Will Holland get us visa for Port Blair India ???

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We are doing a East & Asian Adventure one of the ports is Port Blair India will Holland get us the visa????

[Mary Ellen]

You will have to get your own visa for India. There have been reports of passengers without visas not being allowed to board cruises bound for India.

[chrispb]

India is one of those countries where you have to send your passport off for a visa, so HAL can't do that for you.

 

Sadly, the days of paying a tenner to enter have now long gone:(

[Omega1]

It's quite an involved and expensive process to get a visa for India for a UK citizen - probably the same for a US citizen. I hope one day in Port Blair is worth it!

[Bluwater7]

India ports - we did the Rotterdam last winter ... of all the India stops Port Blair was IMO the most interesting .... we did a Tuk Tuk tour.... and yes you have to get your own visa .... I do know that on this cruise passengers were allowed to board with no India visa's. Not allowed off at any of the India ports. Because we had the visa we did do a couple of other India tours and enjoyed them as well - really liked Port Blair.

[USN59-79]

We took a great cruise from Rome to Singapore last year on the Ocean Princess. It was such a hassle to get the India Visa (took 3 weeks with them continually rejecting it for trivial reasons) that we have vowed to never take another cruise that stops in India. If they want to treat tourists like that they will get no more business from this family.

[RJ2002]

We are going to India on a land vacation this year. I can share some information on the visa process.

 

The contractor that handles visas for the Indian government has recently changed. It is now BLS.

 

http://www.visa.blsindia-usa.com/index.php

 

They took over from the previous company earlier this year, and there have been horror reports about people's experiences. Mine, fortunately, went OK. My turnaround time for the BLS office in San Francisco was about 14 calendar days. Your office will be the Atlanta office. I would recommend allowing plenty of time to get your visas.

 

There is a very active thread on the Fodor's India forum which you may want to read. It will give you an idea of the frustrations others are experiencing. I suspect more people post when they have problems, but still, it is obvious this new company is having teething pains.

 

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/india-visa-beware-bls-international-so-far-a-disaster.cfm

 

edit: The online application process can be tedious. Be sure to fill out the application carefully and correctly. Follow all the instructions for the mail-in process exactly.

[Mary Ellen]

It must have been the old company when we got our visas for India. We just breezed though the process. Too bad things have apparently changed.

[RJ2002]

It must have been the old company when we got our visas for India. We just breezed though the process. Too bad things have apparently changed.

 

Yes, I'll bet the company you used was Travisa. The contract changed in June or July of this year.

 

We didn't have a problem with BLS, but it is clear others have.

[Vict0riann]

We heard, too, that people without their visas would not be allowed to board at the start of the cruise. I do hope something happens with HAL. They must be aware of the problems going on, and who wants to go through all that hassle for one day in Port Blair! Our TA here in BC says she can get our visas for us, but I don't know how, will have to check with her about timing!

[Bluwater7]

While checking in at Southampton this past Jan 10/2013 for the Rotterdam 88 days the two gentlemen beside us did not have visa's for India .... when asked about them they said "we do not plan on getting off in any of the 5 stops in India". They boarded along with the rest of us. Saw them many times around the ship. No hassle for them. We did our visa's through the internet and then mailed them to Toronto along with our passports .... back with in 3 weeks. No hassles. Canadian residents and citizens.

[USN59-79]

While checking in at Southampton this past Jan 10/2013 for the Rotterdam 88 days the two gentlemen beside us did not have visa's for India .... when asked about them they said "we do not plan on getting off in any of the 5 stops in India". They boarded along with the rest of us. Saw them many times around the ship. No hassle for them. We did our visa's through the internet and then mailed them to Toronto along with our passports .... back with in 3 weeks. No hassles. Canadian residents and citizens.

That might be a way to avoid the problems. We stopped in two ports, Mumbai and Cochin. Interesting to see what the British had built and the Indians neglected. Our tour guide was mentioning how clean Mumbai was while I was watching a local citizen urinating on the side of our bus. In Cochin we took a boat tour on the lake there. Watched a farmer herd about 600 ducks in front of us. On the shore, a local restaurant was washing its dishes in the same lake. Not a place I would ever like to order food again. But if we could just stay aboard the ship, that might be OK.

[HokiePoq]

Yes, I'll bet the company you used was Travisa. The contract changed in June or July of this year.

 

We didn't have a problem with BLS, but it is clear others have.

 

Difficult process but once we got through the difficult online part with Travisa, it was well handled. Some who used the company RCCL recommended had them LOSE their passports!

The Indian embassy in the US outsources this process. Check with the Indian embassy website to confirm the company that has the contract. Some on our recent cruise were confused by this and I was most grateful to our roll call on CC for the guidance we received. Do not go through an intermediate company as that increases the chance of loss.

I do not know HAL's policy on allowing those without visas to board. RCCL allowed people on the ship, just not off it in India when they did not have the visas. We had four Indian ports and it was worth the hassle to get it.

[chrispb]

I'd check with the HAL that they will, indeed, let you board and skip going ashore at Port Blair.

 

India is definitely worth the visa hassle but not sure if it's worth it for just the one stop.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for all the info ,I will get one good for 10 years..

[Vict0riann]

My DH was hoping we could get our Indian visas by going over to Vancouver and going to the Consulate, and trying to get it all done in person in one day. Not so easy! Their site says we have to do it through BLS Canada, which seems to be the place that is having problems in the US. Hope they sort themselves out quickly! :eek:

[RJ2002]

My DH was hoping we could get our Indian visas by going over to Vancouver and going to the Consulate, and trying to get it all done in person in one day. Not so easy! Their site says we have to do it through BLS Canada, which seems to be the place that is having problems in the US. Hope they sort themselves out quickly! :eek:

 

In the Fodor's forum thread that I posted earlier, I have not noticed very many references to BLS's performance in Canada, so hopefully that is a good thing! No news is good news?

 

I hope you have good luck when you apply.

[Jade13]

We took a great cruise from Rome to Singapore last year on the Ocean Princess. It was such a hassle to get the India Visa (took 3 weeks with them continually rejecting it for trivial reasons) that we have vowed to never take another cruise that stops in India. If they want to treat tourists like that they will get no more business from this family.

 

I need to send ours out in the next 2 days. What reasons were used to reject your application? Was this with BLS International? I printed out the sample application and it is 14 pages!

[chrispb]

Thanks for all the info ' date='I will get one good for 10 years..[/quote']

 

I don't think you can get 10 yr visas. Even we Brits can't and India is part of the Commonwealth (or what's left of it:D).

 

I think it's a country you'll want to return to though.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On the website it is a option... I think ..

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

10 years is available...