Visa for Asia

[carld]

We just booked The Southeast Asia to Hong Kong cruise on the new Viking Spirit departing Bangkok April 7 2019. The ship is just now being built and as far as I know, Viking hasn't done any ocean sailing in this part of the world yet. The itinerary has us stopping in both Cambodia and Viet Nam. I asked the Viking desk about what was required in the way of visas and I don't think they have figured that out yet. The gal on the phone indicated she thought I would need to send my passport to a visa service agency that Viking uses but it appears both Cambodia and Viet Nam do e-visas which means you can get them on-line. Also it appears that other cruise lines let the passengers get their visas when they disembark the ship in Cambodia and in Viet Nam. When I asked the lady at the Viking desk if we could possibly get out visas when we landed, she was adamant that that would be impossible. I wonder if this is a case of the staff just not knowing yet what the situation will be. I have a long time to wait before I have to do anything, but just wondering if anyone else has reservations yet for that cruise and if they have heard anything concerning what will be needed for visas. Viking is doing the same itinerary in September and November of 2018 so I will be interested to see what passengers on those cruises have to do.

[garycarla]

...departing Bangkok April 7 2019....

 

...a case of the staff just not knowing yet .....

 

...Viking is doing the same itinerary in September and November of 2018 ....

 

Since you have so much time until this all happens, any answer today could be totally right, but also be totally wrong for your cruise. Policies change.

 

And, even if you check with the state department or the country, you might get a different answer. Cruise ships often are treated somewhat differently than folks actually flying into a country and well meaning folks may give bad answers. As those two countries continue to gear up their tourist policies, things can change.

 

The good news is that Viking will be doing this 6 months before you go which means you will still have plenty of time to deal with any possible issues. I know some want to worry about it early, but personally, with only so many brain cells left in my small brain, I would wait until 6 months out.

[CDNPolar]

You do have lots of time but your best bet is to go to this site: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country.html

 

According to this site, you do not need for Vietnam but you will need a Visa for Cambodia.

 

I personally would not leave it to or depend on any cruise line to get my Visa for me - unless it is a case that the whole ship is cleared and issued visitor Visa.

 

Visas can sometimes take months to secure and I think in the fine print Viking tell you that you are responsible for understanding and securing a Visa if it is required. Often there are only specific locations that you can secure a Visa and the applications can be long too! Investigate it fully.

 

Do yourself a favour and look at your passport expiry at the same time. The last thing you want to do is get a Visa and then have your passport expire as most Visas are linked to your Passport. Also if you think you might for any reason enter that country again in the coming years, investigate if you can get a 3 year or a 5 year entry Visa. Again, this has to match your Passport as Visas typically don't move to a new Passport.

 

My Partner and I got our Canadian Passports renewed for 10 years and then immediately matched a 10 year Visa to China as we have family there.

 

We are doing Far East Horizons on the Spirit leaving April 21, 2019 and for us as Canadians we don't need a Visa for any of the destinations - at this stage. This can always change. Far East Horizons is a different itinerary however to your cruise.

 

We just booked The Southeast Asia to Hong Kong cruise on the new Viking Spirit departing Bangkok April 7 2019. The ship is just now being built and as far as I know, Viking hasn't done any ocean sailing in this part of the world yet. The itinerary has us stopping in both Cambodia and Viet Nam. I asked the Viking desk about what was required in the way of visas and I don't think they have figured that out yet. The gal on the phone indicated she thought I would need to send my passport to a visa service agency that Viking uses but it appears both Cambodia and Viet Nam do e-visas which means you can get them on-line. Also it appears that other cruise lines let the passengers get their visas when they disembark the ship in Cambodia and in Viet Nam. When I asked the lady at the Viking desk if we could possibly get out visas when we landed, she was adamant that that would be impossible. I wonder if this is a case of the staff just not knowing yet what the situation will be. I have a long time to wait before I have to do anything, but just wondering if anyone else has reservations yet for that cruise and if they have heard anything concerning what will be needed for visas. Viking is doing the same itinerary in September and November of 2018 so I will be interested to see what passengers on those cruises have to do.

[diane.in.ny]

I agree to wait and do some investigating on your own.

 

The point about tourists flying in versus coming by ship is excellent. When a cruise I was on went to Shanghai I had to get a Chinese visa. Now I believe that has changed and if you stay less than 72 hrs you don't need a visa. Yet I've read that some cruise lines still didn't know this and insisted that pax get a visa, which made a lot of pax very unhappy spending that money.

 

Five months out, after Viking has some experience in the area, talk to Viking, visit the US State Dept website and visit the embassy websites of the countries you'll be visiting.

 

You can also call a couple of visa processing companies and ask.

[Peregrina651]

 

I personally would not leave it to or depend on any cruise line to get my Visa for me - unless it is a case that the whole ship is cleared and issued visitor Visa.

 

 

Actually Viking has made it fairly clear on all of our past cruises that it is the passengers' responsibility to make sure that they have all the necessary visas. The need for visas depends on which passport you are carrying. In the US, the Department of State has a fairly comprehensive website, with one page per country explaining the visa requirements for US citizens (and residents) and other useful information for each country.

 

 

Viking FAQ says: All guests should seek advice from their respective embassy, consulate or Travel Agent to determine which documents are needed; be sure to obtain and carefully review for accuracy all your required documents prior to departure to avoid delays or additional cost.

[gigibriggs]

We will embark on the Magnificent Mekong trip next month and I secured our own visas. The Vietnam visa needs to be "multiple entry". I obtained ours at the San Francisco Vietnamese Embassy. I also obtained an evisa for Cambodia from this site:

https://www.cambodiaonlinevisa.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAiAm7LSBRBBEiwAvL1-L0st8PcpjPcIpLCS3hQ0573zsIqE5drRlTEABH_zd2sAfuHIjACZlRoC13sQAvD_BwE

 

For Cambodia the ability to obtain an evisa depends on where you enter Cambodia:

Not all border checkpoints support e-Visa. Holders of e-Visas may enter via the following entry points:

• Phnom Penh International Airport.
  
• Siem Reap International Airpor.
  
• Cham Yeam (Koh Kong Province) (from Thailand).
  
• Poi Pet (Banteay Meanchey Province) (from Thailand).
  
• Bavet (Svay Rieng Province) (from Vietnam).
  

If your trip starts in Hanoi you enter Cambodia at Siem Riep, so evisa is acceptable. If trip starts in Ho Chi Minh City, you enter Cambodia by boat at Phnom Penh so evisa is not acceptable.

 

If you use Viking's Visa Generation Services, they charge a hefty fee. If you do it yourself, you save $200 and eliminate the middleman. Viking insists that evisa does not work. I'll post upon our return if we were successful with it.