Southeast Asia VISA question

[jhsiao]

Hello, I tried searching the community for an answer but was unable to locate one. I've booked a cruise for my parents which includes Nha Trang, Saigon and Sihanoukville. As US citizens I know a visa is required but I was wondering how the VISA on arrival through the ship works. I am afraid that there will be lines for VISAs and that will cut into port time and possibly missed excursion meeting times. I am contemplating just getting e-visas instead. Thanks

[John Bull]

For Vietnamese and Cambodian ports-of-call your cruise line will arrange visas. :)

A single visa covers all Vietnamese ports of call, and will be processed at sea before the first of those ports.

You may have to join a line on the ship to collect visas, but this will be before you arrive at the first of those ports & there'll be no long line or undue delay when you disembark. :)

 

The official fee for Vietnam has gone up and down a few times and different cruise-lines add different mark-ups, so I'm wary of quoting a specific cost. But I've never heard of anyone paying more than $50, and you may get folk responding that they paid under $10. The cost is added to your on-board account.

Some cruise lines ask that you take a couple of passport-size photos with you, but even if they don't it's probably a wise move in case they're required.

 

Those Vietnamese visas aren't regular tourist visas, they're only good for arrival & departure on the ship - if you fly in or out you will need a regular tourist visa. The same may apply if you overnite in a hotel (eg in Hanoi on an excursion from Halong Bay). I suggest you dig deeper if you plan to do either of those things.

 

Same routine for the Cambodian visa, costs around $15.

I don't know if it's any different if, as a few folk do, you leave the ship at Sihanoukville to go to Siem Reap and re-join the ship at Saigon (or Bangkok if sailing the opposite direction)

 

JB :)

Edited December 26, 2016 by John Bull

[JVilleGal]

Please call your cruise line and also Log In to your online account and read info regarding Visa requirements for your sailing.

 

It is important to find the requirements based on your nationality and passport. Your profile does NOT list any hint regarding your passport, location or nationality. It would be helpful if you would at least list your Country of Origin or State (if US).

 

 

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Edited December 26, 2016 by JVilleGal

[jhsiao]

Appreciate the info John Bull, the prices Princess is charging for VISAs is definitely way higher than other lines.

 

JVilleGal, I did know the requirements of needing a VISA for those countries. I just wanted more information on the different methods of acquiring one.

 

For anyone else who may be wondering the cruise is on the Diamond Princess leaving out of Singapore. They are US Citizens flying out of New York.

[Level six]

Just off NCL, they charged $69 each for Vietnam visa.

[hathaway42]

Appreciate the info John Bull, the prices Princess is charging for VISAs is definitely way higher than other lines.

 

 

 

JVilleGal, I did know the requirements of needing a VISA for those countries. I just wanted more information on the different methods of acquiring one.

 

 

 

For anyone else who may be wondering the cruise is on the Diamond Princess leaving out of Singapore. They are US Citizens flying out of New York.

 

 

I'm doing the diamond princess and leaving from New York - Thinking of getting an evisa for Vietnam but the Cambodian port doesn't except E visa only the airports in Cambodian. We will be flying back to Seim Reap when we get back to Singapore so may get my visa when I get there.

 

 

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[Bpos]

I'm doing the diamond princess and leaving from New York - Thinking of getting an evisa for Vietnam but the Cambodian port doesn't except E visa only the airports in Cambodian. We will be flying back to Seim Reap when we get back to Singapore so may get my visa when I get there.

 

 

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IAM sure that you cannot use an evisa for entry to Vietnam by ship, only by air.

 

If arriving and leaving by ship you will have to apply for your visa through the Vietnam embassy in your country or leave it for the ship to organise

 

Personally I would leave it up to the ship, despite Princess charging extortion rates, the cost will be close to getting it before you leave.

[Hoyaheel]

Wow, Princess charges a lot. Azamara charged us $6 or $8 3 weeks ago. 2 days in Ho Chi Minh city (American citizens). No need for a photo either - they just used the photo from our sail cards that was in the system.

[Cruzer Two]

Here is the information on the Holland America website concerning our upcoming SE Asia cruise on the Volemdam.

 

Vietnam and Cambodia

 

A visa for Vietnam is required. When arriving by ship, this visa may be

obtained onboard.A group visa is given to guests only going ashore for the day while the ship is in port. This visa can be obtained for approximately $55 USD per person. An individual visa is required for those planning a Journey Ashore or are disembarking. This can be obtained for approximately $195 USD per person.

 

A visa for Cambodia is required. This visa can be obtained onboard for approximately $63 USD per person.

 

These requirements apply to U.S.,Canada,Dutch,German,Austrian,Swiss,

Australian and UK nationals. Citizens of other countries should contact the

nearest Embassy or Consulate for the proper visa information.

If you are not arriving to these destinations by ship, the ship cannot assist

with obtaining these visas. All visa prices are subject to change.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Cruzer Two

[iancal]

I realize that the price of the Vietnam visa is contingent on nationality, length of visa, and number of entries.

 

We travel on Canadian passports. Last Feb we acquired 30 day single entry visas for Vietnam. We paid $45USD each at a travel agency in Siem Reap, Cambodia to arrange this. This included the Gov't fee and the agency fee. They sent our passports away and we had them back a day later. We were entering Vietnam by land. It was painless and straightforward.

[John Bull]

I don't think the passenger's nationality comes into it with ship-issue visas. It's more to do with how much the cruise line wants to gouge its customers. :mad:

And $63 is heavy for a single day in Sihanoukville Cambodia. :(

 

But to be fair, I've seen those costs quoted here on Cruise Critic over the years & they do yo-yo. A few years ago figures between $25 & $40 were being bandied around for Vietnam, last year more like $10 to $15. Now back up again.

 

Mebbe the Vietnamese make up the figures as they go along. :rolleyes:

And why shouldn't they? The cruise lines do :D

 

JB :)

Edited December 31, 2016 by John Bull

[iancal]

Our visa fees for Vietnam were reduced considerably early last year. The information is easily obtainable on the web.

 

Our understanding is that the fee charged by a consulate or embassy will be the sum of the actual visa and the service costs. The latter can change based on location.

 

It was less expensive (and much more convenient) for us to have the visa service provided by a TA in Siem Reap than it was to pay for the same service at the their embassy in Canada. Not to mention the courier fees.

 

I cannot remember what we paid for a Cambodian visa. It seems to me that we paid less for it..about $40 USD at the Siem Reap Airport. Not certain of the duration. We were in Cambodia of 10 days.

 

Based on the prices quoted above I suspect that the cruise lines are turning this Visa requirement into yet another revenue/profit centre.

Edited January 3, 2017 by iancal

[Tea Snob]

My husband and I are U.S. citizens flying in from U.S. to Bali, Indonesia then embarking a cruise ship in Bali to other Southeast Asian countries a couple of days later. Just want to confirm that we get the visa at the airport in Bali. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Tea Snob

[needmorevacation]

Tea Snob- yes US passport holders have a very easy VOA in Denpasar

 

 

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[marty's mom]

I looked into getting visas on our own but you need to send your passport to the embassy, so 3 times. I'm concerned it would get lost and/or the cost of all the certified mail plus cost of visa probably isn't that much less than the ship

 

e visa doesn't seem applicable arriving by ship

 

we're stopping in Thailand, Vietnam, Maaysia and Cambodia

[Tea Snob]

Tea Snob- yes US passport holders have a very easy VOA in Denpasar

 

 

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Thank you for the info. We can cross that off our to do list before we go!

 

Tea Snob

[iancal]

Two items that we were advised to be careful about, and we were with regard to Vietnam visas were length of stay and single vs multiple entry. We required at 30 day single entry because we planned to be in the country for 28 days.

 

We we warned to be cautious when filling out the form and to ensure that our date of entry, ie the start date of the visa, was the day we were actually going to enter and NOT the date that on which we were applying for the visa. The TA in Cambodia who arranged for the visa took great pains to review this with us.

 

We did not need photos for either our Cambodian or Vietnam visas.

Edited January 8, 2017 by iancal

[buggins0402]

I looked into getting visas on our own but you need to send your passport to the embassy' date=' so 3 times. I'm concerned it would get lost and/or the cost of all the certified mail plus cost of visa probably isn't that much less than the ship

 

e visa doesn't seem applicable arriving by ship

 

we're stopping in Thailand, Vietnam, Maaysia and Cambodia[/quote']

 

For Vietnam you do not have to send your passport to the embassy. You can apply for a loose leaf visa with a copy of your passport. This information is assuming you are a US Citizen. But, you are correct, given the cost of the multi entry and shipping you are probably better off with a ship visa. We did need to send passport photos. No visa required for Malaysia for US citizens. I really think that was an odd "lost in translation" issue...VN started issuing new 1 year visas and some administrators took it to mean that was the ONLY visa available.

 

We obtained single entry loose leaf visas for our land trip...process took less than two weeks. There was a period of time in November when the prices of visas for US citizens skyrocketed, because a new law in VN made it seem that one year visas were required for US citizens. That seemed to get cleared up in early December and VN went back to issuing 30 day visas for US citizens.

Edited January 8, 2017 by buggins0402

[marty's mom]

thank you

what about for Cambodia and Thailand? anythin other than sendng our passports to the embassy?

 

at least we can do vietnam!