New 5 fold increase in Vietnam visa fees

[susiesan]

Just my luck! We were in Argentina on the Ruby Princess in February last year, so I guess were just a little ahead of Obama's visit. Still I'm glad the fee has been lifted.

 

Was your cruise one between Santiago and BA? What did you think about the cruise as a way to visit Patagonia? I just out a deposit on Emerald Princess sailing Jan. 17, 2018 from Clients to Argentina. One of the reasons for this cruise is Argentina waiving the reciprocity fee for Americans.

[trbarton]

Here's the latest visa information from my Cruise Personalizer.

VIETNAM VISA/PASSPORT REQUIREMENT

 

A Vietnam visa is required for most guests on this voyage, including Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and U.S. passport holders. You may either obtain the visa on your own before your cruise, or a visa will be issued upon arrival in Vietnam. If you choose to have the visa issued on board, a passport-size photo or copy of your passport photo page is required, and a visa fee of USD $56.00 per person (USD $76.00 per person for those participating on an overland package) will be charged to your stateroom account.

Some guests, including UK passport holders, do not require a visa; however, they will be charged $1 per person for a landing card and a $1 per person processing fee.

All guests' passports must be valid for at least six months after departing Vietnam and must contain at least one unused page for entry/exit endorsements.

Tom😎

[Holomoku]

Here's the latest visa information from my Cruise Personalizer.

VIETNAM VISA/PASSPORT REQUIREMENT

 

A Vietnam visa is required for most guests on this voyage, including Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and U.S. passport holders. You may either obtain the visa on your own before your cruise, or a visa will be issued upon arrival in Vietnam. If you choose to have the visa issued on board, a passport-size photo or copy of your passport photo page is required, and a visa fee of USD $56.00 per person (USD $76.00 per person for those participating on an overland package) will be charged to your stateroom account.

Some guests, including UK passport holders, do not require a visa; however, they will be charged $1 per person for a landing card and a $1 per person processing fee.

All guests' passports must be valid for at least six months after departing Vietnam and must contain at least one unused page for entry/exit endorsements.

Tom😎

Aloha,

We are doing a Princess Cruise from Singapore going for two stops in the 'Nam. My CP says exactly the same thing, so I went to the VN Gov't E-Visa web site and looked up the fees, $24 for a 1 month Tourist Visa multiple entry. Some of the business ones run in the hundreds of dollars. The only problem I see with this is you get a letter saying you have paid but still have a queue (sp) to stand in after disembarking the ship to get your Visa stamp. We'll pay the price for the on board service and no lines in a steamy hot place. I just don't trust bureaucrats to show up on time or work fast.:( The ship collects the passports and takes care of it, less for us to worry about or have to do. I am on Holiday!;p For expensive Visas try China, from Hawaii we have to send our Passports to L.A. to a company that takes them to the Consulate and then sends them back to us for many hundreds dollars even for a 1 stop/1day visit and you had to have one even if you did not leave the ship!:o(in case of med. evacuation.)

Hope this helps?

Holomoku

[joeyancho]

I wouldn't set foot in Vietnam. They need to account for our MIAs and return the remains of our boys who perished there.

[doctorgary]

Aloha,

We are doing a Princess Cruise from Singapore going for two stops in the 'Nam. My CP says exactly the same thing, so I went to the VN Gov't E-Visa web site and looked up the fees, $24 for a 1 month Tourist Visa multiple entry. Some of the business ones run in the hundreds of dollars. The only problem I see with this is you get a letter saying you have paid but still have a queue (sp) to stand in after disembarking the ship to get your Visa stamp. We'll pay the price for the on board service and no lines in a steamy hot place. I just don't trust bureaucrats to show up on time or work fast.:( The ship collects the passports and takes care of it, less for us to worry about or have to do. I am on Holiday!;p For expensive Visas try China, from Hawaii we have to send our Passports to L.A. to a company that takes them to the Consulate and then sends them back to us for many hundreds dollars even for a 1 stop/1day visit and you had to have one even if you did not leave the ship!:o(in case of med. evacuation.)

Hope this helps?

Holomoku

 

Different rates for different countries.

[Lucky TGO]

I wouldn't set foot in Vietnam. They need to account for our MIAs and return the remains of our boys who perished there.

 

I was thinking the same as you joeyancho!! Some of my best friends got killed in Vietnam. I wouldn't go there if it dependent on my life now. They want us to go there and spend our money there now. No one from the United States should go there!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :mad:

Tony

[doctorgary]

I was thinking the same as you joeyancho!! Some of my best friends got killed in Vietnam. I wouldn't go there if it dependent on my life now. They want us to go there and spend our money there now. No one from the United States should go there!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :mad:

Tony

 

We have been there a few times and they (the majority) do not like Americans. Funny how they see things differently to the rest of us. Looking at their schooling and war museums it's easy to see that they see the war differently to other parts of the world. The children are only 'taught' what the government wants them to see.

 

PS. My apologies to anyone I may be offending with my observations.

[trbarton]

I am a Vietnam Veteran, US Navy, & feel completely different than previous posters. I have visited Vietnam before & have some Vietnamese friends & have never felt any ill feelings towards me as an American or saw anything that made me feel uncomfortable. Because of what Japan did towards the US I guess one could feel the same way.

 

The US has been in many wars, Germany, for example where we had some of our Military killed. Should we not visit any country where during war time we lost people, even if they were close friends?

Tom😎

[USN59-79]

We have been there a few times and they (the majority) do not like Americans. Funny how they see things differently to the rest of us. Looking at their schooling and war museums it's easy to see that they see the war differently to other parts of the world. The children are only 'taught' what the government wants them to see.

 

PS. My apologies to anyone I may be offending with my observations.

I don't think it is funny that they see things differently than us. A lot more of them were killed or otherwise affected by that war than us. I was there in 1970 and 1972 and have been there a few times on cruises. We found the people in Hanoi to be more friendly and outgoing than the people in Saigon.

[Skai]

I am a Vietnam Veteran, US Navy, & feel completely different than previous posters. I have visited Vietnam before & have some Vietnamese friends & have never felt any ill feelings towards me as an American or saw anything that made me feel uncomfortable. Because of what Japan did towards the US I guess one could feel the same way.

 

The US has been in many wars, Germany, for example where we had some of our Military killed. Should we not visit any country where during war time we lost people, even if they were close friends?

Tom😎

 

Darn it.

 

It didn't even cross my mind that Italy was a no-go. Better scratch Mexico off the list, too. Heck, Great Britain for that matter as well.

 

Shoots, would visiting the Southeastern states be o.k....considering?

[RDC1]

I was thinking the same as you joeyancho!! Some of my best friends got killed in Vietnam. I wouldn't go there if it dependent on my life now. They want us to go there and spend our money there now. No one from the United States should go there!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :mad:

Tony

 

Being a Vietnam vet myself I will disagree.

 

To put it in perspective the US suffered 55,280 military fatalities. The ARVN lost about 250,000.

 

The North and Viet Cong lost about 1.1 million with over 2 million civilian casualties on both sides.

 

At the end of the war the US had 2646 MIA in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China. Since then 1032 have been identified or repatriated, leaving 1614. Search activities are on going. Considering the distributed nature of the war (limited command and control of distributed units of VC and NVA), and that many of the MIA were air crew members (unknown crash site in the jungle or ocean), the number is actually quite remarkable that it is as low as it is.

 

I would expect that in addition to Vietnam you also would not travel to China (unaccounted for MIAs from both the Vietnam and Korean wars), Russia, suspected to have some MIA's from Korea, and WWII. Actually I think that we still have MIA from WWI and WWII, so that would leave a number of countries including Germany, Japan and Italy from the travel list.

[Hlitner]

I am a Vietnam Veteran, US Navy, & feel completely different than previous posters. I have visited Vietnam before & have some Vietnamese friends & have never felt any ill feelings towards me as an American or saw anything that made me feel uncomfortable. Because of what Japan did towards the US I guess one could feel the same way.

 

The US has been in many wars, Germany, for example where we had some of our Military killed. Should we not visit any country where during war time we lost people, even if they were close friends?

Tom😎

 

I am also a Vietnam Veteran, and was on the first western cruise ship to go all the way up the river and dock in downtown Saigon in July of '95. That was on the Marco Polo (which was then part of Orient Lines) and we think I was the only Vietnam Vet on the ship (most of the passengers were Brits). We actually learned that the US had normalized diplomatic relations with Vietnam...as my DW stood in front of the old US Embassy (I was taking her picture). An elderly Vietnamise lady walked up to DW, asked her (in English) if she was an American, and then pointed at the old embassy (which was then the Vietnam Petroleum Company) and said, "my government just gave that building back to you."

 

We have since returned to Vietnam on a 2nd trip and will be back next spring for our third visit. Vietnam is a young persons country and there are few folks who were even alive during the Vietnam war. We have always felt welcome in Vietnam and its a fascinating country. Walking around Saigon without the sound of "Huey's" in the background took some getting used to....but now all you hear is the sounds of the ridiculous traffic.

 

Many of us who served in "Nam" have strong feelings about that war. I must admit that I have more animosity towards some of my fellow countryfolks (can you say Jane Fonda) then the the folks of Vietnam. Sorry if this post bores some...but just had to vent.

 

Hank

[blrabbit]

You can try this website "www.immigration.gov.vn" which can upload info and get approval in 3 business days and only costs $25. Since it's only valid for 30 days, you need to wait to apply. :)

Bob

[USN59-79]

Here is why I feel more comfortable in North rather than South Vietnam. (I know it is one country now). A few years back after taking the shuttle to downtown Saigon, my DW was mugged by a punk on a motor scooter while we were walking on the sidewalk. Tried to steal her necklace, but wasn't successful. A year or two later, we were in Hanoi trying to mail a letter at the central post office. Needed to buy the stamps at a kiosk outside the building. We were short about five or ten cents of their local money. The clerk said "not a problem, I will take care of it, you are a guest here" or words to that effect. Maybe isolated incidents, but did give us a flavor of the country. And of course, Sara never wears her gold chain now while off the ship.

[RDC1]

Here is why I feel more comfortable in North rather than South Vietnam. (I know it is one country now). A few years back after taking the shuttle to downtown Saigon, my DW was mugged by a punk on a motor scooter while we were walking on the sidewalk. Tried to steal her necklace, but wasn't successful. A year or two later, we were in Hanoi trying to mail a letter at the central post office. Needed to buy the stamps at a kiosk outside the building. We were short about five or ten cents of their local money. The clerk said "not a problem, I will take care of it, you are a guest here" or words to that effect. Maybe isolated incidents, but did give us a flavor of the country. And of course, Sara never wears her gold chain now while off the ship.

 

scooter grab and go (jewelry, purses, etc) is a problem in quite a few countries, not only in Asia, but also South America and in Italy. It can happen just about anywhere. Bottom line do not wear flashy jewelry unless you want to become a target.

 

Last week my wife and I were walking in Paris and ran into a very very aggressive group of 4 pick pockets that were out to grab what they can get and had no problem with anyone knowing exactly what they were doing. We blocked them from getting anything, but it was very much a confrontational moment. Unlike the norm there where they will back off when you let them know exactly what they are up to.

[thinfool]

Hi, Try Chile. If you sail in it costs nothing. If you drive in it costs nothing. If you fly in to the Santiago Airport it costs heaps! From memory about $300 plus for two of us. Go figure!

Chile eliminated the fees for Australians in January 2017.

[Aus Traveller]

Chile eliminated the fees for Australians in January 2017.

Are you sure about this? I can find mention where it was eliminated for US citizens, but not for Australians. Could you please point me to where I can confirm this? :)

[doctorgary]

Are you sure about this? I can find mention where it was eliminated for US citizens, but not for Australians. Could you please point me to where I can confirm this? :)

 

https://visalink.com.au/visa-quick-check

 

If that info is correct..... ?

 

Other sites are saying the Reciprocity Fee for Australians is still there!

[tailspintom]

Darn it.

 

It didn't even cross my mind that Italy was a no-go. Better scratch Mexico off the list, too. Heck, Great Britain for that matter as well.

 

Shoots, would visiting the Southeastern states be o.k....considering?

What a smug response. Neither Tony nor Joey Ancho suggested that anyone else ought not to visit anyplace. They simply outlined why they would not visit Vietnam. There may be very good reasons, or no reason at all, why someone will avoid going to a country. They don't need to see some snotty comment about their choice.

[tailspintom]

What a smug response. Neither Tony nor Joey Ancho suggested that anyone else ought not to visit anyplace. They simply outlined why they would not visit Vietnam. There may be very good reasons, or no reason at all, why someone will avoid going to a country. They don't need to see some snotty comment about their choice.

Re-read Tony's last sentence suggesting that nobody from the US should go. My apologies.

[long cruiser]

Try a panama canal cruise and you will see $311.00 in port charges just to a transit in out of the canal.

long cruiser