Worldtraveler22

Any word on Dubai?

Interesting update from Port agency in Suez. Here is what he wrote to me today. You do not have to do anything, all will be arranged by us as port agent with the Cruise company. Wish you a happy sailing onboard and a lovely visit to our Country Egypt Best regards,

Thank you. I am a US Citizen too. But, we are in Egypt longer than 48 hours, it's 4 days. Could be that we need "something". Thank you.

Thank you. Who advised you that the multiple entry visa was required, Crystal or the Visa service? Which website did you use?

I did. The answer about cruise ships is not well covered.

Quick question. Did the ship handle your visa for Egypt or did you have to buy it in advance of your cruise? Inquiring minds want to know? Did you also go to Oman and Dubai? If so, what did you do for visas there?

Per a Seabourn Visa guideline…USA Nationals and Canadian Nationals entering Oman…A visa is required for a stay longer than 48 hours in each port. This Symphony cruise has 2 day stops in Oman. That may mean a visa is not required.

Thank you. I have seen that online as well but I’m skeptical of this evisa website. I found something issued by Seabourn which states for their passengers arriving in Egypt, Guests in transit will obtain a quick trip stamp good for 72 hours. This applies to most nationalities. Maybe that is the answer

Not exactly a straight answer in our case on this trip. We do need a visa per the description. The question is where to get it. As we are not arriving by air, it's different. I'll keep digging.

Yes, Visa Central says Dubai, Oman and Egypt require visas for US and Canadian pp holders. I also looked at the e-Visa for Egypt but couldn't tell if it was legit. I'll do some more digging. Thank you.

Thank you. The Crystal website's VISA link shows they do require them. I am hoping that the ship will handle them but I can't get an answer yet if that will be the case.

Egypt, Dubai and Oman -

In the past some visas were handled on board for guests. Can’t find out if that applies here for Egypt, UAE and Oman.

If anyone is on the October 9 cruise from Athens to Dubai have you had success buying your visas online from the government websites? I don’t want to pay a premium using Visa central. Thank you in advance.

Regarding the clergy, they play a big role for the crew, holding mass at least once a week. In addition, I have been on several cruises were a grieving guest needed the service of a religious person. It’s not just about the service in the Hollywood theater. In addition, the hosts typically are assigned rooms that are not designated as cabins that would be sold to paying guests.

I find them useful. What are you looking for?

If you get off the ship and go on an excursion that is part of the ship you don't have to buy a travel visa for Russia. This means you need to carry. your passport and go through the checkpoint coming and going. When I was last there a honeymoon couple was traveling and the husband had his passport stolen (or it got lost somehow) while on a tour. He could not reboard the ship and had to take the train to Moscow to get to the US Consulate to replace his passport so he could get back on the ship. This took two days and $$. Good thing we were in port for 3 days and it happened on day one. Needless to say, hand carrying your passport is not an ideal situation anywhere.

I’ve been to St Petersburg Russia many times and you cannot leave the port and return without your passport. I’ve had this be the case elsewhere too.

I believe the answer is YES to Starlink as I saw a post on Linked In by the IT director out of Monaco.

Has anyone heard of the return of Bridge classes on Crystal yet?

Never going to happen.

1. Paddle Tennis courts are dual purpose with Pickleball now. 2. Updated GYM and SPA 3. Higher cost per night pricing which may now exclude previous Crystal Cruisers who were able to try Crystal in the past couple of years. Living in Canada with a unfavorable exchange rate, it does not make Crystal affordable for most cruisers.

Thank you for posting this. I’m just curious…how receptive are the alternative restaurants to altering the ingredients? I ask because little on here interests my more traditional (simple) Italian tastes. Do they accommodate changes or substitutions?

That’s right. On Crystal you needed at least 3 days notice for security clearance.

Crystal Cruises allow(ed) this up until they stopped sailing. There was a fee.