How do you know if you need a Visa?

[dd likes to cruise]

This is in general, not cruise or cruiseline specific? If you book an itinerary that includes a port that a Visa is necessary, does the cruiseline let us know?

 

Have a couple cruises booked and looking at others and just need to know, so we don't make a mistake.

 

Thanks.

[klfrodo]

google

Do I need a Visa

 

https://www.google.com/#q=do+I+need+a+Visa

[LHT28]

for US citizens

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html

[Shmoo here]

This is in general, not cruise or cruiseline specific? If you book an itinerary that includes a port that a Visa is necessary, does the cruiseline let us know?

 

Have a couple cruises booked and looking at others and just need to know, so we don't make a mistake.

 

Thanks.

 

As to whether the cruise line will let you know or not - maybe. But I wouldn't count on it. You should check it out yourself.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

Always check as soon as you plan to travel. A friend of mine learned the hard way. She had planned her trip from the US to Australia, not knowing you need a visa. Then she found out about 3 weeks prior to the trip that you need a visa. Apparently their's is called an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) and I guess you can get these online even the day of travel. She decided to go ahead and get it early. Well apparently you cannot get an one if you have a history of something like a DUI, which she did from 10 years ago. She was denied. Found out she had to apply for a regular visa with only 2 and a half weeks to go. After much stress and crying, she finally got the visa about 4 days prior to the trip.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Steve and Sharon

[kitty9]

From my experience, the luxury lines have always told me when I needed a visa, but the mass market lines have always said it was up to each passenger to determine if a visa is necessary.

[John Bull]

The requirement to have a visa (or a "visa waiver" such as the USA's ESTA, which is effectively the same thing) is a bit of a minefield. Not just whether you need a visa, but also the type of visa or waiver that you need.

Amongst other things it depends on your own citizenship (on your passport), the purpose of your visit (for a cruise that'll be tourism / leisure), and how many visits you will make. This is fairly easy to research by checking the official websites of the countries you plan to visit. Your own country's government websites may or may not be useful.

 

In some countries you can obtain a visa on arrival (it's effectively an entry tax), but in many you have to obtain the visa in advance.

 

For some ports (eg Vietnam & Cambodia) the ship will normally arrange your visas on-board & charge the (nominal) cost to your on-board account. This only for port-of-call visits, not for flying in or out.

 

Folk making port-of-call visits by cruise ship are often given dispensation from the requirement to have a visa. Different dispensation rules in different countries, depending on things like whether your cruise starts or finishes in that country, how long the ship is in port, whether you overnite on the ship or in a hotel, and whether you want to explore independently without an approved guide. And, to complicate matters further, there are dispensations or different rules in some regions of a country (eg Hainan, China)

 

Dispensations to cruisers is the most difficult area to research - often the dispensation is buried deep in a country's website or not even mentioned on it. Asking a country's embassy can often result in incorrect information. And cruise lines' head office staff are notorious for giving incorrect information, even whether the ship will arrange visas or you have to arrange your own

To be fair, head office staff deal with the full range of nationalities and many many countries, so can't be expected to know all the answers - but they really should know the common ones such as Vietnam (yes, the ship will arrange port-of-call visas) but you have to fix your own visas for India or China. More importantly, far too often when they don't know the answer they'll guess rather than admit they don't know, they err on the cautious side so rarely will their incorrect info be a huge problem, but it can result in the cruiser wasting time & money obtaining a visa that they don't need.

 

Best source of information is often the good folk who contribute to Cruise Critic, but sometimes their info is out-of-date and sometimes there are oft-repeated mistakes - a very common one is that to avoid the need for a Russian visa you have to take a ship's tour in St Petersburg (fact is you don't, you can alternatively take a tour pre-booked direct with a local approved tour operator).

 

All this is a long-winded way of saying there's no simple guaranteed source for all nationalities or for all countries. :(

You need to do the leg-work, via as many sources as possible, for each individual port.

Quote the nationalities of the folk in your party and the ports you're considering & we'll give it our best shot. But with no guarantees ;)

 

JB :)

Edited September 19, 2016 by John Bull

[maryann ns]

And both some cruise ship companies and some travel agents give out incorrect information. Ours was with respect to Egypt. I had done my homework here but had to work to convince people going with us that they did not have to fork out for an expensive visa.

 

You have to do your own homework: check online, contact the ship and research here carefully.

[Bizmark'sMom]

I never rely on the cruise company to tell me if I need a visa or not. The luxury lines are pretty good about it, but not fool proof.

 

Start with the State Department *for the country your passport is from*. Then go on to the website for the country you will be visiting. Be clear about the details of your visit and make sure you read all of the fine print. Start this process early -- if for some reason you cannot get a visa, you want to know that while there is time to make alternate plans.

[AussieOmni]

Most countries have websites for their equivalent of the US State Department. As I'm Australian I use that, for Aussies it's smarttraveller.gov.au - you just go there find the country and it should have a section outlining entry requirements.