TVA

Thank you for remind me that my mom would need the multi entry visa for Japan. I almost slipped my mind too! I hope people on that cruise didn’t have to cancel their cruise because of the visa. Or at least got refunds for their expenses if they couldn’t go. I know it is our responsibility to get proper documents, but I do wish the cruise line could provide more guidance.

Thank you everyone for your recommendations and inputs. We are all very excited, this is our first time visiting Japan. But this whole visa thing for my mom really stresses me out. I’m hoping for the best. I hope my mom doesn’t have to cancel her cruise just because of my own oversight.

Thank you SO MUCH Northern Aurora for taking the time out of your cruises to respond and give me advice! I will give Celebrity a call. I was thinking having a written record from them would be better.

I appreciate the detailed explanation! I will inform my family so everyone knows what to expect. There are a couple people in our travel party who may need to save up their patience for this trip! 😭

Thank you for the info. We have a private tour booked in Osaka for a day in Kyoto. Our pickup is at 8:30am, 30 mins after the ship is scheduled to arrive in Osaka port. Should we schedule a later pickup time to accommodate the passport control process? On our previous cruises, we were told it was best practice to store our original passports in the cruises’ safes and only carry copies when we left the ships. But that was pre-pandemic. Have things changed or just Japan cruise is different?

Thank you for the suggestion DaKahuna. My mom asked Japanese and Korean consulates in Saigon, Vietnam but no luck there either. There are a couple of holidays in Vietnam that the consulates get off before month-end. She doesn’t have enough time to get either visa before her flight home. At this point, I just hope that either my mom is lucky enough to get both visas in a month between the time she comes back home and our trip in June; or Celebrity would let my mom board with just her Japan visa. She’s ok with staying onboard in Busan. On a side note, I really enjoyed reading your live report on Millennium Panama Canal. Crossing Panama Canal is on my bucket list.

What happened to those passengers on your cruise? Did Celebrity allow them to board without proper visas? Were they able to just stay onboard in those countries that they didn’t have visas for? We will try our best to get all the necessary paperwork before we leave. But just in case things don’t go smoothly, I want to know our options.

You’re correct. My mom is a permanent resident (green card holder) but not a US passport holder. The rest of our family are US passport holders. I’ve also reached out to Korea Embassy for guidance. But none of the links they provided to book an appointment worked. And they said it could be because their schedule is full…Visa Central said Korea Embassy had suspended all visa services and that we should contacted the Embassy directly for guidance…

Thank you. I booked our cruise directly with Celebrity. I emailed Celebrity last night, hopefully I’ll hear back from them soon.

PLEASE HELP! We’ll be on Celebrity Millennium June 8 this year, sailing round trip from Yokohama with a port stop in Busan. Just learned yesterday that my mom would need visa to enter both Japan and Korea. We live in northern Virginia but she’s currently out of the country and won’t be back until beginning of May. Both embassies require original passport and in-person submission. Korea Embassy also requires appointment to submit visa application. We’re flying to Tokyo on June4. I’m worried that my mom won’t have enough time to obtain both visas. My questions are: 1. Does Celebrity allow my mom to board our cruise with just a Japan visa? 2. Would Celebrity help passengers obtain visas on arrival in Busan if needed? I heard some cruise lines do this. 3. Can my mom just stay on board in Busan if she doesn’t have her Korea visa? Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated!