Bpos

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

On Princess cruises, we have been charged AUD$5.

well that is good news - how long ago did you travel as I m quoting the $56 charge by Princess for the Vietnam Visa for travellers as recently as 4 months ago?

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

We have cruised to these ports on Princess. Any visas required were organised by Princess while we were on board.

You should go to the Ports of Call - Asia and then search Vietnam Visas - plenty of discussion there on this topic.

Unfortunately Princess will charge you $56 USD for your Vietnam Visas whereas Celebrity and RCL charge $6 USD.

The cost of the visa as set by the Vietnamese Government is $5 so any extra is a "processing charge" imposed by the cruise line.  However getting the visa onboard is a painless process and so even through you will pay much more with Princess than most other cruise lines, for convenience, probably the best way to go.

Just a proviso,  some countries, ie UK were getting 15 day free visa entry to Vietnam, still not sure if this is the case so if travelling on a UK passport or another country passport  (but not Australian) worth a check to see if you qualify for the "free Visa"

On ‎6‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 2:04 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

This often comes up on the Australia/NZ Forum and on Princess-related FB forums. Other cruise lines (Celebrity is one, I think) have been only charging $5 for a couple of years while Princess has been charging $56. Apparent part or most of that charge is a "processing fee".

The $5 visa fee imposed by the Vietnam Government has been so for some time now (at least a couple of years).  However while some cruise lines charge a $1 processing fee on top of that (ie $6) Princess line has continue to charge $56 and thereby imposing a very hefty "processing" fee on each and everyone of its passengers who transit through Vietham.

5 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

The main income for New Caledonia is financial support from France.

So True and the unemployment rate, particularly among the Kanaks is quite high.  With prices charged on the island we were not surprised to see so many what appeared to be unemployed and poor locals hanging around Noumea during our recent visit there.  One can only hope for a better outlook in the future but the city itself did not seem to go our of their way for tourism and enthusiasm for tourist to enjoy and spend money.

We went there 50 years ago and had a very different experience and after living in Port Moresby for the three years before our visit we were quite fond of the city with its distinctive French influence, which in the intervening years seems to have been replaced with concrete and quite plain looking homes and public building and shops.

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm booked on the Regal Princess Singapore to Sydney cruise next year, which is a USD onboard price cruise. In the Personalizer, under payments and credits, there is a heading "Optional Gratuity Pre Payment", at a rate of AU $20.27 per night. US rate is $14.50 for an inside cabin so that AU price is a fair conversion (current conversion is $20.93). I will decide closer to that cruise whether to prepay or not, as it depends what the exchange rate does in the meanwhile. If the AUD keeps nosediving I'll definitely pre-pay, plus I'll buy OBC to cover our drinks etc.

 

But, just to double-confirm, it is optional to prepay, not mandatory.

If you are worried about the exchange rate for the gratuities and OBC we are only talking about a few dollars so I would not let it worry you too much - all part of the cruising experience as well as credit card fees etc which often causes some people distress when the alternative of carrying lots of cash or taking travellers cheques which may or may not be cashed these days has inherent dangers as opposed to a card.

2 hours ago, NeilonBoard said:

Cruise ships generally anchor in Patong Bay (west coast) in high season or dock at Ao Makham (east coast) in low season. This is due to the monsoon season that can make Patong Bay an unsafe anchorage. I have never heard of a cruise ship utilizing both locations in the one cruise. Patong Bay is a tender port and you will be transported in to the hub of all dining, shopping and nightlife activities. If the ship overnights in Patong Bay the tenders should run till very late in the evening. Ao Makham is an industrial port where you can walk straight off the ship but you will need to take a taxi or ships tour to visit anything worthwhile. I believe in January the ship should arrive and depart from Patong Bay.

We were there in February and there were ships in Patong Bay that stayed overnight at ankor and passengers utilised tenders to get to and from the ship

I would look at the cost of air fares in making a decision.  I have used Silk Air from Singapore, a subsidiary of Singapore airlines, and they were very good, on time and full service airline.

10 hours ago, SuitesRbest said:

Very correct, at the moment they are offering an unlimited beverage package on our upcoming RCL cruise for $61.45 AUD per day including grats!!

 

That is a steal, on Ovation last week it was either $78 or $72 ( one or the other) USD to buy on the ship.  Not hard to consume a few drinks to make it worthwhile when a can of good beer was $8.25 USD and a glass of NZ wine $12 USD a glass.  

Just back from a family cruise on the Ovation of the Seas from Sydney and quite a different experience from our cruise on her sister ship, Anthem of the seas in the US late last year.

Never saw a fresh flower or carved watermelon  ( or any carved fruit or ice creations for that matter) on the Ovation but still at about half the cost of our cruise on the Anthem last year what is there to complain about (except no coffee bags available in the cabins).

The way things are going, am just a little concerned that we shall have to pack our own food on our next cruise!

Try Fatties in Bencoolen, Just over the road from the Bencoolen Ibis hotel and easy to get to by train. .   Old Singapore institution, not fancy but cold beer and good food.  Old Fattie died years ago but on last visit young Fattie now running the show.  Old haunt for airline staff stopping over in Singapore.

In Noumea now, can answer my own question.  Never asked by anyone, any where before getting on the ship, while on the ship or when getting off in Noumea.  Hope the situation does not change for others in future cruises to this destination

5 hours ago, herdingdogmom said:

NCL charged us $69 per person a few weeks ago.  We didn’t even get a stamp in our passport.  Crazy mark up and profit for NCL.

 

i asked my local Vietnam embassy but they didn’t offer the $5 cruise visa to me as an individual.  It is all a bit of a scam.

The reason your local Vietnamese embassy/consulate will not offer you a $5 visa is that the fees collected for visa by the said office pay for staff wages, running costs etc of the office.

The consulate here in Perth even tells clients that anyone travelling to Vietnam should get "their Visa from Them" as other means are highly suspect and you may not be admitted when you get there?  Which is a load of crap as most would be aware off.

2 hours ago, hallasm said:

I have just been visiting Vietnam - four ports with Voyager of the Seas. RCCL did arrange for ‘transit Visa’.

All passengers got a Vietnam landing card - Vietnam officials were stamping the landing card onboard before we were going ashore at the first port.

Guest requiring a Vietnam Visa was charged US$6 for the ‘transit visa’ valid for all four ports. Guests who wanted to stay in Vietnam over night was charged $28.

Guest from countries exempted a Vietnam Visa was not charged.

 

List of countries exempted a Vietnam visa:
Visa-free for 30 days: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore
Visa-free for 21 days: Philippines
Visa-free for 15 days: Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Russian, Sweden, Norway, Finland, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain
Visa-free for 14 days: Brunei, Myanmar

Great information that will assist other cruisers visiting Vietnam by RCL.    There is no doubt Princess are ripping off their passengers with the $56 charge when RCL do the same for $6.

9 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

I'd appreciate suggestions of a hotel to stay in for a couple of pre-cruise days in Phuket. I'm open to either something in an interesting part of the city or in a beach area.

We recently stayed at the Lantern Hotel and Resort in Patong.  Well kept botique hotel with great staff and the rooms were extremely modern and so clean, in fact so clean, the housekeeping was amazing.  Three pools in very clean condition and in the centre of all the action, beach (very nice too) a 10 minute walk, bars and restaurants all around, just step out the door and a huge shopping centre a couple of minutes away, again with many great restaurants etc.   Highly recommended and will not cost you an arm and a leg.

7 hours ago, tsutt35 said:

I opened all the small print attachments and the ports say it’s accepted. I’ll see if I can attach a screen shot. I’d be doubtful if someone hadn’t just used it recently. Worse case I’m $25 out of pocket. It was the Princess Cruises forum on Facebook. Think you have to be a member. 

 

Cannot see Phu My on the above list which is the port used for larger ships that cannot go up the river to HCM City.

But please come back on this forum after your trip so that others who travel Princess can benefit from your experience, as if there is a much cheaper option, all the better.

On ‎3‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 11:53 AM, tsutt35 said:

Thought I would update my research on this topic. My personaliser now shows US$56 per person.

 

I have been following a thread on a Princess forum on facebook and someone has just got back from a Princess trip where they did their own visa online and used that and only got charged a US$2 handling fee on ship rather than the US$56. The visa was US$25 so essentially half the price. I'm going to give it a go as it is essentially half the price.

https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/en

 

I would recommend caution here.  I cannot open that web site but I did check another and it advised that the only visa acceptable if arriving by sea was for one issued by an embassy in your home country (very expensive)  or one organised by the cruise line on your arrival.   It may well be  the authories allowed the case cited above entry but one can never be totally sure when dealing with Vietnamese authorities who sway with the wind on occassions.

Was the person who organised the visa online travelling on an Australian passport?   Because there are some 15 odd countries where citizens of those countries can be granted visa free entry for up to 15 days in which case some cruise line charge a $1 or $2 handling fee.  Australia is not one of the countries under this scheme.

Can you direct me to the Princess thread where this was discussed as I would be interested in reading it.

2 hours ago, Russell21 said:

Stays of 3 months or less than 3 months

Passport that is valid for at least 3 months after the return date

The supporting documents about:

Your livelihood in New Caledonia (example: bank card for international use, cash, etc.)

Your guarantees of return (ticket for returning to your country of origin or residence)

Your travel insurance certificate or health insurance (covering any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent health attention and/or emergency hospital treatment) Minimum coverage : 30 000€

The purpose of your stay

 

The above was extracted from the list of entry requirements as it appears in the Noumea Tourist Bureau website. Let this put to rest the ongoing mostly ill informed debate.

Well I would like to put it to bed as well, but no one has answered the one question I would like clarified.  Namely what checks or documentation was asked for in relation to travel insurance either by the French authorities or the cruise line from recent cruisers to Noumea?

Has anyone travelled to Noumea recently by way of a cruise?

If so, were you asked for documentation or ask to prove that you had comprehensive travel insurance..

A lot of cruisers on this forum have received recent notification from their respective cruise line that French authorities have specified visitors need

comprehensive travel insurance and that without it, you may be denied entry of the ship in Noumea.

Surely someone has been there recently?

1 hour ago, adamj26 said:

 

Are you considering taking a cruise without travel insurance?

 

Did I say that?    I am using credit card insurance as I have done for so many holidays and cruises in the past but usually do not have comprehensive documentation to produce other than the emergency phone number and booklet etc.

No one been to Noumea lately, would like to know if there travel insurance documents were checked before they were allowed to go ashore?

Can anyone who has been to Noumeaon  a ship in the past few weeks advise of their experience with this requirement, ie was it checked, enforced etc.

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 11:27 AM, DaisyRose said:

I was just on a Princess ship that stopped in Vietnam, and they charged us $56 each for the Vietnam visa.  I keep reading that Celebrity charges $6.  Yes, I think that Princess is using it as a major money maker.  It has made me feel negatively about Princess.  Might not cruise with them any more, and think I will try to avoid countries that require visas.  

 I agree with your comments.

I got soundly berated by a poster on a Vietnam Visa thread on this forum just recently for suggesting that Princess were gouging their passengers well above the norms for most of the other cruise lines visiting Vietnam.   He/she was quite emphatic that Princess were only providing a service to their passengers that it was wrong of me to suggest they were taking advantage of their clients.   

Give most ships carry at least 2000 pax, a charge of $56 USD as opposed to $6 USD is a nice tidy profit of $100,000 USD.

11 hours ago, Balsam12 said:

Has anyone done this recently?

 

We are cruising to Vietnam in March, and the documents received from RC state USD45 per person for the visa.

 

I also read that the Vietnamese Government did raise the fee from $5 to $45, but then dropped it back down to $5.

 

I thought maybe the documents were just out of date, so I called RC, and got a "Whatever it says on your documents" response.

 

I also spoke to a colleague who did a cruise to Vietnam in August last year with RC, and he said his documents also said $45, but they never actually charged him.

 

BTW we are Australian.

 

 

The visa fee imposed  by Vietnam on these type of visas may be $5 but the various cruise lines will add their charge on top of that.  Celebrity for instance $6USD, Princess $56 USD, big variation?

Be prepared for $45 but it could be less.

Your collègue may have been travelling on a passport which is currently exempt for short entries to Vietnam.  AUstralia is not one of those countries

Organising your visa through the cruise line for stops at ports of call will always be easier and cheaper than doing it before you sail.  The exception to this would be if you plan to do something out of the ordinary, like fly to Ankor Wat  from Saigon and then rejoin the ship in Halong Bay.  

The rules, exemptions, cost variations between the cruise lines continue to vary BUT THE CRUISE LINE ORGANISED VISA will always be the easiest, less stressful and in most cases the cheapest way to go.

i cannot put it any other way to assure cruisers to Vietnam

1 hour ago, wacamaw said:

Just wanted to let fellow cruisers know that we had our reservation booked here through booking.com and our flight was delayed from La to Sydney making us arrive a day later and after many attempts to reach out to them from booking.com and myself they refused a refund or credit of any type.  I totally realize that I booked a non-refundable room but at some point unforeseen circumstances such as this could be considered in my opinion. So please learn from my mistake and book refundable room.  

i

non refundable booking means just that, unless there was a clause stating delayed flights excepted.  As suggested above try your insurance, That why you take it out before travel.