Corona Virus Effect on Viking Trip to China

[thdave]

How did you go about this?  What was the cost?

 

I plan to use Viking for that.  We don't live near a Russian Consulate.  It looks like it will cost us $590 for the two of us.  Sure glad we got the $1K overcharge reimbursement.  

[Phillygirl3]

Didn't know that Viking could do it for us.  Our TA sent us the online contact that Viking uses.  We were not told that Viking can take care of it.  I'm not sure how Viking could do this considering the amount of information that is required.  We had to fill out an application online that is specially set up for Viking cruisers because the information to help you fill out the forms is designed for Viking passengers.  The information that is required is quite a bit more than visas that we have previously applied for.  They even ask you to list countries that you have visited and dates for the last ten years.  They require new passport/visa type photos that cannot be the same as your current passport photo--so we added that to the cost of the whole visa process.  The visa service that Viking uses is Genvisa.  You may want to just take a look at this.  They do offer what is called "White Glove Service for $59.00 per person to make the process easier, but, again, not sure how this would work as someone would have to ask you the zillion questions that are required on the forms.  

The total cost of the visas was $558 but we also checked the insurance box for another $18 in case something goes wrong and they compensate you up to $2,000.  Now add the $29 for new visa photos and it has become a pricey proposition.  We are just hoping that the trouble and expense will be worth it as we do look forward to visiting Moscow.

 

Best of luck, and I hope your process is much easier that doing it on your own.

[Peregrina651]

35 minutes ago, thdave said:

How did you go about this?  What was the cost?

 

I plan to use Viking for that.  We don't live near a Russian Consulate.  It looks like it will cost us $590 for the two of us.  Sure glad we got the $1K overcharge reimbursement.  

 

Following up on what Phillygirl3 says, here is the link to what Viking has to say on the subject. Scroll down to the section on Visas: https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/travel-information/index.html.

 

[dogs4fun]

15 hours ago, Phillygirl3 said:

Didn't know that Viking could do it for us.  Our TA sent us the online contact that Viking uses.  We were not told that Viking can take care of it.  I'm not sure how Viking could do this considering the amount of information that is required.

You are correct - Viking can not get the visa for you. You can utilize one of the visa services recommended by Viking but you will need to fill-out the application as only you know the answers to the many questions posed.