Visa for China

[nicko@H]

Have been informed if we visit Shanghai on our Celebrity cruise but don't leave the ship we don't need a visa.?Can anyone confirm this

 

 

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[Canada17]

Have been informed if we visit Shanghai on our Celebrity cruise but don't leave the ship we don't need a visa.?Can anyone confirm this

 

 

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There have been many posts on this subject, take a look at Millennium Roll Call for October 16, 2016 cruise. In short, there are no definitive answers to the visa requirements and even visa centres are not clear. Celebrity Cruise lines is no help. The issue is with the new 144 hour visa exemption. However, it clearly states that it only applies if you are entering from a country, going into China (Shanghai) and then leaving to a 3rd country. In our case, we go from Nagasaki to Shanghai then to Okinawa, which are both the same country (Japan) which by letter of the law, the 144 hour visa exemption does not apply. The big question/concern is whether the port authority at you point on embarkation interprets the visa requirements the same way and if they feel you don't have the proper documentation (passport, visa etc) you may be refused boarding. No different from an airport check-in, where you would not be allowed to board if you did not have proper documentation. IMHO, better to have a visa and avoid the stress and risk of being denied boarding.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just get the visa. They're actually little works of art. In SF, it is possible to get same day or, at least, next day service.

Edited July 28, 2016 by Flatbush Flyer

[Scrapnana]

Do you really not want to get off in Shanghai or don't want to go through the (at times) trying process of getting a visa?

Edited July 28, 2016 by Scrapnana

[Keith1010]

I would contact Celebrity on this or the Chinese consulate.

 

Rules continue to change and I would not recommend relying on the information here because of that.

 

Keith

[Shorex]

I would contact Celebrity on this or the Chinese consulate.

 

Rules continue to change and I would not recommend relying on the information here because of that.

 

Keith

 

I completely support this answer. The situation is fluid. Do not rely on what happened to someone else 10 minutes ago, you need official responses, not anecdotes.

[Ashland]

Have been informed if we visit Shanghai on our Celebrity cruise but don't leave the ship we don't need a visa.?Can anyone confirm this

 

 

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Sorry...Can't imagine not getting off the ship in Shanghai...when are you going to have the opportunity to see that amazing city again. Have been there a couple of times...and it continues to be a favorite.

 

The China visa is easy to obtain and it can be good for up to 10 years...please give this some serious thought...you might be sorry if you don't get off the ship....and once there in port if you don't have it you'll have no choice at that point but to stay onboard.

[FlyerTalker]

Thought problem: You assume you don't need a visa. You fly across the Pacific to get to the cruise origination point. Now, when boarding, the ship asks to see your visa for China. You have none and they say "sorry, can't board". Is the decision to save the cost/effort of getting a visa worth it?

 

And yes, cruise lines do ask for documentation. I've had requests to show my yellow fever card, and to show necessary visas. One time in Chile, folks were crowding the computer kiosks in rush to get their Argentina documentation so they could board the ship. They had "assumed".

[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.

 

I believe if you don't have a visa you can not go into Chinese waters and therefore have to leave the ship at the port before.

[SadieN]

A China Visa thread on the Princess board.

 

Princess should pay for China visa screw-up

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2326074

 

 

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[diane.in.ny]

One time in Chile, folks were crowding the computer kiosks in rush to get their Argentina documentation so they could board the ship. They had "assumed".

 

Can I 'assume' these were non-US citizens? According to the State Department website, U.S. citizens don't need any special documentation to enter Argentina. Or am I missing something?

[kitty9]

There was an article in a travel magazine a while back where an elderly couple wrote about their experience of going on their dream cruise that included China. When checking in for the cruise, officials were looking at their documents and saw they didn't have a visa for China. They were not allowed on the ship because of this. The couple insisted their travel agent told them that they didn't need the visa if they stayed on the ship. They were told that once you're in the territorial waters of a country, they're in that country, whether they get off the ship or not, so a visa is required.

 

Now, I don't know if China still enforces this, I don't know, but why travel all that way and not see one of the most interesting cities in the world just because you don't want to get a visa?

[CruisingAlong4Now]

Okay. Assume the gurus here are right and you don't need a visa today.

 

OMG. The Chinese govt decides on Thursday that they are going to tweak the exemption for tourists. The allowable stay without a visa is lowered to 85 hours. :eek:

 

What do you do? It seems to me that people know what they should do, get a visa, but instead come onto CC and go through emotional agita. Just get the d*** visa.

 

Take control. If you don't get a visa, the Chinese government and the cruise line are in control. If you get a visa, you are in control. ;)

 

Enjoy your trip before, during, and afterwards the wonderful memories. :)