Msc Splendida 15Nov22

[philk18]

I was wondering if this is just myself or everyone is finding super labouring getting all visas to MSC Splendida on the 15Nov(Rome - Jeddah).

 

i ve got an email from Msc saying I need to provide visa for Egypt and Saudi Arabia which in my opinion is strange as theres no port stop in Egypt just transit. Saudi Arabia visa can be obtained on arrival so why do i need to provide in advance.

 

i am really afraid of being denied of boarding and ruining my babymoon trip.

 

[alicat58]

Were doing the Red Sea cruise starting 11 Dec. Husband spoke to MSC who said we needed the Egypt visa but can get the Saudi on there. We board in Safaga and also go to Ain Soukhna which is the port for Cairo.

 

Would be interested to hear what you learn.

 

Alicat

[Essiesmom]

There is a roll call for the cruise starting 13 November.  Lots of talk about excursions.  The itinerary seems confusing;  some say all ports in Egypt were cancelled, others claim to be boarding in Port Sokhna for Cairo.  Not looking at the website, though.  You might post there to see what others are doing.  
 

I see that you are quite new to Cruise Critic, and might not be familiar with the concept of a roll call.  A roll call is a thread started by a member going on a cruise who is interested in talking with other members on the same cruise.  There is a separate forum here for roll calls.  To find yours, go back to the main boards page, scroll down to ROLL CALLS, choose myour cruise line, then your ship and look for a thread which includes the dates for your cruise.  There is a roll call finder tool on the menu line above, but for MSC I would not recommend using it, because MSC boards new guests in nearly every port, so the person starting the roll call might be boarding at the port before or after yours, so the dates would not match and yours would. It show up.  
 

You might also visit the Ports of Call board which includes Egypt.  I believe it would be the one for Africa and the Middle East.  EM

Edited November 4, 2022 by Essiesmom

[alicat58]

Hi Essiesmom and sorry Philk hijacking your thread

 

I wonder where the info about Egypt ports being cancelled are coming from. There is nothing on the MSC site but that is nothing new as we know. I wondered whether it could have something to do with the Football world cup which starts the 20th of November.

 

My biggest problem with MSC roll calls are that there are so few English speakers that there is not always a roll call for your dates as well as the multiple embarkation ports of course. That I am used to having cruised with Costa for many years.

 

Let's hope MSC let all involved know what is potting.

 

Alicat

[SolandBud]

In regards to the original poster, yes, it appears to be very difficult to actually find access to the Transit e-visa mentioned in MSC's e-mail dated 4th November. We have seen several mentions of the $50 transit visa online but actually submitting an application seems near impossible. I was in London on Thursday and actually went to the embassy - the guy there said don't worry, you can buy one on arrival for 200. Assuming he meant 200 SAR then that would make sense as this equates to $50.

 

Anyone actually managed to obtain a visa in advance?

[SolandBud]

On 11/4/2022 at 2:17 PM, philk18 said:

I was wondering if this is just myself or everyone is finding super labouring getting all visas to MSC Splendida on the 15Nov(Rome - Jeddah).

 

i ve got an email from Msc saying I need to provide visa for Egypt and Saudi Arabia which in my opinion is strange as theres no port stop in Egypt just transit. Saudi Arabia visa can be obtained on arrival so why do i need to provide in advance.

 

i am really afraid of being denied of boarding and ruining my babymoon trip.

 

Update - we did actually just manage to apply for 2 transit visas via the Saudia visa website - https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/

 

You need to create a profile and then submit an application. Choose E on the top left to switch to english and one of the visa options is transit. It cost us about £45 which is $50.

 

The status is showing as 'sent to embassy' (we chose London as the 'mission' to send it to), I'll post back on here if it's succesful.

[nuvolablue]

On 11/4/2022 at 5:11 PM, alicat58 said:

Were doing the Red Sea cruise starting 11 Dec. Husband spoke to MSC who said we needed the Egypt visa but can get the Saudi on there. We board in Safaga and also go to Ain Soukhna which is the port for Cairo.

 

Would be interested to hear what you learn.

 

Alicat

Looking forward to hearing your experiences of this cruise. I will be doing the same starting on 18 Dec from Safaga for 7 nights.

 

How are you getting to Safaga Port ?

[nuvolablue]

On 11/6/2022 at 7:09 PM, SolandBud said:

Update - we did actually just manage to apply for 2 transit visas via the Saudia visa website - https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/

 

You need to create a profile and then submit an application. Choose E on the top left to switch to english and one of the visa options is transit. It cost us about £45 which is $50.

 

The status is showing as 'sent to embassy' (we chose London as the 'mission' to send it to), I'll post back on here if it's succesful.

 

Hi there any updates on your Saudi Transit Visa ?

[sidari]

2 hours ago, nuvolablue said:

 

Hi there any updates on your Saudi Transit Visa ?

£45 pp just to get off the ship seems a bit much.

[alicat58]

23 hours ago, nuvolablue said:

ooking forward to hearing your experiences of this cruise. I will be doing the same starting on 18 Dec from Safaga for 7 nights.

 

How are you getting to Safaga Port ?

We booked a Fly and cruise. We still don't have flight times or tickets. Apparently will get them by the weekend. I assume it will include the transfer from Hurghada to the ship.

[nuvolablue]

On 11/6/2022 at 7:09 PM, SolandBud said:

Update - we did actually just manage to apply for 2 transit visas via the Saudia visa website - https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/

 

You need to create a profile and then submit an application. Choose E on the top left to switch to english and one of the visa options is transit. It cost us about £45 which is $50.

 

The status is showing as 'sent to embassy' (we chose London as the 'mission' to send it to), I'll post back on here if it's succesful.

Hi @SolandBudany updates on the status of your transit visa ? Mine has been stuck on "under process" status since I applied on 15 November. Any help appreciated.

[nuvolablue]

On 11/6/2022 at 7:09 PM, SolandBud said:

Update - we did actually just manage to apply for 2 transit visas via the Saudia visa website - https://visa.mofa.gov.sa/

 

You need to create a profile and then submit an application. Choose E on the top left to switch to english and one of the visa options is transit. It cost us about £45 which is $50.

 

The status is showing as 'sent to embassy' (we chose London as the 'mission' to send it to), I'll post back on here if it's succesful.

Hi  ...I've just got off the phone to the Saudi Embassy in London to check the status of my Transit Visa application. This was the one applied for using the following link:

 

https://www.msccruises.com//en-gl/Assets/Transit-Visa-online-application.pdf

 

The embassy have advised me that the Transit Visa is no longer offered to UK travellers, so they have cancelled my application. Very annoying that this was not made clear on the application status, nor did anyone bother to call me from the Embassy.

 

So for UK travellers the only option is to apply for the more expensive Tourist Visa.

 

I know some are going for the option of getting MSC to sort this for them on board, but Jeddah is a key port for me to visit so I'm not going to leave it to chance. I hope that's a useful update for all in the UK at least.

 

@SolandBud I believe you are also from UK - what is status of your transit visa ? Have you checked with the Embassy in London ?

[Berwell]

Hi fellow cruisers,

We are a family of four (2 adults and kids ages 11 and 😎 that will be cruising on the MSC Splendida out of Ain Sokhna, Egypt on March 25, 2023. We opted to do the four night cruise and disembark in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, rather than do the full seven day itinerary. Once we get off the ship, we will be driving directly to the airport to fly to Dubai (transportation has already been booked). Does anyone have any advice on which visit we require? When I contacted VisitSaudi.com they told me that we  require a Transit Visa by Sea (see attached). However, upon review of the MSC website it states that Transit Visas are not to be used my passengers disembarking in Saudia Arabia and that an e-Visa is required (also attached). The difference in price is $200 versus $800 CAD so fairly important to get this right. I understand we can purchase our visas on the ship but our flight leaves at 11:55am from Jeddah and therefore I’d  be pushing it if we dock at 8am and I need to be at the airport by 9:30am. I’d really appreciate any advice from past cruisers on this ship and itinerary.  

[Berwell]

On 11/24/2022 at 4:02 AM, nuvolablue said:

Hi  ...I've just got off the phone to the Saudi Embassy in London to check the status of my Transit Visa application. This was the one applied for using the following link:

 

https://www.msccruises.com//en-gl/Assets/Transit-Visa-online-application.pdf

 

The embassy have advised me that the Transit Visa is no longer offered to UK travellers, so they have cancelled my application. Very annoying that this was not made clear on the application status, nor did anyone bother to call me from the Embassy.

 

So for UK travellers the only option is to apply for the more expensive Tourist Visa.

 

I know some are going for the option of getting MSC to sort this for them on board, but Jeddah is a key port for me to visit so I'm not going to leave it to chance. I hope that's a useful update for all in the UK at least.

 

@SolandBud I believe you are also from UK - what is status of your transit visa ? Have you checked with the Embassy in London ?

Did you get the correct visa? How long did it take? I’m in Canada and taking the same cruise in March but disembarking in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia.