retep55555

We will be on a Princess cruise soon and was looking at purchasing some cash gift vouchers in USD (as the cruise is in the US) to have on our on board account.  If I do this I want to be able to take some of the money out to spend when we are in various ports.  You purchase the vouchers in $100 lots on your Personaliser like you would a tour or a spa treatment etc.  I want to make sure that I can cash the money out while I am on board....

Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

Yes a cold wet sail out from Sydney observed from the shelter provided by the tender boats on Deck 7. Vivid pretty disappointing but anything looks good when sailing out of Sydney Harbour! Weather not much better today here in Brisbane. Seas were surprisingly mild on the way up with the sighting of whales in the far distance!

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This is my blog.... I will do a separate blog for those interested in our Route 66 drive from Chicago to LA.

https://winterescape2018.blogspot.com

Happy reading.

Sharon

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Hey Shaz..... if it was the circle pacific that missed Halifax, then you were way off course lol...... it was on the world cruise you missed it , in the Atlantic lol

 

 

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Correction..... my mistake!! Thanks Jo.....

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I also want to say a special Bon Voyage to packetau and retep55555 who are doing half of the world cruise.

Point of correction Stu.....

We (retep55555) are doing three quarters.... getting off in NY to drive R66..... and

Joanne and Gaz (packetau) are doing the full world cruise.

I will also being doing a blog for our cruise plus a separate blog for R66... you can post the URL here when I have it finalised for anyone interested.

On another note we got notification today that Charlottetown has been cancelled and substituted with Halifax on the day after.

I don’t really mind as we missed Halifax on the Circle Pacific due to icebergs!!

Must get the packing started!!

Sharon

No, it is not Shanghai. The cruise is a round trip from Tokyo. Only 1 port stop is in China and that city is Xiamen. The travel China Guide website and a few other sites say we do not need a visa if transiting thru by plane, train or cruise ship for under 24 hours. However, those are just travel sites and not official. The Princess website says a visa is needed. It is more important to us to be allowed on the ship than to be refused boarding. The frustrating part is that we had Chinese Visas in our last passports. We did not keep the passports after replacing them with new passports. We never expected to return to China and if they were just double entry, they might not still be good anyway. It is less expensive to pay a passport service than to travel from Florida to Texas to get the passports in person.

You will need a visa as Shanghai is the only port that is exempt from visas.

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If it is just Shanghai you are visiting the rules have only just changed recently and you don’t need a visa if cruising in and out on the same day and same ship. I would check with your cruise line.

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You can read about our experience in this forum under “1 day in Shanghai” as it was a long reply.

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Ok.... home now. Shanghai was nearly a disaster. We were on P&O Arcadia. In our booking info (from P&O) it stated that you could only get off the ship if.... you had a visa (which was a paid visa and obtained before boarding costing about $100aud) OR you were booked onto a ship’s tour (where they apply for the free transit visa on your behalf) OR you were booked onto a private tour with 2 or more people through an accredited tour company.

We used the last option and booked a private tour for 7 people through an accredited tour company. I had to email copies of our passports to them so that they could apply for our free transit visa. The tour company reassured us that there would be no problem as all we had to do was to advise them at immigration and our names would be on a list... it was not that simple.

When we boarded I made an appointment to discuss how it was going to work with the Asst Admin Manager. He checked our documents which had been sent from the tour company and he advised that there would not be an issue. Great we thought. Other passengers were doing the same thing but only had copies of their tour tickets with no supporting evidence from Immigration which we had. The day before we arrived in Shanghai all passengers that were “qualified”to get off the ship we’re advised to pick up their passports from reception. Well none of our groups passports were there and we were told NO you don’t qualify! So back to square one and the admin manager who coincidentally was talking to the immigration officials who were already on the ship (they had boarded at our last port). In fact they were talking about our group as they were thoroughly examining our documents so good timing for us. After some deliberation they said NO can’t get off.... this was immigration and not the ship. After much discussion they rang and spoke to the tour company who emailed them more information. We were still not given a definite answer. At midnight the night before our arrival we were advised to come to reception in the morning ready to get off the ship.

In the morning we were told still not approved and immigration were holding all our passports. We were then escorted off the ship by the manager to a holding area before going through the immigration gates where we stood for around 45 minutes until we finally got the approval and were given our passports! Phew!!!! Only an hour late to meet our guide but she was aware of the issues as she had to provide further documentation on the morning. For the length of time, hassle and uncertainty (and not to mention stress!!) I would in future book a ship’s tour or if you are in China for more than one day get your own visa. It certainly was not the ship’s fault it was the Chinese Immigration officials. We did have a great day. We were the only private tour people that were allowed off the ship as no one else had any supporting documentation that they had been approved for the free transit visa. There were a lot of very unhappy people and we could have easily been one of them if we were no so persistent. I hope this helps....

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I am totally confused about the visa. Our Diamond cruise has 1 stop for 1 day in China. Princess says visa is required, but the city is Xiamen which is on the list for not needing a visa for a 24 visit. It would be nice to know and expensive to get a visa if not necessary but just required by Princess

We had/have the same experience on P&O UK where they say you have to book a ship’s tour or buy a visa BUT I found in the fine print that you didn’t need a visa if you were a group of 2 or more booked in a tour with an “approved” tour company. Apparently they do all the paper work for the “free” visa. I have printed out all the information for the ship so fingers crossed for when we are in Shanghai in about 2 weeks!

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We are on the Sunshine Coast and appear to be on the same cruise. Just booked today.

Any luck with a Shanghai tour?

Ta.

 

 

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Oops! Sorry just saw your message. Yes we have booked a 10 hour private tour for 7 of us. I had to send copies of our passports and they arrange the “visa” which are at no cost. Hopefully it will all pan out on the day.... they have assured us all will be ok. Are you getting on in Brisbane?

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On Viator the Chinese list themseves as licensed and have pic of the license. I do not know if this is what you need/want but it is a place to start.

Interesting.... I emailed them yesterday and they said no they don’t do it! I’ll check out their website.

Thank you

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Does anyone know where to find a list of government approved tours for Shanghai that qualify for the visa exemption?

I am looking for same.... did you find it? Or a good tour company? We go in March...

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It's my understanding that the October change for cruise ship visa wavers did not strictly require you to be on a ship's shore excursion, but rather on a shore excursion run by a government approved / authorized tour agency.

 

 

 

Larry

Yes this is what I believe and what our ship’s info is... now to find an approved tour provider.... any suggestions??? The one I had been in contact with is not....

Thanks for any suggestions.

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When we were there in 2015, Hainan Island was an exception to the visa policy for the rest of China, no visa was required when we went on ship's excursion (similar to Saint Petersburg in Russia) Here is what is on their tourist site

 

 

 

 

 

Visa-free entry policy

 

Individual tourists with Singapore, Japan, Brunei and Mongolia passports are able to enjoy visa-free acess to Sanya or Hainan for up to 15 days.

 

 

Tourists groups who hold passports from 26 countries can enjoy visa-free access to Hainan for up to 15 days. They are Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Philippine, Indonesia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, France, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Ukraine, Kazakhstan. Nationals of Russia, South Korea, and Germany can stay for up to 21 days with a tour group of a minimum of 2 people.

 

 

 

This is the site:

 

 

 

http://en.sanyatour.com/plan/before-you-go/visa-information-2/

 

 

Thank you.... I have found out that the 15 day exemption does apply to our cruise BUT you have to book a tour from the ship as they apply for the exemption prior to arrival OR if you book a tour with a private tour company they have to be approved to apply for visa waiver on your behalf. You have to produce evidence to the ship before they will let you off. Now to find a tour company that does this.....

Thanks all for your advice and help.

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Never believe what other people tell you about visa requirements, things can change overnight.

 

 

 

1. Check to see what your cruise line says.

 

 

 

2, Do a search on this forum - lots of messages.

 

 

 

3. Check what the web what the Chinese say their visa requirements are.

 

 

 

4. Check what the Australian Foreign Ministry say the visa requiremnts.

 

 

 

5. Check some chinese visa expediting web sites to see what they say.

Great... thank you! After doing a bit more digging I have found the correct information.

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We are going to Shanghai for the day in March on the Arcadia. I am from Australia. I have been told that you no longer need a visa to visit Shanghai on a cruise ship I have also been told that you have to do a ship’s excursion if you want to get off the ship. Is this correct? What happens if you do a half day excursion which say ends at 1pm and you are in port till midnight.... do you have to go back to the ship after the excursion and be confined or can you do your own thing off the ship? Ideally I would like to not get a visa and be able to organise my own private tour guide. Any info or advice greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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Forgot to mention I did the midnight concert excursion too which was very good and worth the late night.

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Such a good report thanks. We are on Sept 9 on Polaryls. Looking forward to it but maybe not the reindeer steak. Did you have someone on board that conducted hikes?

Just back from the Polarlys... Yes they do offer hikes and one is free which we did. They also put the menu for the night on the table at breakfast time so it is a good idea to check it. On the night of the reindeer steak I asked for an alternative which was fish but you have to prearrange this. The food was superb!

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We're thinking of doing this same cruise next March in hopes of seeing the Aurora. We'll pack for cold weather. How long were you in ports that had excursions? Did the ship do a lot short dockings to take on or let off cars and passengers?

Just returned from the Polarlys round trip.... We were often only in port for 15 mins... Not long enough to get off really. Some ports were 30, 45, 60, 90 minutes which was worth getting off. You always dock right in the middle of the town so everything is relatively close by. There is often not a lot to see in these towns. Some ship's excursions start in one port and they travel overland and pick up the ship at another port. The ship stops at ports during the night too so don't choose a cabin near the car ramp. I would not pre book any excursions... Wait to you are on board. One the first day they will have a talk on all the excursions for the first half... Bergen to Kirkenes. None of the excursions were booked out and you could book up to the night before and sometimes on the same day.

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Did you book your excursions before or after you boarded? What was some of your favorite excursions or were there any that you wouldn't bother to do? Also, any other tips for first time Hurtigruten sailers would be great!

 

We are booked on the Polarys next March and are looking forward to a cold but exciting trip.

 

 

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We just came back from the return trip on Polarlys. Make sure you are in a renovated cabin. We were in an inside cabin on deck 3 and it was unrenovated. Although the condition was good the layout does not allow for large cases to be placed under the bed so you are always moving them around. The renovated cabins also have more storage whereas we just had a small robe and an open shelf. We only did 2 excursions... The Geiranger Fjord and the North Cape. Regretted not doing the Atlantic Road but thought it not ideal in a large bus. The food was amazing on the Polarlys. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole cruise. No need really to do a lot of excursions although you will be travelling at a different time of year to us.

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Thats a real shame. Pitcairn is a bucket list item and one thats rather hard and expensive to do on ones own.

 

I was reading last week of some tourists who went there. They had to fly to Tahiti and then sail on the trading boat that visits the Island once a week . Out of the 12 that went only 2 could witness the arrival at Pitcairn as the others were too seasick.

 

When we called , the Islanders came aboard but had to pack up hurriedly and leave at noon as a storm was brewing. Later we heard it took them 24 hours to get ashore in their longboat. Its a rugged life out there.:eek:

Someone said on this year's WC that Princess ships are not allowing the locals on board any more... not sure how true that is.

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Missing you guys plus Jo & Gazza on 11 aft.

 

Enjoy Norway.

We miss you guys too! The back deck is very lonely and cold!! Next year is not far away you know....

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How innovative turn ye olde Princess bags inside out. Enjoy Hurtigruten, heard good things about them.:cool:

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Good idea. Would love to be on the Hurtigruten right now. Are you doing the Coastal Voyage?

Yes we are... up and back!

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