Passport Visa pages needed?

[gerena]

I also posted this on the Prinsendam page.

We are on the Capetown/Lisbon portion. Just looking at the information HAL sent on the number of visas needed and also the number of blank pages needed.

 

I have 4 blank visa pages and 2 blank of the endorsement pages.

 

My husband has 3 blank visa pages and 1 blank endorsement page.

 

Is that enough?

 

Looks like we will need a visa page for South Africa, Reunion and Mauritius, Kenya, Oman, Libya (if we go) and perhaps Egypt--don't know what they do for sure.

 

That's 7 blank pages????

 

Help!

[paul929207]

Sure sounds like you will need more pages. If not on this trip then the next one. You can get additional pages at no cost.

[gerena]

Do I have enough time to get the free pages? e are leaving Jan 26 - Feb 3 for Mexico. Then on April 8 we leave for Cape Town. If I sent them in Feb 4, would I get them back in time? That's two months, but the nightmares of passport waiting scare me. I thought we would have plenty, but our Eastern Europe river cruise which ended Oct 20, really wiped out blank pages!

[smeyer418]

south africa requires 2 completely blank pages. I have read on trip advisor that someone who didn't have two such empty pages back to back was denied entry.

[Rickey 88]

Do I have enough time to get the free pages? e are leaving Jan 26 - Feb 3 for Mexico. Then on April 8 we leave for Cape Town. If I sent them in Feb 4, would I get them back in time? That's two months, but the nightmares of passport waiting scare me. I thought we would have plenty, but our Eastern Europe river cruise which ended Oct 20, really wiped out blank pages!

 

If you relied on sending your passports in yourself, it might not be enough time - although I hear the Passport service is spending money to speed up it's service, both on new issues and adding new pages.

 

I'd recommend you spend the money and use a Visa service agency to walk your passports thought (and they will follow up the process), it would be worth it!

[lahore]

For Egypt you definitely need a visa and you should have it before you go. If not the ship will force you to get one and without it you would definitely be denied disembarkation. It takes a whole page. Oman doesn't need anything beforehand and only takes up a small part of a page (e.g. half a page). I am talking Australian Passports, but they're the same size as yours and visa requirements are the same for those ports. Don't know about the rest sorry.

[joek]

My blank pages were processed a lot quicker than passports are, I think about 3 weeks.

[smeyer418]

For Egypt you definitely need a visa and you should have it before you go. If not the ship will force you to get one and without it you would definitely be denied disembarkation. It takes a whole page. Oman doesn't need anything beforehand and only takes up a small part of a page (e.g. half a page). I am talking Australian Passports, but they're the same size as yours and visa requirements are the same for those ports. Don't know about the rest sorry.

 

Maybe if you are from Australia. But the Egyptians want you on shore spending money. I was in Egypt in November it took two minutes to get it and its just a large postage stamp. Getting one from the Embassy/consulate before hand is a pain in the neck-requires pictures sending in your passport and much more money. I have never heard of anyone being denied entry to Egypt-even with an Israeli passport and a Israel port of entry stamped in it.

[lahore]

Well I hope you aren't calling me a lier Symer. I was on Oceania Nautica and we docked in Egypt in December. We were told very clearly in writing before we left that Egyptian visas were compulsory prior to boarding. Despite that, a lady we became very friendly with who was not Australian but Canadian, did not have an Egyptian Visa because she had been there before and planned not to dismebark. Despite that the ship said that under the Egyptian regulations every single passenger had to be cleared (e.g., had to have a visa) before the ship would be cleared. This particular passenger is still travelling with her two daugthers but when se returns home she will be able to verify my story. She was told that she had to pay for the Visa onboard and that there was no other option other than disembarking before gettin to Egypt (which, given that we were in the middle of the Med, would have been difficult).

 

Your experience of getting the visa in the USA (presumably) beforehand might be bad, mine wasn't probelmatic in the slightest and the cost was absolutely not 'much much more money', in fact it was $10 less than the USD$50 that they charged on the ship and that all the USA-based passengers paid in the USA (see their postings on roll call page). Yes that is at the embassy, god knows what you'd pay at a visa agency.

 

Your photo is similar to my visa, not identical, but similar. It does take up the best part of a page with the stamps, and most countries won't stamp on a page that has another country's visa. I have a passport that is totally full and needs replacement at the moment.

 

So please don't come out all guns blazing - not everything is black and white, my posting was 100% correct, yours might be too.

[smeyer418]

Well I hope you aren't calling me a lier Symer. I was on Oceania Nautica and we docked in Egypt in December. We were told very clearly in writing before we left that Egyptian visas were compulsory prior to boarding. Despite that, a lady we became very friendly with who was not Australian but Canadian, did not have an Egyptian Visa because she had been there before and planned not to dismebark. Despite that the ship said that under the Egyptian regulations every single passenger had to be cleared (e.g., had to have a visa) before the ship would be cleared. This particular passenger is still travelling with her two daugthers but when se returns home she will be able to verify my story. She was told that she had to pay for the Visa onboard and that there was no other option other than disembarking before gettin to Egypt (which, given that we were in the middle of the Med, would have been difficult).

 

Your experience of getting the visa in the USA (presumably) beforehand might be bad, mine wasn't probelmatic in the slightest and the cost was absolutely not 'much much more money', in fact it was $10 less than the USD$50 that they charged on the ship and that all the USA-based passengers paid in the USA (see their postings on roll call page). Yes that is at the embassy, god knows what you'd pay at a visa agency.

 

Your photo is similar to my visa, not identical, but similar. It does take up the best part of a page with the stamps, and most countries won't stamp on a page that has another country's visa. I have a passport that is totally full and needs replacement at the moment.

 

So please don't come out all guns blazing - not everything is black and white, my posting was 100% correct, yours might be too.

 

Its US$15.00 for a visa for the US Citizens in Egypt, you can enlarge the picture that is what it is. This was bought in Egypt not the US. My point is for US citizens, it may be different for Austrialian's and Canadians but getting it from the Egyptian consulate is a pain, it was nothing to get it in Egypt.

 

http://www.egy2000.com/ft40l.html

[smeyer418]

One more point this also may vary by cruise line and I would ask your cruise line what they want you to do....ie. get the Visa first or what they will do for you to get one there.

[VoyageVirgin]

Canadian here, and to obtain the travel visa for Egypt prior to leaving, our government suggests that you send your passport to the Egyptian Consulate with the fee and they will stamp and return to you. Now, I don't know about you all but I'm not really comfortable mailing my personal passport out to anyone. We emailed the consulate in Ottawa, wasn't one in Toronto - and they said to get the visa at the airport - cost approx $20.00 USD - Now, if you are on a ship that would be difficult to do - but if they're charging you $50. to obtain the visa I'd make the effort (if you are within an area that actually has one) to personally go to the consulate get it done prior to leaving. I wonder why that would not be part of your "port" fees and taxes??

 

Different countries, different rules & regs.

[lahore]

Well clearly it must vary by cruise line because I was wondering if you were actually on a ship and not arriving at the airport. Clearly at an airport it's no problem, but when a ship holds you captive and you are not allowed on shore until everybody has a visa it's simply impossible to 'just get it' acording to your own wishes when you arrive, at whatever price. In fact, on our VERY recent cruise, anyone who didn't have a visa could potentially have held up the entire ship, which would not have been appreciated. Thankfully Oceania got this sorted whilst we were enroute. Maybe it was their rule, but the upshot is once you are booked with that ship you're stuck with whatever rule they go with. I have also travelled the world extensively, by many means, but when a ship mandates having all relevant visas prior to boarding, I comply.

[smeyer418]

Canadian here, and to obtain the travel visa for Egypt prior to leaving, our government suggests that you send your passport to the Egyptian Consulate with the fee and they will stamp and return to you. Now, I don't know about you all but I'm not really comfortable mailing my personal passport out to anyone. We emailed the consulate in Ottawa, wasn't one in Toronto - and they said to get the visa at the airport - cost approx $20.00 USD - Now, if you are on a ship that would be difficult to do - but if they're charging you $50. to obtain the visa I'd make the effort (if you are within an area that actually has one) to personally go to the consulate get it done prior to leaving. I wonder why that would not be part of your "port" fees and taxes??

 

Different countries, different rules & regs.

 

the amount varies by nationality it isn't one set fee but there is no reason why they couldn't collect th right amount from each passenger and cut out the wait.

[gerena]

My blank pages were processed a lot quicker than passports are, I think about 3 weeks.

I'm going to go for this one. I have my padded envelope already in the car with the proper postage on it so that when we return from Mexico on 2/9 I'll take it to the downtown location in Indianapolis.

 

As for the visas--I think it depends on the cruise line. We are on the 2nd half of the HAL Grand Africa Voyage and they are getting all our visas for us, where required. Sure a big help!!! What a nightmare otherwise. I think it also applies to US and Canadian citizens, too.

 

Still no word on the Tripoli or Kenya stop.

[hobo1937]

We sent in our passports on 1/3(certified mail) to have additional pages added. They were received on 1/8 and on 1/16 we received them back via priority mail.

[patw]

We sent our passports in mid November and received them back within a week. They treat passport pages seprately from the renewal or new passports.

Good Luck.

Pat

[patw]

Sorry duplicate post.

[gerena]

We sent our passports in mid November and received them back within a week. They treat passport pages seprately from the renewal or new passports.

Good Luck.

Pat

 

Pat,

This sounds great to me. Maybe I'll be another Hoosier that will have fast service!!!! I"ll be sending them in from the Indy PO. I grew up there and will be at my dad's before and after our trip.

[gerena]

Canadian here, and to obtain the travel visa for Egypt prior to leaving, our government suggests that you send your passport to the Egyptian Consulate with the fee and they will stamp and return to you. Now, I don't know about you all but I'm not really comfortable mailing my personal passport out to anyone.

 

I understand your concern, but sometimes we have to trust, although difficult in many situations. Sometimes we have no other choice. We had heard scary things about sending in our passports to the Brazilian offices to get the visa when we went to South America. They were so particular in their directions and it had to arrive so many days before departure, etc. etc. I was pleasantly surprised when it was returned very quickly. Breathed a sigh of relief.

[gerena]

Do I have enough time to get the free pages? e are leaving Jan 26 - Feb 3 for Mexico. Then on April 8 we leave for Cape Town. If I sent them in Feb 4, would I get them back in time? That's two months, but the nightmares of passport waiting scare me. I thought we would have plenty, but our Eastern Europe river cruise which ended Oct 20, really wiped out blank pages!

 

Just letting others know on CC that I sent my passport in to the US passport service for extra pages. It came back in 2 1/2 weeks. I can breathe on that one as we leave April 7. So it can be done.

[glbtrtr]

I just got new pages and used the extra charge "expedited" service which took a 9 day turnaround. I also added the overnight delivery which ended up costing about $100 for my "free pages".

 

Someone else used the expedited service ($60) without the extra overnight delivery postage charges and got hers back in 9 days as well. I was told the regular service might take 6-8 weeks, though the Passport office website said it would be shorter.

 

I do object to the inclusion of overtly religious "historic quotes" from males only on each of the new passort pages. This inclusion I found inappropriate in a state document and as close as one could get not separating church and state - as well as being gender offensive and "white man's destiny" in their orientation.

 

I hope a new administration running things in a few more months gets rid of this very bad idea running biased religious propaganda on official state documents.

 

You do get 23 extra pages and I heard one report that border officers find it annoying to have to rifle through so many extra pages looking for their stamps and visas. But what can one do ...... nothing. I just hope they don't take offense at those inappropriate religious quotes: Unacceptable and offensive.

[juliejoe]

I just got new pages and used the extra charge "expedited" service which took a 9 day turnaround. I also added the overnight delivery which ended up costing about $100 for my "free pages".

 

Someone else used the expedited service ($60) without the extra overnight delivery postage charges and got hers back in 9 days as well. I was told the regular service might take 6-8 weeks, though the Passport office website said it would be shorter.

 

We did not pay for expedited, or overnight. Our passports were returned in less than two weeks. Our cost was only the postage to mail them - so it was almost "free pages" for us. Thankfully there enough additional pages that I will not have to get more before it's time for a new passport.

 

As to the remainder of your post . . . I disagree. For those who have not received the extra pages for their passports, here are the quotes referred to. You can judge for yourself as to whether they are uncacceptable and offensive. They are printed very small at the top of the pages, which have nicely done illustrations. IMHO no border officers will take the time to read them as they flip through the pages and would not be offended if they did. It is, after all, a passport belonging to a citizen of the United States of America and historic quotes are appropriate.

 

What a glorious morning for our country. Samuel Adams

We are covered by the American banner; let us cling to it, and if required, sacrifice our lives defending it. Jose Antonio Navarro

That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. Abraham Lincoln

Go west, young man, and grow up with the country. Horace Greeley

Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary peple. Harry Emerson Fosdick

A big iron needle stitching the country together. Jessamyn West (Cleverly in the center of the pages, which are stitched into the passport.)

It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win. John Paul Jones

It is immigrants who brought to this land the skills of their hands and brains to make of it a beacon of opportunity and hope for all men. Herbert H. Lehman

This nation has a banner. . . it is the banner of Dawn. It means Liberty . . . Every color means liberty; every thread means liberty. Henry Ward Beecher

We live in a world that is lit by lightening. So much is changing and will change, but so much endures and transcends time. Ronald Reagan

The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. Thomas Jefferson

Every generation has the obligation to free men's minds for a look at new worlds . . . to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation. Ellison S. Onizuka

 

I did not find these gender offensive, nor do I believe they are biased religious propaganda. I'm proud to be an American and agree/admire many of these quotes. Ronald Reagan's quote particularly gives me hope.

 

I started to report your post as inappropriate. Political and religious discussions are not permitted on these boards - except perhaps when they directly impact cruising.

[cruisemom42]

Well clearly it must vary by cruise line because I was wondering if you were actually on a ship and not arriving at the airport. Clearly at an airport it's no problem, but when a ship holds you captive and you are not allowed on shore until everybody has a visa it's simply impossible to 'just get it' acording to your own wishes when you arrive, at whatever price. In fact, on our VERY recent cruise, anyone who didn't have a visa could potentially have held up the entire ship, which would not have been appreciated. Thankfully Oceania got this sorted whilst we were enroute. Maybe it was their rule, but the upshot is once you are booked with that ship you're stuck with whatever rule they go with. I have also travelled the world extensively, by many means, but when a ship mandates having all relevant visas prior to boarding, I comply.

 

On our Princess cruise (2 stops in Egypt) about 18 months ago, the cruise line handled it all. We received something called IIRC a "quick entry visa" -- it was an ink stamp similar to what is used by many other countries to mark entry to or exit from a country. There was no need for us to do anything other than hand in our passports once on board and then pick them up prior to disembarking in Egypt.

 

On my recent land trip to Egypt, I did get the regular "large postage stamp" visa at the airport for $15 US. Very quick and painless.

[glbtrtr]

We did not pay for expedited, or overnight. Our passports were returned in less than two weeks. Our cost was only the postage to mail them - so it was almost "free pages" for us. Thankfully there enough additional pages that I will not have to get more before it's time for a new passport.

 

As to the remainder of your post . . . I disagree. For those who have not received the extra pages for their passports, here are the quotes referred to. You can judge for yourself as to whether they are uncacceptable and offensive. They are printed very small at the top of the pages, which have nicely done illustrations. IMHO no border officers will take the time to read them as they flip through the pages and would not be offended if they did. It is, after all, a passport belonging to a citizen of the United States of America and historic quotes are appropriate.

 

What a glorious morning for our country. Samuel Adams

 

We are covered by the American banner; let us cling to it, and if required, sacrifice our lives defending it. Jose Antonio Navarro

 

That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. Abraham Lincoln

 

Go west, young man, and grow up with the country. Horace Greeley

 

Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary peple. Harry Emerson Fosdick

 

A big iron needle stitching the country together. Jessamyn West (Cleverly in the center of the pages, which are stitched into the passport.)

 

It seems to be a law of nature, inflexible and inexorable, that those who will not risk cannot win. John Paul Jones

 

It is immigrants who brought to this land the skills of their hands and brains to make of it a beacon of opportunity and hope for all men. Herbert H. Lehman

 

This nation has a banner. . . it is the banner of Dawn. It means Liberty . . . Every color means liberty; every thread means liberty. Henry Ward Beecher

 

We live in a world that is lit by lightening. So much is changing and will change, but so much endures and transcends time. Ronald Reagan

 

The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. Thomas Jefferson

 

Every generation has the obligation to free men's minds for a look at new worlds . . . to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation. Ellison S. Onizuka

 

I did not find these gender offensive, nor do I believe they are biased religious propaganda. I'm proud to be an American and agree/admire many of these quotes. Ronald Reagan's quote particularly gives me hope.

 

I started to report your post as inappropriate. Political and religious discussions are not permitted on these boards - except perhaps when they directly impact cruising.

 

There should never be mention of "god" in public travel documents when given a choice today. Nor use of the collective term "men" when the writers original intent was to only include men. These are wholly offensive and inappropriate choices. But no surprise with this current administration. This white male business first white man's destiny propaganda is totally over the top and has no business in official documents.

 

Authoritarianism supports use of these offensive quotes and reporting me to the authorities for complaining about this constitutional violations, but democracy does not.