blanket visa

[adaminaby]

we are sailing on mvdiscovery march 2012 stopping at varies ports which require visas we have been informed that the ship will provide visas at a cost the question is are these visas only good if we do their shore excursions or can they be used to do independant tours?is it advisable to obtain our own visas before going.:confused:

[Keith1010]

Please list the countries you are visiting.

 

Our experience (on other cruise lines) is that the visas/permits that they obtain for us have been fine and we didn't have to use the shipboards excursions as long as we returned to the ship on the same day that everyone else did.

 

It is so much easier when the ship can obtain the visas for you.

 

Keith

[John Bull]

we are sailing on mvdiscovery march 2012 stopping at varies ports which require visas we have been informed that the ship will provide visas at a cost the question is are these visas only good if we do their shore excursions or can they be used to do independant tours?is it advisable to obtain our own visas before going.:confused:

 

Can I presume that you are Brit or US or Canadian or Aussie or Kiwi? :confused:

Malaysia & Thailand we've visited on Discovery, the visas provided by the ship are personal, not group visas, so you can happily do your own thing. The cost is just a few pounds.

Burma (Myanmar) has always been a bit of a dark regime, I don't know about visas.

Andaman Islands are split between Burma & India so it depends exactly where.

India I always thought visas had to be applied for direct, takes a while and quite expensive - but don't rely on that info.

India & Burma you need to check out very carefully.

 

Interesting itinerary :)

 

JB :)

 

Edit: Keith - looks like Singapore/Langkawi/Phuket/Yangon (Myanmar)(overnites)/ Andaman Islands/3 x India finishing at Mumbai

[Keith1010]

Can I presume that you are Brit or US or Canadian or Aussie or Kiwi? :confused:

Malaysia & Thailand the visas provided by the ship are personal, not group visas, so you can happily do your own thing. The cost is just a few pounds.

Burma (Myanmar) has always been a bit of a dark regime, I don't know about visas.

Andaman Islands are split between Burma & India so it depends exactly where.

India I always thought visas had to be applied for direct, takes a while and quite expensive - but don't rely on that info.

India & Burma you need to check out very carefully.

 

Interesting itinerary :)

 

JB :)

 

John for those citizens who require visas, yes, one must get an India visa on their own. The cruise line cannot obtain that for you.

 

Myanmar varies. Sometimes the cruise line can obtain it for you but if they do our experience was that we actually filled in a traditional visa application and brought it with us and turned it in at embarkation and that included visa photos. Another time I know that the same cruise line couldn't obtain them on board the ship and passenger's obtained them ahead of time.

 

There are many countries around the world where visas can be obtained on board the ship so it would be useful for the OP to provide specifics on the countries where visas are being obtained.

 

Keith

[John Bull]

and that included visa photos.

Keith

 

...... which reminds me, Discovery asked us to bring spare passport-style photos. Can't remember where for, and they were never used. But worth checking on the paperwork from the cruiseline

 

JB :)

[Keith1010]

...... which reminds me, Discovery asked us to bring spare passport-style photos. Can't remember where for, and they were never used. But worth checking on the paperwork from the cruiseline

 

JB :)

 

We actually now take extra photos on all our travels, even just in case our passport is stolen or lost.

 

Keith

[adaminaby]

we are travelling on australian passports,we are on mv discovery singapore to safaga march 2012,we will be obtaining our indian visa before leaving aus.thank you for letting us know that they are personal visas that are provided.

[John Bull]

Oman - can't help

Sharm/Safaga - the cruiseline will sort, an Egyptian immigration official will probably board in Salalah to process passports on the way. Again individual visa stamps. But altho' I generally prefer to do my own thing, for Safaga-Luxor the cruiseline excursion is the sensible way to go.

Aqaba - can't remember, but we certainly didn't need to do anything in advance. But for Aqaba - Petra, or Aqaba - Dead Sea (which is a dead loss), logistics again mean that ship's excursion is the way to go.

 

Discovery is a tired little old lady with very limited facilities & zero glitz, but very laid-back & friendly, and a great crew.

Enjoy

 

JB :)

[eh2zed]

If the cruise line says they will get blanket visas for certain ports then you will be covered whether or not you are on ship excursions. At least on your cruise. Not always the case elsewehere.

[jocap]

We've only done Aqaba from a Thomson's ship, and there were no problems about visas....and the ship was pretty up to date about Egypt visas, too- they have to be, for arranging the tours.

Sounds a super cruise....I think we'd enjoy Discovery.

Jo.

[CaveDiving]

we are sailing on mvdiscovery march 2012 stopping at varies ports which require visas we have been informed that the ship will provide visas at a cost the question is are these visas only good if we do their shore excursions or can they be used to do independant tours?is it advisable to obtain our own visas before going.:confused:

 

IMHO, a visa is a visa is a visa. It generally makes no difference whether you are traveling independently or with a ship's excursion.

 

Scott & Karen

[LHT28]

IMHO, a visa is a visa is a visa. It generally makes no difference whether you are traveling independently or with a ship's excursion.

 

Scott & Karen

Except in Russia

You need a independent VISA to go off on your own

but a blanket VISA you will be OK with a licensed tour guide or shorex

[John Bull]

Except in Russia

You need a independent VISA to go off on your own

but a blanket VISA you will be OK with a licensed tour guide or shorex

 

 

And China.

 

From HK, you can get an excellent cheap day-tour with local licenced operators, including being added to a group (blanket) visa, with just 24 hours notice.

If you wanted to do the same itinerary independently, you'd have to apply well in advance for a personal visa and you'd be paying about the same for just the visa as the tour trippers pay for their whole tour.

 

And there'll be other examples elsewhere in the world.

 

Sometimes a group visa makes a lot of sense.

 

JB :)

[LHT28]

Sometimes a group visa makes a lot of sense.

 

JB :)

 

I agree