Visa Requirements

[Bo1331]

We’re going on first Viking cruise in Feb (28 days) to Southeast Asia- Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore.  My understanding is Viking does all of Visa work for us.  However they have a section on their website mentioning a visa application process. We’re confused,.  Any info out there from other travelers.

[CurlerRob]

30 minutes ago, Bo1331 said:

We’re going on first Viking cruise in Feb (28 days) to Southeast Asia- Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore.  My understanding is Viking does all of Visa work for us.  However they have a section on their website mentioning a visa application process. We’re confused,.  Any info out there from other travelers.

 

I am not aware of any situations where Viking does the visa work FOR you. On World Cruises, it is common that Viking includes the cost of the 3rd party visa service that they recommend - but you need to take action to initiate and complete the process.

 

The item on the website is likely the connection to their recommended service. If you are not doing the visa work yourself, I suggest you contact Viking ASAP and clarify who does what. Then, you need to get in touch with their (or another) service and understand the process. In the end, we, as pax, are ultimately responsible to have the appropriate visas, no matter who assists us.

 

From our past experience, Australia is simple to do yourself - it's an online application that is straightforward. On our last stop in Singapore, the ship (not Viking) handled the visa - no action required by us. For the other 3 countries, I have read various painful accounts.

 

Good luck - don't delay on this ... 🍺🥌

[Peregrina651]

I will ditto what CurlerRob said.  Viking is not responsible for obtaining your visas.   

 

US Department of State travel website is a good starting point, even if you don't carry a US passport.   For each country they will tell you what the visa requirements are for US citizens and for other countries as well.  If don't see your country listed, you must double check on wrbsite for your country. 

 

Remember that visa requirements are based on the passport you carry, not where you live. 

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, Bo1331 said:

We’re going on first Viking cruise in Feb (28 days) to Southeast Asia- Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore.  My understanding is Viking does all of Visa work for us.  However they have a section on their website mentioning a visa application process. We’re confused,.  Any info out there from other travelers.

 

I agree with the above answers... It is your responsibility to have all the Visa and entry requirements before you board the ship or you could be denied boarding for the entire trip.  Viking may guide you, but it is up to you to get them.

 

We are doing a land based Cambodia and Vietnam trip in January and both these countries require Visas.

 

One thing to note, and I think it is Vietnam, that if you are entering Vietnam more than once, then you need a multiple entry Visa rather than just a single entry Visa.  Not sure if your cruise is stopping in more than one city in Vietnam.

 

Be careful with the Vietnamese Visa as it is only valid for 30 days from issue, so you have to get it online close to your trip and ensure that the 30 days from issue covers your entry date or dates.  Not sure about the rest as most online EVisas are good for 90 days or more.

[Bo1331]

Thanks to all for the info.  I checked online with Genvisa on line and it looks straight forward.  I’’l give them a call.  It looks also easy DIY.  We were just caught by surprise since we never traveled anywhere but Europe which only requires a passport.

[Australia08]

12 minutes ago, Bo1331 said:

Thanks to all for the info.  I checked online with Genvisa on line and it looks straight forward.  I’’l give them a call.  It looks also easy DIY.  We were just caught by surprise since we never traveled anywhere but Europe which only requires a passport.

Vietnam recently changed their Evisa process to include multiple entry visas. Also, for Vietnam you state the dates you will be there. Yes, it is only a 30 day visa, but you establish the dates, not based on when you apply. 

[Mich3554]

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I agree with the above answers... It is your responsibility to have all the Visa and entry requirements before you board the ship or you could be denied boarding for the entire trip.  Viking may guide you, but it is up to you to get them.

 

We are doing a land based Cambodia and Vietnam trip in January and both these countries require Visas.

 

One thing to note, and I think it is Vietnam, that if you are entering Vietnam more than once, then you need a multiple entry Visa rather than just a single entry Visa.  Not sure if your cruise is stopping in more than one city in Vietnam.

 

Be careful with the Vietnamese Visa as it is only valid for 30 days from issue, so you have to get it online close to your trip and ensure that the 30 days from issue covers your entry date or dates.  Not sure about the rest as most online EVisas are good for 90 days or more.

In case you do not know, Cambodia has only single entry visas available.  If you are leaving Cambodia and re-entering Cambodia on a different date, you need to apply for another visa with different dates.  I found this out with a very lengthy conversation with GenVisa last month as we had plans on doing this ourselves.

I have applications filled out and ready to be sent for both Cambodia and Vietnam on my desk.  Need to get pics.  

[CDNPolar]

14 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

In case you do not know, Cambodia has only single entry visas available.  If you are leaving Cambodia and re-entering Cambodia on a different date, you need to apply for another visa with different dates.  I found this out with a very lengthy conversation with GenVisa last month as we had plans on doing this ourselves.

I have applications filled out and ready to be sent for both Cambodia and Vietnam on my desk.  Need to get pics.  

 

For Cambodia, is this the case even if the second entry is within the valid days of the Visa?  We only enter Cambodia the once and don't reenter, but I did not catch this information when I was researching.  Shows that there are always details that can be missed....

[Mich3554]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

For Cambodia, is this the case even if the second entry is within the valid days of the Visa?  We only enter Cambodia the once and don't reenter, but I did not catch this information when I was researching.  Shows that there are always details that can be missed....

This is the way GenVisa explained it to me for what I wanted to do.   We would be looking at entering Cambodia on 3/20.  On 3/24, flying back to Bangkok and getting onto the ship on 3/26.  I think the ship gets into Cambodia either 3/27 or 28 (don’t remember, but it’s a 2 day stop).  You need 2 visas.  They only have single entry visas, so you need 2 (and of course, pay for 2).  Supposedly, you can’t have 3/20-29 on a single entry visa if you are leaving the country….which we are, going back to Thailand.
DH decided he’d rather scuba dive in Bali than go to Angkor Wat so we ditched that idea. 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Mich3554

[deec]

1 hour ago, Mich3554 said:

This is the way GenVisa explained it to me for what I wanted to do.   We would be looking at entering Cambodia on 3/20.  On 3/24, flying back to Bangkok and getting onto the ship on 3/26.  I think the ship gets into Cambodia either 3/27 or 28 (don’t remember, but it’s a 2 day stop).  You need 2 visas.  They only have single entry visas, so you need 2 (and of course, pay for 2).  Supposedly, you can’t have 3/20-29 on a single entry visa if you are leaving the country….which we are, going back to Thailand.
DH decided he’d rather scuba dive in Bali than go to Angkor Wat so we ditched that idea. 

Angkor Wat and surrounding temples are truly amazing if you have any interest in Temples.  We are scuba divers and unless Bali has something very unique no comparison.

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, deec said:

Angkor Wat and surrounding temples are truly amazing if you have any interest in Temples.  We are scuba divers and unless Bali has something very unique no comparison.

DH dove Bali on the world cruise.  He said diving there was fabulous (he’s hooking up with the same dive company who took them earlier this year, and wanted to go back).  One of our trips each year is a dive trip,  This is really the only time we have, and the few times he dove on the world cruise wasn’t a sufficient fix for him.
The visa issue complicated things by needing to apply for 2 visas, so that made the decision for him. We are already going in 3 weeks before the cruise.  Angkor Wat’s going to have to be another trip.  

Edited November 20, 2023 by Mich3554

[deec]

1 hour ago, Mich3554 said:

DH dove Bali on the world cruise.  He said diving there was fabulous (he’s hooking up with the same dive company who took them earlier this year, and wanted to go back).  One of our trips each year is a dive trip,  This is really the only time we have, and the few times he dove on the world cruise wasn’t a sufficient fix for him.
The visa issue complicated things by needing to apply for 2 visas, so that made the decision for him. We are already going in 3 weeks before the cruise.  Angkor Wat’s going to have to be another trip.  

have you done the Mekong River? ...we did not do it with Viking ( they have new boats now so we would choose viking today) .  One of our absolutely Best Trips!

[Mich3554]

58 minutes ago, deec said:

have you done the Mekong River? ...we did not do it with Viking ( they have new boats now so we would choose viking today) .  One of our absolutely Best Trips!

Not yet, but it’s on the list.  We are booked through May 2025, and I’m wanting to see what the 25-26 world cruise goes.