China visa

[TravelMore&More]

We just returned from our cruise on RCCL Ovation of the seas June 2016. RCCL required Americans to have China visas as we were stopping in Hong Kong for 2 days, with a port stop at Xiamen, and then finally disembarked in Tianjin for Beijing. As helpfully stated by Bowie MeMe, you Must make sure of your requirement or you wont be allowed on the ship. When we were checking in in Singapore, there was panic on the rep's faces when they thought I said that I did not have a Chinese visa. After they realized I had one, they said if we did not have a China visa we would have to get off the ship before entering China. A $200 visa is not worth ruining your vacation over what someone misstated.

 

Also when we applied for our Chinese Visa's in April 2016 we used a service, and applied for a 10 year visa which was granted. However, others have only been granted 6 months, or something minimal. As others have posted the Chinese determine how long.

Yes you need a visa for this itinerary as you have 2 consecutive stops in China (Xiamen and Tianjin).

[jammer5122]

We just returned from our cruise on RCCL Ovation of the seas June 2016. RCCL required Americans to have China visas as we were stopping in Hong Kong for 2 days, with a port stop at Xiamen, and then finally disembarked in Tianjin for Beijing. As helpfully stated by Bowie MeMe, you Must make sure of your requirement or you wont be allowed on the ship. When we were checking in in Singapore, there was panic on the rep's faces when they thought I said that I did not have a Chinese visa. After they realized I had one, they said if we did not have a China visa we would have to get off the ship before entering China. A $200 visa is not worth ruining your vacation over what someone misstated.

 

Also when we applied for our Chinese Visa's in April 2016 we used a service, and applied for a 10 year visa which was granted. However, others have only been granted 6 months, or something minimal. As others have posted the Chinese determine how long.

 

Please write a review. We will be doing a Hong Kong round trip on the Ovation in Oct. Was yours a cultural cruise?

[SonicShip]

Michael: I'm curious whether you had any issues at the Incheon airport. Miranda got to the ticketing booth and the agent said she did not have the proper stamps. After checking with another ticketing agent and making a call, the agent gave Miranda a boarding pass. But then, Miranda was stopped at security and taken to the security office where she had to answer multiple questions explaining why she was in the country "illegally." Her passport number was not in the computer system and she did not have the proper stamp. (Miranda told us that the first immigration/customs agent trying to process those disembarking the cruise kept losing his computer connectivity and had to re-boot 3 or 4 times). Even though she the South Korean security officials she came in on a cruise, she kept being asked which plane she arrived on. Then, eventually, they thought she meant she was a crew member on a ship. When she explained she was not a crew member but a guest, they thought she arrived in South Korea on a small boat. She then had to sit on a chair outside the security office, while they tried to figure out what happened. Meanwhile, 4 guys were paraded by in handcuffs. We were out to sea by then and getting this information by text. It was over an hour before they determined she was not in the country illegally, stamped her passport and allowed her to go through security. Thank goodness she arrived at the airport early or she would have missed her flight.

 

Here is a quote from our roll call on the Ovation of the Seas. I think getting a visa is always the best plan.

[Gordo]

Yikes. That would have been scary.

 

We will get the Visa. Thanks for sharing.