Cruise line claim Vietnam charges everyone a $5processing fee

[phillipahain]

I can find nothing whatever about this on Vietnam Embassy or Visa sites or their Immigration sites 

Whether you have a Vietnam visa or you do not need one because your country is exempt 

The cruise line is claiming Vietnam charges everyone $5 each to process them on arrival for just a simple half day tour 

 

Add on you are not allowed off the ship in dead and alive port Chang Mai unless your on a tour 

 

What is going on ? 

[FlyerTalker]

OMG....we spend thousands for an Asian cruise and $5 is an affront.

 

Plus, I'm not quite sure what you're talking about - I can't find a "Chang Mai" in Vietnam, and "Chiang Mai" is in Thailand.

[Shmoo here]

18 minutes ago, phillipahain said:

I can find nothing whatever about this on Vietnam Embassy or Visa sites or their Immigration sites 

Whether you have a Vietnam visa or you do not need one because your country is exempt 

The cruise line is claiming Vietnam charges everyone $5 each to process them on arrival for just a simple half day tour 

 

Add on you are not allowed off the ship in dead and alive port Chang Mai unless your on a tour 

 

What is going on ? 

Cruise ports in Alaska have a "per head" charge for passengers.  Why wouldn't some other country?

[ldubs]

We had to pay for the Vietnam visa via the cruise line just as OP describes.  Ours was on a Princess cruise.  I can't recall but think it was more than $5.  I want to say $30.   Maybe it is less for citizens of the UK.  Anyway, I didn't mind so much because it was hassle free.  We were aware of the fee up front.  

[gerif]

Wow - how many thousands is this cruise plus airfare and incidentals costing you? And you’re upset about something that costs about the same as a can of coke? Seriously? Don’t see anything wrong with a port limiting access to those with an excursion booked. They just don’t want tourists randomly wandering around their port. Nothing to do with the cruise line. 

[SantaFeFan]

In February 2015 on a 14 night Celebrity cruise that stopped at Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Da Nang and Hanoi for an overnight stay, the visa fee was $50 per passenger charged to our on board account. The ship staff took care of the application for us. Considering that the airfare, cruise and excursion costs exceeded $10,000 for the two of us, that extra $100 was less than 1% of the total cost and was barely noticed. I believe that since our visit, Viet Nam officials have lowered the cost of the visa to encourage more tourists visiting their country. 

 

Chang Mai (actually, it's Chiang Mai) is a city in the north-west of Thailand and is 250 miles inland and about 1,100 feet above sea level. I rather doubt your ship will be docking there anytime soon.   Nice place, though!

 

And I have no idea what a "dead and alive port" is! 

Edited February 15, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[Essiesmom]

3 hours ago, phillipahain said:

I can find nothing whatever about this on Vietnam Embassy or Visa sites or their Immigration sites 

Whether you have a Vietnam visa or you do not need one because your country is exempt 

The cruise line is claiming Vietnam charges everyone $5 each to process them on arrival for just a simple half day tour 

 

Add on you are not allowed off the ship in dead and alive port Chang Mai unless your on a tour 

 

What is going on ? 

 

Perhaps after 16 years of membership, you should seek out the Ports of Call forum for Asia and vent your frustration there...  EM

Edited February 15, 2019 by Essiesmom

[Heidi13]

Been to Vietnam a number of times, both flying into Saigon and cruising to Phu My. On all cruise arrivals the ship has arranged the Visa/passport stamps and it was way more than $5.00. From memory it was $25 to $50.

 

On all cruises, this was no surprise, as the cruise documents clearly stated the ship would make the arrangements, with costs billed to our shipboard account.

[mom says]

The OP must be referring to Chan May, the Vietnamese port closest to the city of Hue. He'd do well to research his cruise documents. Pity he didn't bother to mention which cruise line he's sailing on. 

 

We just visited 2 ports in Vietnam, including this one while on Celebrity Constellation.. The ship arranged the Vietnamese visas for those on board who needed them. Ours cost USD6 PP. AFAIK, UK passport holders (and a few other nationalities) were exempt and either were not charged or could have the charge removed from their account. Other lines charge a different amount. This Visa only covered day visits. Anyone staying ashore overnight needed to apply for their own Vietnam visa in advance.

 

As for getting off the ship in Chan May without a tour- do your homework. It's a very small industrial port in the middle of nowhere and with no cruise facilities. You can't wander around a working port on your own, and once at the gate, there's nothing there but fields. I don't think there are even taxis available. So you either arrange a tour in advance or stay on the ship. Your choice.

 

 

[iancal]

When we got our land visa for Vietnam there were two charges.  The first was the actual cost of the 30 day Visa.  The second was a service charge levied by the Vietnamese consulate to process the visa.  This surprised us.  Plus, we were told that the s/c could vary but location of the consulate or embassy.

[phillipahain]

UK residents do not have to obtain visas for Vietnam therefore there is not supposed to be any charge at all

Not one of the cruise documents has any information on this "processing charge "  as  Cunard have dubbed it 

And they have  not provided any official vietnam documents to support the charge 

Cunard only suddenly issue info about ports just 24 or 48 hours before arrival 

The info on the  cruise Personliser is sadly very poor indeed 

 

I have done a huge amount of research on all of this but have drawn a blank on every official Vietnam Embassy and Immigration sites ....i am well aware of the various Visa charges levied on residents of some countries 

 

 

 

 

[phillipahain]

2 hours ago, iancal said:

When we got our land visa for Vietnam there were two charges.  The first was the actual cost of the 30 day Visa.  The second was a service charge levied by the Vietnamese consulate to process the visa.  This surprised us.  Plus, we were told that the s/c could vary but location of the consulate or embassy.

Yes i am well aware that some countries residents do need visas and theres a Stamping Charge too

 

But these are  very clearly documented on any Vietnam Visa info sites 

Edited February 15, 2019 by phillipahain
Correct spelling

[sparks1093]

7 minutes ago, phillipahain said:

UK residents do not have to obtain visas for Vietnam therefore there is not supposed to be any charge at all

Not one of the cruise documents has any information on this "processing charge "  as  Cunard have dubbed it 

And they have  not provided any official vietnam documents to support the charge 

Cunard only suddenly issue info about ports just 24 or 48 hours before arrival 

The info on the  cruise Personliser is sadly very poor indeed 

 

I have done a huge amount of research on all of this but have drawn a blank on every official Vietnam Embassy and Immigration sites ....i am well aware of the various Visa charges levied on residents of some countries 

 

 

 

 

Be that as it may it seems like a large upset for such a small charge. 

[evandbob]

Galapagos charges $100 for entry.  Lots of Caribbean Isles charge entry or departure fee for air travelers.  Venice and Barcelona are considering instituting or raising usage taxes/fees for visitors.

 

Crying about a $5 fee isn't worth it, IMO.  Of course the OP feels as if it is.

[hallasm]

As a Danish citizen I do not need a visa for Vietnam - at my last visit (RCCL) I was not charged at all. I’ll be back in Vietnam  next month - report back on the situation, however my understanding is that I will not be charged any ‘entrance fee’.

[phillipahain]

Its not a question of large upset for a small charge ......its a question of whether its legitimate or not since theres no info on it anywhere 

 

 

[SantaFeFan]

19 minutes ago, phillipahain said:

Its not a question of large upset for a small charge ......its a question of whether its legitimate or not since theres no info on it anywhere 

 

The cruise documents you receive should have the information included. Here is what our Asia cruise ticket document included: 

 

Visa Requirement / Information
Counrty: [yes, that is how they spelled "country" 😮]

Vietnam

 

Visa Required: 
VIETNAM Citizens from many countries, including the United States and Canada
require a visa to enter Vietnam.

Additional Information:

The shipboard team will assist guests required to secure this visa upon
arrival and will charge a one time fee of less than $50 USD to the guests’
onboard account. This visa fee includes a small processing charge by our
local representative.

 

Here is an off the wall idea - call the cruise line and ask them.

Edited February 16, 2019 by SantaFeFan

[sparks1093]

17 minutes ago, phillipahain said:

Its not a question of large upset for a small charge ......its a question of whether its legitimate or not since theres no info on it anywhere 

 

 

I didn't realize that things were so bad at Cunard that they have to charge passengers a bogus $5 fee to stay in  business. Glad I don't own stock.

[cruisemom42]

19 minutes ago, phillipahain said:

Its not a question of large upset for a small charge ......its a question of whether its legitimate or not since theres no info on it anywhere 

 

 

 

It took me all of 10 seconds to find this news online:  https://vietnamvisaembassy.org/vietnam-visa-fee-cruise-passengers-back-us5-per-pax/

[Gwendy]

As a cruise passenger you do not get a visa you get a landing card which you are supposed to show as you enter and exit the port.  In reality no one even looks at it.  Have  only ever been charged $5 to onboard account, have travelled there twice with RCI and once with Princess. Ship takes your passport Vietnamese officials come on board and desk with it.  All simple.

[Hlitner]

Wow,  What a thread with many inaccurate posts.  So lets clear the air.  Vietnam recently changed their Visa rules for cruise ship passengers.  Most of the posts in this thread are based on out-of-date information.  The new Vietnam fee for cruisers is just $5.  It sounds like the Vietnamese government wants to encourage more cruise ships to call at their ports.  Here is a link to some relevant info:

https://vietnamvisaembassy.org/vietnam-visa-fee-cruise-passengers-back-us5-per-pax/

 

Hank

 

[cruisemom42]

29 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Wow,  What a thread with many inaccurate posts.  So lets clear the air.  Vietnam recently changed their Visa rules for cruise ship passengers.  Most of the posts in this thread are based on out-of-date information.  The new Vietnam fee for cruisers is just $5.  It sounds like the Vietnamese government wants to encourage more cruise ships to call at their ports.  Here is a link to some relevant info:

https://vietnamvisaembassy.org/vietnam-visa-fee-cruise-passengers-back-us5-per-pax/

 

Hank

 

 

Which is the same link I provided above.... 

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 2/14/2019 at 11:01 PM, mom says said:

The OP must be referring to Chan May, the Vietnamese port closest to the city of Hue. He'd do well to research his cruise documents. Pity he didn't bother to mention which cruise line he's sailing on. 

 

We just visited 2 ports in Vietnam, including this one while on Celebrity Constellation.. The ship arranged the Vietnamese visas for those on board who needed them. Ours cost USD6 PP. AFAIK, UK passport holders (and a few other nationalities) were exempt and either were not charged or could have the charge removed from their account. Other lines charge a different amount. This Visa only covered day visits. Anyone staying ashore overnight needed to apply for their own Vietnam visa in advance.

 

As for getting off the ship in Chan May without a tour- do your homework. It's a very small industrial port in the middle of nowhere and with no cruise facilities. You can't wander around a working port on your own, and once at the gate, there's nothing there but fields. I don't think there are even taxis available. So you either arrange a tour in advance or stay on the ship. Your choice.

 

 

Back in 2016 on the Millennium, the ship also arranged visas for us when we stayed overnight on a junk in Ha Long Bay. Sorry, if it's no longer done.

[Heidi13]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Wow,  What a thread with many inaccurate posts.  So lets clear the air.  Vietnam recently changed their Visa rules for cruise ship passengers.  Most of the posts in this thread are based on out-of-date information.  The new Vietnam fee for cruisers is just $5.  It sounds like the Vietnamese government wants to encourage more cruise ships to call at their ports.  Here is a link to some relevant info:

https://vietnamvisaembassy.org/vietnam-visa-fee-cruise-passengers-back-us5-per-pax/

 

Hank

 

Thanks for clarifying, since our last arrivals in Vietnam by air and cruise ship were 2015.

[Corby114]

Recently cruised to Vietnam on Holland America’s Westerdam in January 2019. We had four stops which included Halong Bay ( Hanoi), Nha Trang, Phu My ( Ho Chi Min City), and Da Nang. Every passenger was charged sixty six dollars for the Vietnam Visa. Even if you weren’t planning on leaving the ship at any of the ports of call everyone was charged for the visa. Vietnam is a beautiful country with many nice people. Tourism has created many opportunities for that country.