VISAs for Vietnam, Cambodia & China Cruise

[adrianyorks]

Hi

My wife and I are travelling on a 12 night cruise in November 09 from Hong Kong to Singapore on the Volendam. Threre are stops in Vietnam, Cambodia and mainland China. As UK citizens I know we need VISAs. I have read elsewhere that Holland America (as per other cruise lines) may arrange VISAs onboard (charging to your onboard account). Does anyone know if HML actually do this, as there is nothing on their web site saying this?

Many thanks
Adrian

[chris1950]

re.visas hal will get vietnam visas on board for you.china visas you have to do your self.we have done this twice ourselves thru a visa company .it very easy but expensive for a chinese visa,not sure about cambodia.

[byucougs]

This is what I found on the website:
Visas

Some countries require that you obtain official authorization (called a visa), before entering their country. Usually, there is a fee required. You are responsible for obtaining any necessary visas. If your itinerary requires a visa prior to boarding, Holland America Line will send a visa information letter to your travel agent. If you booked without a travel agent, you will be receiving a visa information letter from Holland America Line. The visa letter will have information for U.S. and Canadian citizens. Citizens of other countries should contact the nearest representative embassies or consulates for the proper information.

[user8]

I had booked this same cruise earlier but have had to cancel because of DW health problems. We were told we needed to secure our own Chinese visas before boarding but that HAL would get them for the other countries after boarding like chris 1950 says. The information I had came from our TA.

[SDHALFAN]

Your question has been pretty much answered correctly by the previous posters but one thing I want to stress is that you must obtain the visa for China before boarding ship or you will be refused boarding, and you will not be given a refund.

I don't know anything about the Cambodian visa but imagine that, like Vietnam, HAL can obtain it for you once you are aboard ship. HAL charges a hefty premium for obtaining these visas but going through a visa service company you are going to pay a premium also. If you are anywhere near a Vietnamese or Cambodian Embassy or Consulate you can go get the visas there but how many of us actually live anywhere near these Embassies or Consulates?

On our cruise last year we needed visas for China, Vietnam and Indonesia. HAL obtained the visas for Vietnam and Indonesia for us once we were aboard ship and the cost was added to our onboard account. Once again, and I can't stress this enough, you absolutely must obtain the China visa yourself before even showing up at the pier (it's not inexpensive, believe me but you have to do it).

Have a wonderful cruise. You are going to visit some incredible places.

Valerie

[Essiesmom]

And depending on how many ports you visit in China, you will need a multiple entry visa. EM

[aaerobear]

In the USA there are 6 Chinese consulates (including the Embassy) they are in DC, NY, Chicago, SFO, LAX, and Houston

In the UK there are 3 places to obtain visas, London (embassy) Edinburgh, and Manchester.

In the US they charge $130 for a visa and you can get either single entry or multiple entry for the same price.

If you are going to more than one Chinese port AND no foreign port in between, a single entry visa should be OK (it was for our trip in April on the Volendam) it would be considered one entry and one exit. But you should check with the consulate to be sure as the rules change constantly.