Oceania visa costs

[sydneybound]

Hi,

I am booked on a cruise that stops In India. We will need visas and Oceania are offering to obtain them for us but at a cost of $400 each. I can obtain them myself I am sure at a cost of $80 each.  Is it almost mandatory to get visas via Oceania or is it ok to do it myself ?

[LHT28]

as long as you have the correct VISA   that is what counts

 

[sydneybound]

Thanks very much . I am sure I can DIY for the visa. Just seems a big mark up to get Oceania to obtain for us. 

[JoePDX]

You are not required to use Oceania's Visa service.   

 

The process to apply for an Indian visa is detailed and their website (at least when I did in in 2017 for an Oceania Cruise from Mumbai to Athens) was not the easiest to navigate.   But in the end, with about 2 hours invested, I was able to apply for both of our Visa's, get the applications overnighted and within 2 weeks we had our Passports back with the necessary visas.   

 

Best advice - don't wait until the last minute!

 

Joe

Edited June 27, 2022 by JoePDX

[JoePDX]

2 minutes ago, sydneybound said:

Thanks very much . I am sure I can DIY for the visa. Just seems a big mark up to get Oceania to obtain for us. 

Yes, there is a big markup!     I just secured our Turkish Visas for our upcoming cruise.  Oceania wanted $99 per person, I got them through Turkey's eVisa website for $51.50 and about an hours time for both of us.   

 

Joe

[sydneybound]

42 minutes ago, JoePDX said:

You are not required to use Oceania's Visa service.   

 

The process to apply for an Indian visa is detailed and their website (at least when I did in in 2017 for an Oceania Cruise from Mumbai to Athens) was not the easiest to navigate.   But in the end, with about 2 hours invested, I was able to apply for both of our Visa's, get the applications overnighted and within 2 weeks we had our Passports back with the necessary visas.   

 

Best advice - don't wait until the last minute!

 

Joe

Great advice Joe. Thanks for the info

[sydneybound]

41 minutes ago, JoePDX said:

Yes, there is a big markup!     I just secured our Turkish Visas for our upcoming cruise.  Oceania wanted $99 per person, I got them through Turkey's eVisa website for $51.50 and about an hours time for both of us.   

 

Joe

Yep definitely worth the work to get the visa ourselves.

[JoePDX]

3 hours ago, JoePDX said:

You are not required to use Oceania's Visa service.   

 

The process to apply for an Indian visa is detailed and their website (at least when I did in in 2017 for an Oceania Cruise from Mumbai to Athens) was not the easiest to navigate.   But in the end, with about 2 hours invested, I was able to apply for both of our Visa's, get the applications overnighted and within 2 weeks we had our Passports back with the necessary visas.   

 

Best advice - don't wait until the last minute!

 

Joe

A couple other thoughts on the process.

 

1. They will only accept one application per overnight envelope.   They point this out…just don’t think you can bypass.  My research at the time showed they would just send them back for you to resend.  

 

2.  Once they get the applications the website keeps you up to date on each step.   
 

3.  Purchase the outgoing and return overnight labels through the website. That ensures you get the updates I mention in point 2.   Plus I found their costs very reasonable.

 

Good luck!

 

Joe

Edited June 27, 2022 by JoePDX

[sydneybound]

Joe, Thanks very much for this step by step guide. I really appreciate the effort . I will make sure I follow the instructions carefully. Thanks again. 

[qballer]

Just got Turkish visas, took about 5mins to complete to visa apps and got backs confirmation 6 hrs later. Saves bout 50.00 from what Oceania wants.  Make sure you got to visiting countries website, there are other similar sites that charge more.

[Queen of DaNile]

The paperwork is tedious but at least the Indian visa is good for 10 years. As Joe said, follow their directions exactly and take your time.

[JoePDX]

3 hours ago, qballer said:

Just got Turkish visas, took about 5mins to complete to visa apps and got backs confirmation 6 hrs later. Saves bout 50.00 from what Oceania wants.  Make sure you got to visiting countries website, there are other similar sites that charge more.

Here is the official Turkish site for the eVisa.    https://evisa.gov.tr/en/

 

As noted above, there are a ot of sites that offer to do the same for a higher price, or offer but don't deliver at all.

 

Joe

[LGW59]

On 6/27/2022 at 4:14 PM, sydneybound said:

Hi,

I am booked on a cruise that stops In India. We will need visas and Oceania are offering to obtain them for us but at a cost of $400 each. I can obtain them myself I am sure at a cost of $80 each.  Is it almost mandatory to get visas via Oceania or is it ok to do it myself ?

It is not required to do thru the cruise line.  India visa process though is very cumbersome, me personally I would opt for Oceania to do this for me.  One less, though very important thing I need to worry about.