I was declined boarding and now I found I was right and the cruise company was wrong

[maz48]

The OP also thought his UK visa included Ireland. Northern Ireland is in the UK and would be covered, but not southern Ireland. Again it was a lack of research and understanding on the OP's part.

[Globehoppers]

Cindy - Great information for the group. One thing interesting is Turkey. (We have US passports, btw.)

 

We were on the Ruby in 2010 for a 12 day Med cruise originating from Venice, ending in Barcelona with two single day stops in Turkey early in the cruise. The Princess example appears to be exactly our situation.

 

Spouse and I did not obtain a Turkish visa, nor did Princess suggest we obtain one. However, I think I remember a fee of about $50(?) pp for Turkish immigration/visitors tax (or stamp), or something to that end. It was bundled into the overall cruise tax fee.

 

Question - Does the aforementioned Turkish "tax" constitute a form of visa? Is that still the practice? To meet the requirements Cindy quoted from Princess, that seems to make sense.

 

As always, looking forward to CC experiences.

 

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Its $20 for the "visa" stamp for AMCITs arriving by air. No "visa" for a day excursion off a cruise ship. Few ships currently stopping in Turkey do to the government crackdown on human rights and especially the government ceremony towards Americans.

[CMHCruiseCouple]

Globehoppers - Thanks for the information. That cruise was long ago, and details have slipped from memory.

 

We would love to return to Turkey ... perhaps someday when conditions improve.

 

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[rhblake]

Rhblake - Interesting post, and again confirms what much of CC reports.

 

I am interested in your Brazilian visa experience and how long the process took in 2009? Did your TA help obtain, or did you DIY, or use a service such as CIBT? Thanks!

 

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We used our TA's (AAA) visa service and if I remember correctly it took about 4 weeks. In 2009 the visa was only good for 5 years.

[Griller]

I am booked on the same itinerary for next year. I just changed my date, so I had to go through all the pop-ups on the Princess website again. I thought the statement about visas was very clear. Here it is:

 

 

If your cruise visits Ireland and you are not an Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, UK, or U.S. passport holder you may require an Irish visa, as Ireland is not a Schengen country nor a part of the United Kingdom.

 

 

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Apart from those countries listed above anyone holding any EU passport should not require a visa to visit either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, neither of which are Schengen but both are currently EU members.

[CMHCruiseCouple]

We used our TA's (AAA) visa service and if I remember correctly it took about 4 weeks. In 2009 the visa was only good for 5 years.

Thanks much for your response. Sometimes I have an unplanned trip for business. Expedited through a service, a Chinese visa (now 10 year life) cost several hundo ... but took only 4 days total .

 

Sounds like AAA is a good option if time allows.

 

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[57eric]

Let me get this straight. The passenger is responsible for determining what the documentation requirements are, but whether you can board is determined by Princess' interpretation of the requirements?

[Pierlesscruisers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Interesting first post.

 

The problem with your issue is that no cruise line is going to make sure you stay on the ship. So, you say you aren't going ashore, but the cruise line is not going to lock you on board. This is common in many countries in the world.

 

Cruiser Bruce beat me to it. The cruise lines I've sailed have the same practice. If you are on a vessel the company (and ship's master) are both responsible for assurance all documentation required of a country are in order prior to disgorging passengers, regardless of duration. The default position of a passenger/cruise ship is all aboard have the option/intent to come ashore.

 

Promising to stay aboard, regardless of sincerity, places the Master and company at risk of subverting immigration requirements. Short of house arrest, the ship has no other assurance a passenger stays aboard. Even if the Dublin immigration office was correct, this is clearly a ship/company call who boards (weasel words in contract fine print).

 

As an aside, I am pretty sure you will see the same deposition to your inquiry from cruise lines besides Princess.

 

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I believe that if you do a bit more research you will find that whether a person goes ashore or not makes absolutely no difference. The fact that you are in Country X's waters is the sticking point. You will hear the same thing on Alaskan cruises if people from a country requiring a Canadian visa show up without one "But, I'll stay on board when we get to Victoria." It makes no difference, by the time the ship has docked at the pier, that person is already "in Canada." Sad but true.

 

Tom

[Pierlesscruisers]

I am at a loss as to why the OP did not know what visa's were required.

 

I am a US citizen, living in Washington state taking a round trip to Alaska from Seattle.

 

I do not have a passport but do have an enhanced drivers license (and have been to Canada with the EDL) which is what I filled out in the required form on the personalizer.

 

I have received 6 emails from Princess, since I booked in Feb for my August cruise, stating a VISA may be required for Canada and spelling out what documents were accepted for embarkation. Also each of these emails stressed that a passport was the preferred document.

 

When I got the first one I went to the multiple sites to check if I needed a visa and what documents were okay. I came to the conclusion I was okay with my EDL but need to get my passport before our TA next year.

 

By the time I got the 6th email I started to think maybe I had miss read the approved documents so I called Princess.

 

They told me I was okay with the EDL but they preferred a passport.

 

She said the reason they send the multiple emails is that invariably someone will be denied boarding because they did not follow-through and get the appropriate VISA and then throw a fit that they are denied boarding and denied a return of their fare. She said it is very easy to prove Princess did their part by sending the emails and it is on the shoulders of the passenger to get any required VISA.

 

You can bet I will research and have any required VISA's before our TA. I don't want to be left at the pier.

 

Wish everybody was as dedicated to checking on things as you are. Four weeks ago or so we had a group of 25 people from China who showed up at the pier in Seattle going to Alaska. Two of them had Canadian visas, 23 didn't and all 25 of them had been handled by a travel agent. Wouldn't want to be that agent when those 23 very unhappy people returned to China. :eek:

 

Tom

[Grego]

As the OP for this thread, I want to thank the people who were kind and understanding and for the people who were not kind at all I can say is ( Peace)

....and we all thank you for reminding us to read the contract before sailing. It's all part of the process and even though Princess reminds us frequently to make sure we read the contract and fill out the forms they provide, there are those that just plain don't and then they want to blame someone else. Hope you had a great flight.