VISAS on Med Cruise

[Michael Kays]

We are planning our own excursions in several Med ports this summer on the 7/27/2006 Grand Princess cruise. Two of these ports will be in Turkey, Istabul and Kusadasi. I have heard if you don't use Princess tours in these ports you will need to arrange for your own Visas? Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

[cactusrose]

As long as you have a valid passport that does not expire within 6 months of the end of your visit you can obtain a VISA when entering Turkey. Here's a site that has the information.

 

http://www.turkiye.net/lacg/subdir/passport.htm

[Michael Kays]

As long as you have a valid passport that does not expire within 6 months of the end of your visit you can obtain a VISA when entering Turkey. Here's a site that has the information.

 

http://www.turkiye.net/lacg/subdir/passport.htm

thanks for the reply..I also hear they take our passports as we board and do not give them back until endof cruise? will they take a copy of our passports?

[NelsonsFirstMate]

thanks for the reply..I also hear they take our passports as we board and do not give them back until endof cruise? will they take a copy of our passports?

 

In a word no. Passports are taken from every passenger as the ship is going to different countries that all require the ship to clear their respective customs before anybody is allowed off the ship in the particular port. This is standard operating practise. Every countries' immigration could require at any time to see all passports of all passengers and copies are not accepted.

 

This is an observation of mine over the years, but this practise only ever seems to upset people from the USA? Not sure why?

 

Also reference the visas, if you are from a country that requires people to get a visa to enter that country you would have to get that cleared before you left for the cruise. Example. You are from Argentina, you are going to Canada and New England cruise. You would need a visa for both America and Canada, however you would not be allowed to board the ship unless you had these with you at embarkation. If you are from the US or Canada I am pretty sure you wont need any visas but you should check with your TA before you leave.

[seattlekckckc]

OK, here was my experience. We had a tour in the morning in Kusadasi, but then had all afternoon to explore. I got back on the ship to eat lunch, and then proceeded to disembark and reboard 3 times while I pondered a purchase. Never once did I have to show anything other than my cruise card. We did not go to Istanbul. We did love Kusadasi however. Have a great trip!

 

Casey

[Cruise38]

This info from Zierer Visa Service website:

 

Passengers entering and exiting Turkey from a cruise ship and not staying on land overnight do not need a visa.

 

Hope this helps. However, reasure yourself and go to their website and read for yourself.

 

Barbara

[cactusrose]

I did the Med cruise in 2004 and the ship never took and kept my passport. I've never had them keep my passport on any cruise, including the Baltic, Australia and the Med. Come to think of it, we did a private tour in Kusadasi and we didn't need a VISA. I don't know about Istanbul.

[NelsonsFirstMate]

I did the Med cruise in 2004 and the ship never took and kept my passport. I've never had them keep my passport on any cruise, including the Baltic, Australia and the Med. Come to think of it, we did a private tour in Kusadasi and we didn't need a VISA. I don't know about Istanbul.

 

Well I can't speak for ships I haven't worked on but I will say those ships made a mistake. It is policy to do this and not just Princess. If that ship you were on didn't keep all passports and the ship entered a port where all passports were required by immigration in that port, the ship would have had to call for all passports to be taken to the desk which would have been a nightmare. The port clearance would have been delayed by hours (and possibly the ship could have been denied entrance). I can confirm to you that if you travel on the Grand your passports will be kept. Like I said I don't know about other ships but that is the policy.

[Pam in CA]

I've had my passport taken by the cruiseline for eastern Med cruises where we went to Kusadasi and Istanbul. We did not need visas to enter Turkey. Our passports were also taken for our Royal Princess cruise last April/May (itinerary: Manaus to Dakar to Morocco to Gibraltar to Spain, France and Italy.) Passports were returned shortly before we disembarked for Rome.

 

Back to your original question: if you're on a Princess cruise with ports in Turkey, you do not need a visa. However, your passport will be taken upon embarkation and returned upon disembarkation so bring a copy.

[D&L-01]

I've had my passport taken by the cruiseline for eastern Med cruises where we went to Kusadasi and Istanbul. We did not need visas to enter Turkey. Our passports were also taken for our Royal Princess cruise last April/May (itinerary: Manaus to Dakar to Morocco to Gibraltar to Spain, France and Italy.) Passports were returned shortly before we disembarked for Rome.

 

Back to your original question: if you're on a Princess cruise with ports in Turkey, you do not need a visa. However, your passport will be taken upon embarkation and returned upon disembarkation so bring a copy.

 

I have been on 5 Civilian Cruises (Holland America, Celebrity 2x, Royal Caribbean, and Princess) and have never had my Passport taken when boarding, but I have never cruised a civilian ship to the Med either.

 

Did you get your Passport returned when you went off the ship for a tour?

 

I am not sure I would want to get off the ship for a tour without my Passport (not a copy). If for some reason one would "miss the ship", it may be difficult getting out of that Country without the "Real" Passport.

 

I am considering a Med Cruse, and if that were the case... Passports NOT returned when I go off the ship for a tour then I will get another "real" Passport. Then I will have one for me and one for the ship.

 

Passports are cheap compared to the problems you could run into without one.:(

 

Also... some establishments (like hotels) in Foreign Countries, and I believe some countries in general, require you to surrender your Passport when you stay with them. Not sure why but at least the Hotel should not be able to sail away without you.

 

Better to be safe than sorry. Me... I always carry my Passport with me when abroad, as well in USA when traveling... you just never know, and they don't take up that much room.;)

[cactusrose]

Well I can't speak for ships I haven't worked on but I will say those ships made a mistake. It is policy to do this and not just Princess. If that ship you were on didn't keep all passports and the ship entered a port where all passports were required by immigration in that port, the ship would have had to call for all passports to be taken to the desk which would have been a nightmare. The port clearance would have been delayed by hours (and possibly the ship could have been denied entrance). I can confirm to you that if you travel on the Grand your passports will be kept. Like I said I don't know about other ships but that is the policy.

 

I was on the Star in 2004 for a Med cruise and our passports weren't collected even though we fully expected them to be collected. To my knowledge no ones were. They weren't collected on the Star on the Baltic Cruise last September. Maybe it's just the Star that doesn't collect them. I guess Commodore Ditel just wasn't following procedures. :eek: Of course when you disembark in Russia you have to have your passport in hand so maybe that's why they didn't collect it on that cruise. They didn't collect them on our Australia/New Zealand cruise either. I keep hearing about the ships keeping your passport, but I've never experienced it. We'll see what happens on our future cruises.

 

D&L-01. . . hotels in some countries are required to keep your passport as they have to register you with the local police department. But you're right, a hotel is not going to sail away with you. How do you get a second passport. You would have to report one lost which would make it invalid. I'd hate to be arrested for using a stolen passport.

[Tatka]

Also reference the visas, if you are from a country that requires people to get a visa to enter that country you would have to get that cleared before you left for the cruise. Example. You are from Argentina, you are going to Canada and New England cruise. You would need a visa for both America and Canada, however you would not be allowed to board the ship unless you had these with you at embarkation. If you are from the US or Canada I am pretty sure you wont need any visas but you should check with your TA before you leave.

 

Not really .. During Baltic cruises US citizens are required to get Russian visa in order to attend St. Petersburg... However they don't have to present it during embarkation, only if they want to go ashore in St.Pete.

[Hulagirl]

We sailed on the Golden Princess in 2001 on a Med cruise and our passports weren't collected either. The only time the ship wanted them was just before we got to Istanbul. The cruise was ending there and we had a 2 night post cruise package with Princess. We were charged $45 each for a visa, by Princess, and they collected our passport the day before we docked so they could put the visa in our passport. We had already been to Kusadasi and no visa was needed for there. We did a Princess excursion, but were able to walk around the port area and shop with no problem.

 

In 2004 we sailed on the Grand Princess in the Baltic, and again, Princess never collected our passports. Since we did tours with Princess in St. Petersburg, we didn't need to obtain visas before we left. If we had done an excursion on our own though, we would have needed to have them before we sailed.

 

It's interesting how different ships, even in the same line, do things differently. We had our passports with us throughout each cruise whether the Baltic area or the Med from Spain to Istanbul.

[TheHappyWanderer]

if a passenger wants to get off the ship in St. Petersberg they must do one of two things. 1. get a visa, which is expensive.....or 2. be a part of a snctioned tour group, whose operator has acquired the necessary group visa for the tour.

[NelsonsFirstMate]

Not really .. During Baltic cruises US citizens are required to get Russian visa in order to attend St. Petersburg... However they don't have to present it during embarkation, only if they want to go ashore in St.Pete.

 

OK but if you don't have it with you when you get onboard you can't get one whilst on board so my answer still remains the same. Maybe they didn't check for them but you need it to go ashore so my point is get it before you go. Also I was referring to a Med cruise not a Baltic one.

[Pam in CA]

It's interesting how different ships, even in the same line, do things differently. We had our passports with us throughout each cruise whether the Baltic area or the Med from Spain to Istanbul.

I think it depends on the countries you're going to and their requirements. The only cruise I've done that was sort of strictly Med also went to Egypt and Turkey. On our Royal Princess cruise last April, our passports were taken because we were embarking in Brazil and going to Senegal and Morocco. Since I'm doing a Med cruise this summer which goes to Spain, France and Italy, it'll be interesting to see if they take our passports. I'm betting that they don't. For those who say, "I'll never let them take my passport", you might want to stick with Caribbean, Alaska, New England and Hawaii cruises.

[D&L-01]

D&L-01. . . hotels in some countries are required to keep your passport as they have to register you with the local police department. But you're right, a hotel is not going to sail away with you. How do you get a second passport. You would have to report one lost which would make it invalid. I'd hate to be arrested for using a stolen passport.

 

Well... actually that is a good question, and good point. I have never had to do it, and just assumed that I could. I made this assumption on what I believe is a requirement that you cannot use your existing Passport to get onboard if it will be expiring in the next 6 months, so I would have to get another one, then I would have two. Based on this would I have to send in my old passport before I could get the new one? Also, I recall reading on one of these posts that it is legal to have two Passports. Guess we all know what it is to ass_u_me, so maybe more of the enlightened travelers can answer the question.:confused:

[Michael Kays]

In a word no. Passports are taken from every passenger as the ship is going to different countries that all require the ship to clear their respective customs before anybody is allowed off the ship in the particular port. This is standard operating practise. Every countries' immigration could require at any time to see all passports of all passengers and copies are not accepted.

 

This is an observation of mine over the years, but this practise only ever seems to upset people from the USA? Not sure why?

 

Also reference the visas, if you are from a country that requires people to get a visa to enter that country you would have to get that cleared before you left for the cruise. Example. You are from Argentina, you are going to Canada and New England cruise. You would need a visa for both America and Canada, however you would not be allowed to board the ship unless you had these with you at embarkation. If you are from the US or Canada I am pretty sure you wont need any visas but you should check with your TA before you leave.

can't speak for others from USA, but if we get stranded in europe without a passport it seems there could be some issues, like how to get out of one country to get into another to catch the ship..just a thought.

[cactusrose]

D&L-01. . .I just renewed my passport and had to send in the old one or fill out a form that the old one was lost. Of course, I suppose you can just apply for a new one, rather than a renewal, and pay the extra fee to get another one. My guess is that they would check to see if you had ever been issued a passport and if it was within the time period where you can renew, would ask you to complete the lost passport form anyway. But then I'm just guessing.

 

Anybody out there with two passports that can answer this question?

[Hulagirl]

Pam: Please let us know what they do on your cruise. I will be interested to see what happens.

 

When we did our Med cruise in 2001, we sailed from Barcelona ending up in Istanbul, Turkey. We sailed to Euphesus, back to Greece and then back to Istanbul, which was a bit different than the original schedule, back then. I really thought they would take the passports for our first stop in Euphesus, but they didn't. Of course in the Baltic they never took them at all and neither did the Royal SAS in Copenhagen for the 6 days we were there either.

[NelsonsFirstMate]

It is policy at the time of the cruise. It depends on where you are going and what countries require to see passports. This can change during the seasons. The ship can change what it's doing based on previous cruises. So if for the past month non of the countries visited have asked to see passports, then they probably don't collect them as it saves times and effort.

 

Just expect it and if they don't do it then it's a bonus.

 

Reference duplicate passports, that is a very dangrous business and not legal. You are only allowed to have one pasport of very obvious reasons. If you are on a ship that retains passoports you can ask for your passport before you go ashore as long as you return it when you get back onboard, that would be the sensible and legal way to go about it.

[BarbaraM]

We did our own tour in Kusadasi last summer -- the ship had our passport, we carried color copies of them with us, and were never asked to show/ use them. I can't speak for the other stops you are making -- the ship needed the passports only for NON EU countries --

 

We weren't on a Princess ship --- they did however say you could come down to the pursars desk to ask for your passport -- though I cannot recall what the policy was after docking in Turkey --

[D&L-01]

D&L-01. . .I just renewed my passport and had to send in the old one or fill out a form that the old one was lost. Of course, I suppose you can just apply for a new one, rather than a renewal, and pay the extra fee to get another one. My guess is that they would check to see if you had ever been issued a passport and if it was within the time period where you can renew, would ask you to complete the lost passport form anyway. But then I'm just guessing.

 

Anybody out there with two passports that can answer this question?

 

Cactusrose,

 

I found this information in the FAQ section at ...

 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

 

"I'm renewing my passport. Do I get the old one back?

 

Yes, we return the old, cancelled passport to you. It is a good idea to keep it in a safe place as it is considered proof of your U.S. citizenship."

 

Sounds like you will be getting your old passport back along with your new one. Since you would then have two Passports, and even though the old one has been canceled, at least you would have it to prove your citizenship if needed. There was no mention of it being illegal, as In fact it was suggested to "keep it".

 

Might be better than nothing if the ship would not return the "new" one when on Port calls.:)