Egypt Visa -- Please give your experience!!

[aussiecruzer]

Hi annenic, I'd be happy to help with any queries you may have. I'll send you an email now. Glad you enjoyed my reviews!:)

[eden]

We are booked on the Azamara Journey which stops in Egypt in October 2009. We recently received our Shore Excursion guide which states "US and Canadian citizens can obtain their Egypt Quick-Trip visa upon vessel arrival in Egypt" The extra information that we received from our travel agent seems to indicate that these Quick Trip visas are only for those on Azamara 's shore excursions. We are wanting to book our own private tours so aren't sure what to do. Has anyone taken Azamara to Egypt and received the Quick Trip visa on a privately booked tour?

Thanks for all responses.

[maryann ns]

check here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1008607

[Albert Ross]

Direct from email from X:

Most guests are provided with a Quick Trip Visa onboard the vessel which is valid for 72 hours and allows entry to Egypt. This service is available to citizens of the UK, US, Canada, European Economic Community, Scandinavian countries, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Please note this service is not available to Israeli citizens.

 

Then there is a big list of who does need to get the visa beforehand:

 

 

NATIONALITIES REQUIRING PRE ISSUED VISA TO EGYPT

ALL AFRICAN COUNTRIES

ALL SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES

ALL COUNTRIES AT WAR

TEMPORARY PASSPORTS / BRITISH VISITOR PASSPORTS ALLOWED ONLY WITH APPROVAL OF IMMIGRATION

ALBANIA

BARBAROS

BELIZ

CAPE VERDE

HONDURAS

MALAYSIA

NAMIBIA

NIPAL

NICARAGUA

SERBIA

SIERRALEONE

SERILANKA

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

YEMEN

MONTENEGRO

SCOPIA

KAZAKHISTAN ( ONLY IF LANDING )

 

 

NATIONALITIES REQUIRING PRE ISSUED VISA AND AND STATE SECURITY APPROVAL

AFGHANISTAN

ALGERIA

BANGLADESH

CHAD

PEPOLE'S RREPUBLIC OF CHINA

GHANA

INDIA

INDONISIA

IRAN

IRAQ

ISRAEL

LEBANON

LIBERIA

MALI

NIGERIA

PAKISTAN

PALESTINE

PHILIPPINES

RWANDA

BOSNIA

SIERRALEONE

SOMALIA

SERILANKA

SUDAN

THAILAND

TURKEY

TUNIS

MOLDOVIAN ( ONLY FEMALE PAX FROM 15 TO 35 YEARS OLD) .

[Crown Prince]

1. When did you cruise to Egypt and on what cruise line? Star Princess November/December 2007

2. What is your nationality? USA

3. Did the cruise line provide a "quick stay" visa? If not, please give details. Princess took care of everything with the 'quick stay visa'. Our passports were also collected upon boarding the ship and returned the night before our visit to Egypt. We didn't have to do anything ourselves, it was all handled for us.

4. If the ship provided your visa, was there any charge for it? No extra charge for the service provided, as said, Princess took care of it all.

5. Did you take a ship-sponsored tour, a private tour, or go on your own? We took a private tour with Nile Blue Tours and a group of about 100 other CC'ers, and were totally safe and secure. It was wonderful from start to finish and about 1/3 the cost of a ships tour.

 

Hi, Toto,

I have 10 other pax with me on a Ramses overnight, staying at Mena House on 2 October 2010 (debarking in Port Said) and reboard the Pacific Princess in Alexandria on 3 October.

I understand that a segment deviation is necessary in order to not be denied boarding in Alexandria, and to request it, I faxed a list of our pax (along with their booking numbers) to DISPATCH, at fax number: 661-753-0151. I did this about a month ago.

To follow up, I sent an e-mail to the ship's coordinator, Bernandine Gray, who e-mailed the Dispatch Department. A couple of days later, Bernadine called me and advised that none of our bookings had been notated that the Segment Change fax had been received, requested from ship, or granted.

Bernadine recommended that I fax the list again. Maybe I sent it too early at the first of July for an October visit.

My question for you is: DID YOU have to go through this SEGMENT CHANGE Scenario with Princess?

I am taking my fax receipt (from Office Depot) with me to show the Purser (or whomever is interested on the Pacific Princess ship).

When should I re-fax it?

 

Thanks for your help.

[WeBeGone]

1. When did you cruise to Egypt and on what cruise line?

 

Nov 2007 Princess

 

2. What is your nationality?

 

USA

 

3. Did the cruise line provide a "quick stay" visa? If not, please give details.

 

YES

 

4. If the ship provided your visa, was there any charge for it?

 

NO

 

5. Did you take a ship-sponsored tour, a private tour, or go on your own?

 

PRIVATE TOUR

[WeBeGone]

We are booked on the Azamara Journey which stops in Egypt in October 2009. We recently received our Shore Excursion guide which states "US and Canadian citizens can obtain their Egypt Quick-Trip visa upon vessel arrival in Egypt" The extra information that we received from our travel agent seems to indicate that these Quick Trip visas are only for those on Azamara 's shore excursions. We are wanting to book our own private tours so aren't sure what to do. Has anyone taken Azamara to Egypt and received the Quick Trip visa on a privately booked tour?

Thanks for all responses.

 

All cruise passengers get a visa.

It doesn't matter if you are on a private tour or a ship tour.

[jocap]

My replies, with NCL Jade in 2009, are the same as everyone else's....a visa is stamped for free in your passport.

Travelling to Sinai for a cruise in 2010, the staff at the airport in Sharm el Sheikh wanted to know whether you were with a ship, or were travelling out of the Sinai peninsular. If you were not, then you were waved in, free.This included any ship's tours to Cairo or Luxor taken from the Red Sea.

If you wanted to do a tour of Cairo from a hotel in Sharm,ie, off the peninsular, there was a visa of around £10 to pay.

Jo.

[Crown Prince]

All cruise passengers get a visa.

It doesn't matter if you are on a private tour or a ship tour.

 

Correct.

 

It is the same for all cruiselines.

 

:cool::cool:;):cool::cool:

[hightownCO]

 

1. When did you cruise to Egypt and on what cruise line?

November 2009. Princess

 

2. What is your nationality?

US Citizen

 

3. Did the cruise line provide a "quick stay" visa? If not, please give details.

Yes. Cruise line had collected passports in Rome on boarding and we picked up our passport the seaday before first port of call in Egypt

 

4. If the ship provided your visa, was there any charge for it?

No.

 

5. Did you take a ship-sponsored tour, a private tour, or go on your own?

Private tour arranged by cc roll call member. This was overnight and each person did contact Princess in advance to get ok for cruise deviation.

 

Feel free to provide any other details of your visa experience that might be helpful to others.

 

Thanks!

 

Your thread is a good idea.

 

There was a lot of discussion/confusion/concern on our roll call about the Egyptian visa issue. Some (a travel agent on our sailing mostly) was saying Princess would only do for their own tours and everyone else on their own. Said that they had confirmed that through Princess CRs.

 

My research, including contacting Princess passengers who had just been to Egypt on Holy Land cruise, indicated that we need do nothing for our visas. Nothing is exactly what we needed to do.

 

Trip of a lifetime and I so much which I could do it all again! Maybe one day....

[roscoe39]

When did you cruise to Egypt and on what cruise line? Cunard Queen Victoria April 2010 2. What is your nationality? New Zealand and American

 

3. Did the cruise line provide a "quick stay" visa? If not, please give details. Yes, issued to all passengers. Cunard however insisted on ourselves and another couple who were doing their own excursion in obtaining a seperate tourist visa..(which they organised) instead of the quick stay visa normally issued to Cruise passengers.

4. If the ship provided your visa, was there any charge for it? yes, minimal

5. Did you take a ship-sponsored tour, a private tour, or go on your own? Private tour, flight from sharm el sheik, night in cairo and a speedy drive to port said the next day..

 

Cunard was told by port authorites that we needed seperate tourist visas because we were doing our own organised overnight excursions, departing Sharm El Sheik and reboarding in Port Said. UNFORTUNATELY.. this turned out to be incorrect information. When we arrived at Port Said the next day we were refused entry to the port and were told to go back to Cairo as we had the wrong visa!. (the ship at this stage was a couple of hours away from berthing and would be there for only about 2 hours before departing for Europe.)

 

We very lucky that we had the phone number of the chief Purser on board the QV...(thanks Ruud) and the Cunard port agent phone number who tried very hard to rectify the situation.

 

We speant the afternoonl in a police station, the agents offices customs then immigration and finally were granted special dispensation to leave on the provided visas.

 

It was very stressful and upsetting for my travelling companion though i on the other hand was more than happy at the prospect of spending a few more days in egypt! (though not in jail!)

 

It all worked out in the end and we celebrated back on board with a glass of champagne but it did cost a considerable amount in baksheesh to us and the port agent and was a very close call so close, that we had the dubious pleasure of being taken out to the ship with the port agents on the pilot boat, much to the amusement of our friends on board

 

 

cost of relying on the advice of the authorities.... hundreds in baksheesh

 

cost of having the right visa.............priceless.

[cruisemom42]

When did you cruise to Egypt and on what cruise line? Cunard Queen Victoria April 2010 2. What is your nationality? New Zealand and American

 

3. Did the cruise line provide a "quick stay" visa? If not, please give details. Yes, issued to all passengers. Cunard however insisted on ourselves and another couple who were doing their own excursion in obtaining a seperate tourist visa..(which they organised) instead of the quick stay visa normally issued to Cruise passengers.

4. If the ship provided your visa, was there any charge for it? yes, minimal

5. Did you take a ship-sponsored tour, a private tour, or go on your own? Private tour, flight from sharm el sheik, night in cairo and a speedy drive to port said the next day..

 

Cunard was told by port authorites that we needed seperate tourist visas because we were doing our own organised overnight excursions, departing Sharm El Sheik and reboarding in Port Said. UNFORTUNATELY.. this turned out to be incorrect information. When we arrived at Port Said the next day we were refused entry to the port and were told to go back to Cairo as we had the wrong visa!. (the ship at this stage was a couple of hours away from berthing and would be there for only about 2 hours before departing for Europe.)

 

We very lucky that we had the phone number of the chief Purser on board the QV...(thanks Ruud) and the Cunard port agent phone number who tried very hard to rectify the situation.

 

We speant the afternoonl in a police station, the agents offices customs then immigration and finally were granted special dispensation to leave on the provided visas.

 

It was very stressful and upsetting for my travelling companion though i on the other hand was more than happy at the prospect of spending a few more days in egypt! (though not in jail!)

 

It all worked out in the end and we celebrated back on board with a glass of champagne but it did cost a considerable amount in baksheesh to us and the port agent and was a very close call so close, that we had the dubious pleasure of being taken out to the ship with the port agents on the pilot boat, much to the amusement of our friends on board

 

 

cost of relying on the advice of the authorities.... hundreds in baksheesh

 

cost of having the right visa.............priceless.

 

What an experience! I hope Cunard and the authorities have got it straight now...! I don't know why people persist in thinking that the quick stay visa is only good for those on ships' tours!

[HazeGray]

Do you take your passport with you in Egypt for an overnight excursion?

[cruisemom42]

Do you take your passport with you in Egypt for an overnight excursion?

 

Yes, Egypt is one of the (relatively few) countries that require you to have your passport with you.

[roscoe39]

What an experience! I hope Cunard and the authorities have got it straight now...! I don't know why people persist in thinking that the quick stay visa is only good for those on ships' tours!

\hi cynthia., yes.....so do i .... We laugh about the experience now but at the time the air was a bit tense!... The problem was i think that we had arrived in one port and we leaving from another. The normal tourist visa applies if you are leaving via one of the main gateways...ie cairo.

 

At least we are forwarned for the next time... and a lesson in always having your passport AND the port agents contact details.

[lahore]

Oh Roscoe, what a great story told with a sense of humour :D

 

For us it was:

 

 

1. When did you cruise to Egypt and on what cruise line? 2006, Oceania

2. What is your nationality? One Aussie, one pommy

 

3. Did the cruise line provide a "quick stay" visa? If not, please give details. We had them before we left, I bought them in Melbourne Australia at a cost of $50 each. It took a week.

 

4. If the ship provided your visa, was there any charge for it? n/a

 

5. Did you take a ship-sponsored tour, a private tour, or go on your own? private but not overnight

 

We are going again in May 2012 and from the information on this thread I think I may not bother getting one in advance.

[NETexan]

Since my NCL cruise that included Egypt for next March was cancelled, I have looked at one with Costa. On their website it says that I will need to get my own visa for Egypt prior to the cruise. Does anyone here have any experience with Costa on Egypt?

[Grannycb]

Have the visa requirements changed for Egypt? Princess obtained our visas in October, even when we were on tour with Ramses. We are leaving on another Princess cruise in two weeks (booked yesterday). Our travel agent told us we need to get our own visa if not taking a Princess tour.

[Railer]

Have the visa requirements changed for Egypt? Princess obtained our visas in October, even when we were on tour with Ramses. We are leaving on another Princess cruise in two weeks (booked yesterday). Our travel agent told us we need to get our own visa if not taking a Princess tour.

 

The info I got from my TA is that you will get it on arrival at the port. The same as many posts have said previously.

[Grannycb]

The info I got from my TA is that you will get it on arrival at the port. The same as many posts have said previously.

 

Our TA was incorrect. Princess does issue visas on the ship to everyone, even if you aren't leaving the ship or taking a private tour.

[terracool]

Thank goodness for this thread! I love the format as a mini-FAQ that addressed every question I have. It's so much easier to see the patterns than having people just free-form individual narrative responses about visa experiences, and the format assures that the same info comes out in almost every post.

 

If anyone wants to answer with recent info, it would be appreciated - that's why I wanted to bump the thread. I interpreted the requirement the same way as most have answered here, but just got a different response on the phone directly from NCL.

 

Regarding Egypt, NCL's website says: "All guests who wish to go ashore require a visa and will receive a Quick-Trip stamp which is issued in passports upon the ship's arrival at no cost." The NCL rep said that this means you need a visa AND a Quick Trip stamp, so you have to get the visa ahead of time. She also said that the QT stamp on board was only for those on ship-sponsored SE's. I am taking the train from Alexandria to Cairo - not a ship-sponsored event - so I was all ears for that.

 

Updates welcome and appreciated. Much thanks to the OP for starting one of the most organized threads I've seen yet! Now I have to go over and look for a similar thread for Turkey - not sure I got the correct information there either.

 

J

[cruisemom42]

Thank goodness for this thread! I love the format as a mini-FAQ that addressed every question I have. It's so much easier to see the patterns than having people just free-form individual narrative responses about visa experiences, and the format assures that the same info comes out in almost every post.

 

If anyone wants to answer with recent info, it would be appreciated - that's why I wanted to bump the thread. I interpreted the requirement the same way as most have answered here, but just got a different response on the phone directly from NCL.

 

Regarding Egypt, NCL's website says: "All guests who wish to go ashore require a visa and will receive a Quick-Trip stamp which is issued in passports upon the ship's arrival at no cost." The NCL rep said that this means you need a visa AND a Quick Trip stamp, so you have to get the visa ahead of time. She also said that the QT stamp on board was only for those on ship-sponsored SE's. I am taking the train from Alexandria to Cairo - not a ship-sponsored event - so I was all ears for that.

 

Updates welcome and appreciated. Much thanks to the OP for starting one of the most organized threads I've seen yet! Now I have to go over and look for a similar thread for Turkey - not sure I got the correct information there either.

 

J

 

As the "initiator" of the thread -- thanks.

 

I was just in Egypt again in November of last year, and the same rules still apply. The "Quick Trip" or "Quick Stay" stamp IS your visa and it is given to all passengers, NOT just those on ship-sponsored excursions.

 

Hopefully more people will chime in with recent experience, but as you probably know, there have been fewer ships stopping in Egypt in the first half of 2011 than in previous years, so there may not be a big response.

 

I do wish the cruise lines would provide accurate information. I'm sure it's very off-putting to you to worry about these inconsistencies.

[roscoe39]

Thank goodness for this thread! I love the format as a mini-FAQ that addressed every question I have. It's so much easier to see the patterns than having people just free-form individual narrative responses about visa experiences, and the format assures that the same info comes out in almost every post.

 

If anyone wants to answer with recent info, it would be appreciated - that's why I wanted to bump the thread. I interpreted the requirement the same way as most have answered here, but just got a different response on the phone directly from NCL.

 

Regarding Egypt, NCL's website says: "All guests who wish to go ashore require a visa and will receive a Quick-Trip stamp which is issued in passports upon the ship's arrival at no cost." The NCL rep said that this means you need a visa AND a Quick Trip stamp, so you have to get the visa ahead of time. She also said that the QT stamp on board was only for those on ship-sponsored SE's. I am taking the train from Alexandria to Cairo - not a ship-sponsored event - so I was all ears for that.

 

Updates welcome and appreciated. Much thanks to the OP for starting one of the most organized threads I've seen yet! Now I have to go over and look for a similar thread for Turkey - not sure I got the correct information there either.

 

J

 

Im back off to egypt again in October on Cunard, (Im a sucker for punishment).

 

This time, and after the last experience, I know that the ship and its passengers is given a standard quick trip visa, it will cover all passengers whether they are doing their own thing or a ships excursion.

 

Will be an interesting experience being back in Port Said legally this time.!:D

[terracool]

I do wish the cruise lines would provide accurate information. I'm sure it's very off-putting to you to worry about these inconsistencies.

 

Definitely true cm42. I was all full of myself for thinking I had it figured out. I was thrown off a bit after talking to the NCL rep, but decided that that person may not have been getting the info correct. At one point, she said that she was reading off of their web site. I thougth they would have access to more detailed or maybe up-to-date info. If all they are doing is reading the same info as I am reading, then it starts to sound like a matter of individual interpretation.

 

In any case, I decided to check back here because the NCL rep's info just didn't sound right. As I said in another thread, it is really amazing to me that the most reliable info can be found here - moreso than the cruise lines themselves.

 

Roscoe - thx for the update, and cm42, thanks for the thread!

[mikewrit]

When I got the "Welcome Aboard" booklet yesterday for our October cruie on NCL Jade including Egypt I found the paragraph about visas to be ambiguous. So I called NCL and spoke at length with a representative who checked the NCL website and several other sources and finally assured me that the quick-trip visa stamp for Egypt would be issued by the service desk just before arrival in Port Said. She also assured me that passengers who make their own arrangements rather than buying the excursion offered by NCL will not be subjected to discrimination in this regard.