Oceania’s unnecessary Chinese visa requirement

[YWGcruisers]

For those of you booked on an Asian Oceania cruise this fall or winter with a stop in Shanghai your guest statement indicates that you must obtain a Chinese tourist visa even though Shanghai has an exemption for cruise ship passengers in transit on organized tours. To take advantage of this exemption all you need to do is book a shore excursion either with the cruise line or with a registered tour agency.  If you are unaware of the process of getting a Chinese tourist visa, it is very complicated process as follows;

Depending on your consular district, (for Americans) you will need to travel to either Washington DC, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco and (for Canadians) you will need to travel to Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal, to have an in person interview with your application, passports and provide your biometric fingerprints. A very onerous and expensive process indeed.

It is my understanding that other cruise lines (RCL and Carnival Corp.) have provided this exemption to their guests since 2016 if the guest wasn't going ashore independently or participating in a land program outside of the Shanghai district. NCL needs to do the same for their guests.

Perhaps, if more guests pressured Oceania either directly or via their travel advisor to change their policy, it would certainly make it easier for us all.

[susiesan]

Americans can pay an expediter to get the visa for them without going in person. A one year tourist visa costs $140 plus whatever an expediter charges which is likely hefty. You have to really want to go to China to pay all of this extra money on top of your cruise fare. I'd be finding a different cruise itinerary.

[YWGcruisers]

Unfortunately, expeditors like CIBT are no longer allowed to handle Chinese visas. They must be done in person by the individual requesting them.

[AMHuntFerry]

The current policy on the PRC embassy's site went into effect March 15th; it includes "15-Day visa-free travel for cruise groups at Shanghai ports". O tends to be slow to update this type of thing especially for a cruise this far out, so I'm not surprised they have outdated info at the moment. The PRC determines who needs a visa, not O.

[jackdeb]

Better yet avoid China completely!

[YWGcruisers]

17 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

The current policy on the PRC embassy's site went into effect March 15th; it includes "15-Day visa-free travel for cruise groups at Shanghai ports". O tends to be slow to update this type of thing especially for a cruise this far out, so I'm not surprised they have outdated info at the moment. The PRC determines who needs a visa, not O.

I wish that were true but pre-covid lockdown of China, O required a Visa and they are telling us that the same applies now. They have never offered this to their guests.  I have senior management reviewing their policy. No decision yet.

[YWGcruisers]

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

Americans can pay an expediter to get the visa for them without going in person. A one year tourist visa costs $140 plus whatever an expediter charges which is likely hefty. You have to really want to go to China to pay all of this extra money on top of your cruise fare. I'd be finding a different cruise itinerary.

You might consider checking your information sources before posting.  This may have been the case years ago but not today!

[AMHuntFerry]

27 minutes ago, YWGcruisers said:

You might consider checking your information sources before posting.  This may have been the case years ago but not today!

Can you please reference your source? The PRC embassy (US) site states "The physical application documents can be submitted to the Visa Office at the appointed time by the visa applicant or by an agent..." in their January 2023 notice regarding the re-opening of the Visa office. Has there been a more recent notice that I'm not finding?

Good luck getting O to recognize current rules quickly. As I said, they can be slow as was witnessed during the restart of cruising among always changing Covid-rules.

Edited April 29, 2023 by AMHuntFerry
US embassy

[WESTEAST]

45 minutes ago, YWGcruisers said:

I wish that were true but pre-covid lockdown of China, O required a Visa and they are telling us that the same applies now. They have never offered this to their guests.  I have senior management reviewing their policy. No decision yet.

Hope it works out for you. We considered a similar cruise but then reviewing the extensive form one must complete along with the face-to-face, travel and if we recall we had to surrender our Canadian passports with the application, we decided against China. Their Government feelings towards Canada is cool and doubt will not change anytime soon. The Canadian Travel Advisory states visas are required and wasn't aware of Shanghai exemption for cruises. We did stop in St. Petersburg years ago and the Russian tour company provided our required visa and everything went very smoothly; this is now a destination off limits for probably a decade or more.

[PhD-iva]

4 hours ago, jackdeb said:

Better yet avoid China completely!

+1,000!

[YWGcruisers]

12 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Can you please reference your source? The PRC embassy (US) site states "The physical application documents can be submitted to the Visa Office at the appointed time by the visa applicant or by an agent..." in their January 2023 notice regarding the re-opening of the Visa office. Has there been a more recent notice that I'm not finding?

Good luck getting O to recognize current rules quickly. As I said, they can be slow as was witnessed during the restart of cruising among always changing Covid-rules.

I cannot find what you are referring to. If you can't fill out an online form and submit it, I'm sure someone will take your $$$ to do it for you.  Once the embassy/consulate receives your application, they will grant you an appointment where you must attend in person and hand over your passport.  Once your visa has been approved, everything will be returned to you.  See all the details here...

https://visaguide.world/asia/china-visa/china-visa-from-usa/

[YWGcruisers]

16 hours ago, jackdeb said:

Better yet avoid China completely!

To put things into perspective, OC has come up with the best itinerary I have ever seen on the Riviera from Dubai to Tokyo (82 days) late December to the end of March.  Unfortunately, there is an overnight in Shanghai which mucks things up.  Not happy about going there but it may be the last opportunity ever! 

[YWGcruisers]

15 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

Hope it works out for you. We considered a similar cruise but then reviewing the extensive form one must complete along with the face-to-face, travel and if we recall we had to surrender our Canadian passports with the application, we decided against China. Their Government feelings towards Canada is cool and doubt will not change anytime soon. The Canadian Travel Advisory states visas are required and wasn't aware of Shanghai exemption for cruises. We did stop in St. Petersburg years ago and the Russian tour company provided our required visa and everything went very smoothly; this is now a destination off limits for probably a decade or more.

Worst case scenario, we book our excursions with a third party to provide us with the exemption papers we need to board. We would just have to get enough folks to do that, so they don't deny us boarding without Chinese visas. We are hopeful though that OC will see the possible loss of revenue and offer the exemption with their excursions.

[susiesan]

8 minutes ago, YWGcruisers said:

To put things into perspective, OC has come up with the best itinerary I have ever seen on the Riviera from Dubai to Tokyo (82 days) late December to the end of March.  Unfortunately, there is an overnight in Shanghai which mucks things up.  Not happy about going there but it may be the last opportunity ever! 

Shanghai is just a huge city. There's not much of historical interest to see there. If you never go there you're not missing out on much. I went to China in 2011 on a DIY land trip. I'm not ever returning, for various reasons.

[babysteps]

2 hours ago, YWGcruisers said:

Worst case scenario, we book our excursions with a third party to provide us with the exemption papers we need to board. 

I may be a risk-averse person, but to me it seems like the worst case could be that Oceania enforces their visa requirement even if you met the Chinese government's exemption. 

 

Does anyone have an example of O allowing such an exemption? If yes I would be happy to be wrong! 

 

 

[mnocket]

3 hours ago, susiesan said:

I went to China in 2011 on a DIY land trip. I'm not ever returning, for various reasons.

Wow!  You were a lot braver than I am.  A self-guided land trip through China is way out of my comfort zone.  I imagine much of China is not tourist friendly.  If you don't mind, could you briefly expand on why you would never return?

[Woodrowst]

19 hours ago, jackdeb said:

Better yet avoid China completely!

Why?  I have had the good fortune to have traveled to almost 60 countries and independent territories and China was the most fascinating of them all.  I do agree that Shanghai is the least interesting city as it is the most westernized.  Other areas provide a paradigm shift from what we are used to in North America and thus expand our horizons as travel is meant to do.

[AMHuntFerry]

7 hours ago, YWGcruisers said:

I cannot find what you are referring to. If you can't fill out an online form and submit it, I'm sure someone will take your $$$ to do it for you.  Once the embassy/consulate receives your application, they will grant you an appointment where you must attend in person and hand over your passport.  Once your visa has been approved, everything will be returned to you.  See all the details here...

https://visaguide.world/asia/china-visa/china-visa-from-usa/

I hesitated to post the link, but here it is since it is the direct/core reference: http://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/lsfw/zj/qz2021/

We have ten year PRC visas for business purposes, so have been through the drill pre-Covid (used an agent for convenience). The worst part was finding a photographer who can meet the photo requirements; PRC is very strict. It was better than getting Russian visas though...their approved vendors are a nightmare (lost my spouse's passport one time; sent us someone else's passport another time and expected us to forward it with not even a "thanks"...ugh!). I doubt we'll be interested in traveling (business or pleasure) to either country for quite a while if ever.

[susiesan]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

Wow!  You were a lot braver than I am.  A self-guided land trip through China is way out of my comfort zone.  I imagine much of China is not tourist friendly.  If you don't mind, could you briefly expand on why you would never return?

DH and I spent 2 weeks there. Flew into Beijing, stayed at a Marriott. Then flew to Guilin, took a bus to Yangshuo. Then back to Guilin for a train to Shanghai. Train to Nanjing, train to Suzhou, train to Hangzhou, flew home from there. I had people/friends from flyer talk help plan this trip but we traveled alone. I studied Chinese for 9 months before going but could barely communicate once I got there. Hotels were booked online myself with CTrip.com. I have never worked so hard on a vacation as I did on that trip. It was very stressful. I've got stories to tell about our experiences there.

 

The country is packed with Chinese travelers, it's not foreign tourist friendly anymore, the Chinese don't like Americans. Chinese tourists are rude, spit everywhere, and smoke everywhere. The cost of the visa is excessive compared to other countries. There are also political reasons why I won't go back that I'm not allowed to discuss here.

 

I'm glad I went to China when I did but will not be returning. There are plenty of other Asian countries who are welcoming to Americans.

Edited April 30, 2023 by susiesan

[AMHuntFerry]

4 hours ago, susiesan said:

Shanghai is just a huge city. There's not much of historical interest to see there. If you never go there you're not missing out on much. I went to China in 2011 on a DIY land trip. I'm not ever returning, for various reasons.

My parents have been to China on both DIY and Elderhostel trips and encouraged us to go. We never made it for pleasure and it looks like those DIY days are long gone. The last time my spouse went (Nov. 2019) he took zero electronics (no phone, not even a USB) and used cash only (probably not allowed now).

[njhorseman]

7 hours ago, YWGcruisers said:

See all the details here...

https://visaguide.world/asia/china-visa/china-visa-from-usa/

You're citing a commercial website, not an official Chinese government source. @AMHuntFerry is citing the official website of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America.

If I were a betting man, which I am, my money would be on what @AMHuntFerry is saying as being correct.

[YWGcruisers]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

You're citing a commercial website, not an official Chinese government source. @AMHuntFerry is citing the official website of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America.

If I were a betting man, which I am, my money would be on what @AMHuntFerry is saying as being correct.

I just visited the American site and it is not saying anything different from the Canadian site.  You and @AMHuntFerry are wasting our time on this post!  Perhaps you should do some research and contact the Chinese consulate nearest you.

[osandomir]

2 minutes ago, YWGcruisers said:

I just visited the American site and it is not saying anything different from the Canadian site.  You and @AMHuntFerry are wasting our time on this post!  Perhaps you should do some research and contact the Chinese consulate nearest you.

Would you please tell us what do you want to hear, so no one will be wasting your time trying to help you. 

[pmatawan]

On 4/29/2023 at 3:47 PM, YWGcruisers said:

For those of you booked on an Asian Oceania cruise this fall or winter with a stop in Shanghai your guest statement indicates that you must obtain a Chinese tourist visa even though Shanghai has an exemption for cruise ship passengers in transit on organized tours. To take advantage of this exemption all you need to do is book a shore excursion either with the cruise line or with a registered tour agency.  If you are unaware of the process of getting a Chinese tourist visa, it is very complicated process as follows;

Depending on your consular district, (for Americans) you will need to travel to either Washington DC, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco and (for Canadians) you will need to travel to Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal, to have an in person interview with your application, passports and provide your biometric fingerprints. A very onerous and expensive process indeed.

It is my understanding that other cruise lines (RCL and Carnival Corp.) have provided this exemption to their guests since 2016 if the guest wasn't going ashore independently or participating in a land program outside of the Shanghai district. NCL needs to do the same for their guests.

Perhaps, if more guests pressured Oceania either directly or via their travel advisor to change their policy, it would certainly make it easier for us all.

I called O months ago as I have a copy of what Holland America provided to their guests, pre covid. They would not connect me to anyone who could answer my questions directly. They did not seem to grasp the issue. 

[AMHuntFerry]

33 minutes ago, YWGcruisers said:

I just visited the American site and it is not saying anything different from the Canadian site.  You and @AMHuntFerry are wasting our time on this post!  Perhaps you should do some research and contact the Chinese consulate nearest you.

I'm starting to think you are AI since you can't support your statement with verifiable facts, but here-goes anyway so other US pax have info to make their own decisions.

Go to the PRC US embassy (Wash. DC) website (this is my state's location):

http://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/lsfw/zj/qz2021/202206/t20220614_10702581.htm

Read the procedures, specifically II.(3), "The physical application documents can be submitted to the Visa Office at the appointed time by the visa applicant or by an agent..."

The LA consulate has the same language in their April 29th (kinda recent?) notice:
http://losangeles.china-consulate.gov.cn/eng/visa/chinavisa/202304/t20230429_11068942.htm