China Visas - HELP

[mauitravelers]

Oh boy...can anyone help? We are taking a 28 day cruise in February that embarks in Shanghai and goes to Japan, Taiwan, Manila, Hong Kong, back to Shanghai, Tianjin and Dalian and then back to Japan to disembark. The problem is the visa situation. No one can give us a straight answer - we arrive in Shanghai two days before the cruise - Honolulu through Tokyo to Shanghai. I understand we may be able to get the 144 hour visa at the airport but how does that work for Tianjin? Has anyone done this?

 

[RMLincoln]

I suggest you use a Visa agency.  We have had good experience with Travel Visa Pro dot com.  They do it all and can guide you as to what you need.  I thought their services were quite reasonable.  There are many other agencies to pick from too.  Wishing you the best!  m--

[sailingdutchy]

17 minutes ago, mauitravelers said:

Oh boy...can anyone help? We are taking a 28 day cruise in February that embarks in Shanghai and goes to Japan, Taiwan, Manila, Hong Kong, back to Shanghai, Tianjin and Dalian and then back to Japan to disembark. The problem is the visa situation. No one can give us a straight answer - we arrive in Shanghai two days before the cruise - Honolulu through Tokyo to Shanghai. I understand we may be able to get the 144 hour visa at the airport but how does that work for Tianjin? Has anyone done this?

 

 

You  will need for sure the Chinese visa because you are in China many more hours than the 144 allowed , going to Shanghai for at least 2 days than back to Shanghai after a while , Tianjin and Dalian . In my opinion this is not difficult at all .

 

 

[Tampa Girl]

I agree that you should immediately apply for a China visa through a travel agency.  It took us a month for the visa to come through, and you don't have much time left.  And, if you are not already aware, you must apply through an agency authorized in your particular state because China requires that the visas be granted only through a certain embassy authorized for residents of that state.  We live in Florida, and the visa application had to go through the Houston embassy, if I remember correctly.  I can't tell from the visa itself since it is in Chinese.  

[BaxCruiser]

You can also try g3visas dot com. they can rush for you, and can help you with the applications. pricey but accurate and we've never had an issue.

[Shmoo here]

12 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

I suggest you use a Visa agency. 

I second this.  We used an agency (yes, there was an additional charge above the cost of the visa), because we didn't want any surprises as to whether we had all the appropriate information for the visa to be issued.  Also didn't want to spend hours waiting at the Chinese Consulate for the visa to be reviewed.

 

We got a check list from the visa agency with what paperwork/info would be required and dropped it all off at the agency (local).  They went over everything with us when we dropped it off to confirm it was all there.  They took all the paperwork/info to the consulate (in LA) and submitted it and picked it up when it was ready (I think it took 2 days).  All, in all, it took about a week from contacting the agency to picking up visa there.

 

Worth it to me.

[tommui987]

13 hours ago, mauitravelers said:

Oh boy...can anyone help?

 

 

My wife and son took a trip to China (mostly to the interior) and got their visa through Panda Travel on Kapahulu Ave (Honolulu). If I recall, the cost for visas are the same for 144-hour or 10-years. Get the 10-year one as you never can tell if you would ever go that way again.

 

[HokiePoq]

We used Travisa...great customer support.  

As others said, time is of the essence.  I don't know if there is a Chinese consul in Hawaii, but if not, get it into one of the services ASAP.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Use a Visa agency and get the multiple entry 10 year Visa.  I live in Houston where we have a China consulate and it only too a week.

[Copper10-8]

On 12/13/2019 at 9:37 PM, mauitravelers said:

Oh boy...can anyone help? We are taking a 28 day cruise in February that embarks in Shanghai and goes to Japan, Taiwan, Manila, Hong Kong, back to Shanghai, Tianjin and Dalian and then back to Japan to disembark. The problem is the visa situation. No one can give us a straight answer - we arrive in Shanghai two days before the cruise - Honolulu through Tokyo to Shanghai. I understand we may be able to get the 144 hour visa at the airport but how does that work for Tianjin? Has anyone done this?

 

 

Did that once in Nagasaki, Japan by taking a cab to the Chinese consulate there. Matter of less than an hour wait time

[happyzoey]

We'll be on the Westerdam cruise Feb 29-March 14, If we are arriving in Shanghai on Feb 28 and the ship doesn't leave Shanghai until March 1, do we need a Visa? Thanks!

[USN59-79]

On 12/14/2019 at 11:30 AM, tommui987 said:

 

My wife and son took a trip to China (mostly to the interior) and got their visa through Panda Travel on Kapahulu Ave (Honolulu). If I recall, the cost for visas are the same for 144-hour or 10-years. Get the 10-year one as you never can tell if you would ever go that way again.

 

I second the idea of using a local travel company that handles China tours.  We did the same in Seattle.  They will verify that everything is correct on the form including your picture before it goes to the Consulate.  BTW, the 144 hour thing is a visa exemption, not a visa.  

[Betty in Cozumel]

16 hours ago, happyzoey said:

We'll be on the Westerdam cruise Feb 29-March 14, If we are arriving in Shanghai on Feb 28 and the ship doesn't leave Shanghai until March 1, do we need a Visa? Thanks!

 

We are doing this cruise too.  (We also did the same one in March 2019)  

 

We are not getting a visa and will once again apply for the 144 hr Transit Without A Visa (TWOV).  Our only problem was that the agent saw that the first day of the cruise (embarkation only) was the next day so they gave us a 24 hr TWOV.  The ship spent the first night in Shanghai and didn't leave until 6pm the second day.  We had to ask to see a Supervisor to get this corrected to a 72 hr TWOV.  Even then the Supervisor and several agents had quite a lively discussion about it.  The Supervisor won.  While this was going on, it got corrected for all of the other cruisers that were in line behind us.  🙂  We wasted 45 minutes because of this.

 

Just make sure they don't just look at the first day on the ship's itinerary (which you have to provide a copy to them) and look at the actual date you sail out of the country.  Now that we learned it the hard way in 2019, we will get it right the first time in 2020.

[happyzoey]

4 hours ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

 

We are doing this cruise too.  (We also did the same one in March 2019)  

 

We are not getting a visa and will once again apply for the 144 hr Transit Without A Visa (TWOV).  Our only problem was that the agent saw that the first day of the cruise (embarkation only) was the next day so they gave us a 24 hr TWOV.  The ship spent the first night in Shanghai and didn't leave until 6pm the second day.  We had to ask to see a Supervisor to get this corrected to a 72 hr TWOV.  Even then the Supervisor and several agents had quite a lively discussion about it.  The Supervisor won.  While this was going on, it got corrected for all of the other cruisers that were in line behind us.  🙂  We wasted 45 minutes because of this.

 

Just make sure they don't just look at the first day on the ship's itinerary (which you have to provide a copy to them) and look at the actual date you sail out of the country.  Now that we learned it the hard way in 2019, we will get it right the first time in 2020.

 

 

Thanks for the info Betty! We'll sure to ask for the 72 hr TWOV.  Maybe we'll see you onboard  :)

Edited December 31, 2019 by happyzoey

[ToBe]

On 12/14/2019 at 12:37 AM, mauitravelers said:

Oh boy...can anyone help? We are taking a 28 day cruise in February that embarks in Shanghai and goes to Japan, Taiwan, Manila, Hong Kong, back to Shanghai, Tianjin and Dalian and then back to Japan to disembark. The problem is the visa situation. No one can give us a straight answer - we arrive in Shanghai two days before the cruise - Honolulu through Tokyo to Shanghai. I understand we may be able to get the 144 hour visa at the airport but how does that work for Tianjin? Has anyone done this?

 

Y

 

18 minutes ago, happyzoey said:

 

 

Thanks for the info Betty! We'll sure to ask for the 72 hr TWOV.  Maybe we'll see you onboard  :)

I don't think you will allowed to board. You need a visa for Tianjin and Dalian. The 144 hr visa has restrictions as to where you can travel in Shanghai but would not cover the other ports. We received a HAL notice for our Feb 15-29 saying that we can not board without a valid China visa. That cruise starts in Shanghai. You need a China visa with multiple entries. It is the same cost as a single entry. 

[JohnDG]

6 hours ago, ToBe said:

 

I don't think you will allowed to board. You need a visa for Tianjin and Dalian. The 144 hr visa has restrictions as to where you can travel in Shanghai but would not cover the other ports. We received a HAL notice for our Feb 15-29 saying that we can not board without a valid China visa. That cruise starts in Shanghai. You need a China visa with multiple entries. It is the same cost as a single entry. 

 

Yep - go get a multi-entry visa. Stuff happens and you’ll sleep better. 
 

[wesport]

This post was helpful. We are doing the 27 day in 2021, and need a visa for China.  Vietnam and Cambodia visa I believe will be available through the ship. 

[happyzoey]

On 12/31/2019 at 11:10 AM, ToBe said:

Y

 

I don't think you will allowed to board. You need a visa for Tianjin and Dalian. The 144 hr visa has restrictions as to where you can travel in Shanghai but would not cover the other ports. We received a HAL notice for our Feb 15-29 saying that we can not board without a valid China visa. That cruise starts in Shanghai. You need a China visa with multiple entries. It is the same cost as a single entry. 

 

 

Not when we're only leaving from Shanghai right? I think the OP was doing the 28 day cruise so they need to get a Visa...We're only doing the 14 day cruise from Shanghai to Hong Kong