Beware Canadians Travelling to Egypt - New Process for Visa

[Martina2662]

3 hours ago, Ovsa said:

o.k.  never mind, i got it the form.

 

 I' m confused about "Embarking Egypt"  and  "In Transit".

 

Is stopping in the port of Safaga for 8 hours considered in-transit or embarking Egypt? 

Embarking means getting on the ship with your luggage the very first time.  

In transit means you leave the ship for the day and come back to your same ship

Edited October 13, 2023 by Martina2662

[Ovsa]

Well that's reassuring. 

Anyone else want to confirm?

 

Why would MSC send out a link for canadians to apply for visas if none are required?  

Thx

 

 

.

[acadian_dad]

8 hours ago, Ovsa said:

o.k.  never mind, i got it the form.

 

 I' m confused about "Embarking Egypt"  and  "In Transit".

 

Is stopping in the port of Safaga for 8 hours considered in-transit or embarking Egypt? 

Would normally mean in-transit but Egypt could make any determination - which is why many of us are applying for / have the visas “just in case”.

[CiaoRagazza]

It’s concerning that MSC updates the .com site but not the .ca!!! Why are Canadians left in the dark? We spoke with a MSC representative on the phone (about a week ago) and she asked us to email her the updated document (because she couldn’t find it 🙄🤔), and said that she was going to get back to us… we still haven’t heard from her. We’ll give her a little more time… we will definitely call MSC back next week. Until then… 
 

[Ovsa]

3 hours ago, CiaoRagazza said:

It’s concerning that MSC updates the .com site but not the .ca!!! Why are Canadians left in the dark? We spoke with a MSC representative on the phone (about a week ago) and she asked us to email her the updated document (because she couldn’t find it 🙄🤔), and said that she was going to get back to us… we still haven’t heard from her. We’ll give her a little more time… we will definitely call MSC back next week. Until then… 
 

 

[Ovsa]

Please let us know how it goes.

 

I have also been trying to get them to clarify..Get something in writing

[trips_ahoy]

I am having trouble making a reservation for a Visa appointment. I have a document that has a link to a SuperSaas scheduler. I registered but there do not seem to be appointments available. I may not be using it correctly.

Has anyone used it successfully?

 

Thank you.

[SeaandSky5]

23 minutes ago, Ovsa said:

Please let us know how it goes.

 

I have also been trying to get them to clarify..Get something in writing

My concern has been that the rules can change at any moment. Right now, NCL required documentation guidelines indicate no visa is required for Canadians unless they are flying into Egypt. However, as we saw back in August, Egypt can change the rules today and decide today that all Canadians require a visa for entry into the country regardless of how they are entering - if you look into Egypt’s entry requirements, they make no distinction on entry based on how you get there. We simply couldn’t take that chance. And since no one can assure us that what is outlined today will be in place in a month, we opted to just get the visa. No one will put anything in writing. 

[SeaandSky5]

3 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

I am having trouble making a reservation for a Visa appointment. I have a document that has a link to a SuperSaas scheduler. I registered but there do not seem to be appointments available. I may not be using it correctly.

Has anyone used it successfully?

 

Thank you.

Hi there. There are no appointments available. Are you trying for Ottawa or Montreal?

[Ovsa]

Anyone that has obtained a visa from the Ottawa Embassy in person,  how long did it take you to get it?  I see that drop-off are in the morning and pick-ups in the afternoon. 

 Did you get it the same day?  I wont have enough tme for a mail in as i am in the west.  Thanks

 

 

 

[Fouremco]

19 hours ago, trips_ahoy said:

We are also in Southern Ontario and due to a short window I will go to Montreal to drop it off. I would like to have the passports & visa sent back by courier. Does anyone know if the Embassy has a preference on which courier to use?

 

Thank you.

They only require that it be a "CERTIFIED PREPAID COURIER ENVELOPE", with no stated preference of courier service.

 

[Ovsa]

This is from the MSC office in Ontario;  Don't know how recent it is:

 

Id like to hear something directly from the Consulate.

[SeaandSky5]

6 minutes ago, Ovsa said:

Anyone that has obtained a visa from the Ottawa Embassy in person,  how long did it take you to get it?  I see that drop-off are in the morning and pick-ups in the afternoon. 

 Did you get it the same day?  I wont have enough tme for a mail in as i am in the west.  Thanks

 

 

 

We dropped off on Oct 11-pickup is October 24th

[broberts]

5 hours ago, Ovsa said:

Why would MSC send out a link for canadians to apply for visas if none are required?  

 

It could be as uncertain of the requirements as many others.

 

 

[CiaoRagazza]

37 minutes ago, Ovsa said:

This is from the MSC office in Ontario;  Don't know how recent it is:

 

Id like to hear something directly from the Consulate.

I read and understood exactly the same thing. And regarding the comments that Egypt can change their rules for Visas entry requirements… any country at any time can do so as well. We were booked on a Celebrity cruise leaving from Mumbai in December and overnight the rules changed (Canadians can no longer obtain a Visa to India). 

[mom says]

Nm

Edited October 13, 2023 by mom says

[Ovsa]

1 hour ago, CiaoRagazza said:

2 hours ago, Ovsa said:

This is from the MSC office in Ontario;  Don't know how recent it is:

 

Id like to hear something directly from the Consulate.

I read and understood exactly the same thing. And regarding the comments that Egypt can change their rules for Visas entry requirements… any country at any time can do so as well. We were booked on a Celebrity cruise leaving from Mumbai in December and overnight the rules changed (Canadians can no longer obtain a Visa to India). 

  Same boat ! (literally)  We were also suppose to be on the Celebrity Spice Route and we had to cancel that one due to the India Visa Issue. (not a good year for canadian passport holders) Celebrity was good in offering to exhange, so we are now going to H.K. to sail to Singapore. Had to pay a bit more, but we also ended up in a higher category. (of course they upsell). Just have to recupe my losses for adjancet flights.

[trips_ahoy]

3 hours ago, SeaandSky5 said:

Hi there. There are no appointments available. Are you trying for Ottawa or Montreal?

 

[trips_ahoy]

I was using the attached instructions to book an appointment in Montreal.

 

Not really working.

[SeaandSky5]

14 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

I was using the attached instructions to book an appointment in Montreal.

 

Not really working.

I was not able to book an appointment before our departure date in Montreal. We got an appointment in Ottawa. There were people there applying for visas without an appointment. I don’t know if this helps you but technically we were supposed to go to Montreal, but chose Ottawa because it’s closer. Confirming the sign on the door says walk-ins were accepted 10-12. 

[CiaoRagazza]

17 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

 

Great!!! We’ve replaced the India cruise with 2 1/2 weeks in Kuala Lumpur, prior to  hopping on a Holland America cruise on Dec. 23rd (28 days/Singapore to Singapore). 🙂😎

[trips_ahoy]

 

I don’t know if this helps youbut technically we were supposed to go to Montreal, but chose Ottawa because it’s closer. Confirming the sign on the door says walk-ins were accepted 10-12. 
 

Thank you, that does help. I will try to call on Monday.

 

[SeaandSky5]

15 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

 

 

I don’t know if this helps youbut technically we were supposed to go to Montreal, but chose Ottawa because it’s closer. Confirming the sign on the door says walk-ins were accepted 10-12. 
 

Thank you, that does help. I will try to call on Monday.

 

FYI, my understanding is that they are on a work to rule. They are not answering the phones. 

[acadian_dad]

Just got an email from Azamara - in our case, if we are doing ship’s tours, they will get the visa exemption but if we are doing our own arrangements we will need a proper visa.

 

[Ovsa]

17 hours ago, acadian_dad said:

Just got an email from Azamara - in our case, if we are doing ship’s tours, they will get the visa exemption but if we are doing our own arrangements we will need a proper visa.

 

 Thanks..that is helpful.. I received pretty much the same info from my TA  regarding the stop in Safaga with MSC. At least agents are able to access better sources of info from cruise companies, as oppose to us pleabes who have to wait days for a response...if they even decide.