterday, and it sounds like cruise passengers will be able to obtain a 72-hour visa on arrival in Egypt. This is what I have from Celebrity's headquarters: 72-hour visa can be obtained upon vessel arrival for the most nationalities (including U.S, Canada, UK, EU, and Australia). For 72-hour visa guests, immigration officers will stamp the guest passports on arrival, which will allow them to stay in Egypt up to 72 hours. • A note for Canadian Guests: The 2023 changes regarding Canadians needing to apply for an Egyptian visa in advance applies only for entry by air. The authorities re-confirmed entry via cruise ships, for transit call purposes, guests can still apply for a 72-hour visa upon arrival as noted above. • Exceptions: Nationals of the countries referenced in SECTION I on the following link will require a pre-arranged visa prior to boarding the ship: Visas - https://egyptconsulate.co.uk/visas/ Celebrity may have already sent this to you -- and if they haven't, I assume they will soon as it is being circulated in travel agent circles. The issue is still evolving by the hour, but I hope this helps. Cruise passengers are sometimes treated differently than air passengers. Michael Pihach Managing Editor - English Canada Pax Global Media Inc.

I called Celebrity and the agent repeated that message word for word after conferring with his supervisor. Against my better judgement and not wanting to make the journey to Ottawa, I am going to rely on his word. However, if this turns out to be untrue, you will never see such a public display in your life.

I just got a reply from the Egyptian Embassy. They state that single entry visas are $150cdn per person and that multiple entry visas are $$205cdn per person. Seeing that we are on a cruise and are returning to the ship each night, does that constitute multiple entry? I don't trust Celebrity any more. I've gotten too much conflicting information from them. As a matter of fact, I tried calling them yesterday and today. Wait times on their customer service line was too long so I opted for an automated call back. Never did get a call back either time!

Here is the perfect visa application form. It is in fallible PDF form so you can fill it out on your computer and just print it out. Exactly the same as form required by Ottawa embassy. https://embassyofegypt.se/onewebmedia/Visa Application Form (updated).pdf

The PDF form was not accepted as an attachment. Can you possibly send it to me. My email is rlaychuk@hotmail.com That would be wonderful if you could. If nothing happens in the next few days, we will be going to Ottawa on Sunday and stay with friends there before visiting the embassy Monday.

Just found the Visa Application Forms for the Ottawa embassy as well as the Montreal embassy. The Ottawa embassy form is longer and the PDF is a bit fuzzy. Ottawa Form https://drive.google.com/.../1Vn76UjjAki0i5Y6U353.../view... Montreal Form (Choose 2-visa-form) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1q9Ovlbc-QaoqEyaB1-g6TFkoZ-ieFiP6?fbclid=IwAR25VVZ0kCmYcEbzH-9LBVoY5KIqTOTmtCkEBhsahJ_bl02oor2il7wetuU

We have decided to drive to Ottawa and also need to know exactly what we will need. Still don't like the idea of having to leave our passports there.

We are visiting Egypt mid October aboard the Celebrity Apex. I contacted our tour operator, Ramisside Tours. ,this is the response I got from them. "Okay, the official update is about Canadians arriving by flight to Cairo airport or any airport in Egypt. but as a cruise passenger you don't need a visa you only get a transit stamp in your passport. this is only for the passengers from the cruise ships you don't need a visa because you are not staying in Egypt you are just making a trip while your cruise stops in Egypt." I don't know if they are just covering their asses or the info they have from the Egyptian authorities is correct. Right now, nobody is sure what is going on. Ether way, we are going on the cruise hoping for the best.Going through the embassy's red tape is not an option.

When the news came out several days ago, only "Visas on Arrival' for Canadian citizens were affected. You could still get e-visas. I rushed to apply for our e-visas at a cost of $165US (Non refundable) through their e-visa portal. Since then, and during our wait for the visas to be approved, the Egyptian government further announced that as of October 1st, all e-visas issued to Canadians would be null and void. Wouldn't you know it, I received our e- visas that day! What irony. W have been thoroughly screwed by the Egyptians. We are travelling by cruise ship to Egypt mid October. I talked with my online agent who, in turn, contacted Celebrity Cruises. Apparently all of them have their heads in the sand and do not have a handle on the situation. Every time you contact them, you get a different answer.Very frustrating to say the least. Neither the Egyptian Embassy in Ottawa or Montreal are answering their phone. Obviously they have been inundated with calls. I hate the thought of going through the trip interruption insurance provided by my CC company but that may be the only thing left to do.