Visas for Turkey?

[cruzemaven]

Is it true that U.S. citizens now need visas to enter Turkey. Our next cruise on the Insignia sails to Istanbul and Dikili. We will be independent of the ship's excursions so we may need to get our own visas. The Black Sea cruise, which we are going on, visits Russia, Romania, the Ukraine, Bulgaria and Turkey. The last time we were in Turkey was three years ago and we didn't need visas. Would appreciate if anyone has knowledge on which of the above countries require them. Thankyou.

[digby]

We didn't need them last May when we docked in Turkey.

[cruzemaven]

Just found a web site that states that no visas are needed if in Turkey if your cruise ship is not staying over night.

[JimandStan]

Hi Guys-
Our cruise ends in Istanbul, and we're also spending three nights there touring with Levant Solmaz (www.levantsolmaz.com ). Will we be able to buy Visas when the ship docks, or, do we need to get them while we're still Stateside?
Thanks for giving us a running start with this, by the way....

Jim & Stan

[ClaudiaF]

Hi Guys-
Our cruise ends in Istanbul, and we're also spending three nights there touring with Levant Solmaz (www.levantsolmaz.com ). Will we be able to buy Visas when the ship docks, or, do we need to get them while we're still Stateside?
Thanks for giving us a running start with this, by the way....

Jim & Stan

I am not sure if you can get them there, but seems that a previous poster
( who is a guide there) mentioned you could. You might also email your hired guide and ask them if they can handle for you.. but that all seems like an added hassle?
You can get them very easily from a company like this one who I used to get our visas for South America ( had them in 7 days so very fast)..
http://www.zvs.com/

[Lynda S]

Hi Cruzemaven-
I was just about to start in to my research on independent tours on the Insignia cruise in July (same one as you are on), can I start with asking if you know of any? DH (Jim ) and I like to do things on our own in almost all ports, so any info on any port on the cruise you have would be good!
(if I am not mistaken, was that not you and I that both said "independent' was the way to go over on the Caymen Islands board? Small world! I also seem to remember you and I posting last summer on this board about this cruise - your name is Jan if I am remembering correctly?)
Thanks - any info you'd like to share I would appreciate it, and of course return same favour!
Thanks
Lynda

[JimandStan]

Hi All!
Spoke with the Turkish Consulate this morning, and explained our Turkish "situation" to them.
They were very comforting, saying that it is only a 10 minute ordeal (which MUST be paid for with 20 American Dollars per Visa).
Apparently, Oceania will direct us to the Visa office when the ship docks.
Hope this relaxes some "tense" friends.....

[zebra]

JimandStan... great news that we don't have to mail our passports away. I presume these Visas are obtainable at the port terminal before we all disperse into Istanbul?

[cruzemaven]

Hi Cruzemaven-
I was just about to start in to my research on independent tours on the Insignia cruise in July (same one as you are on), can I start with asking if you know of any? DH (Jim ) and I like to do things on our own in almost all ports, so any info on any port on the cruise you have would be good!
(if I am not mistaken, was that not you and I that both said "independent' was the way to go over on the Caymen Islands board? Small world! I also seem to remember you and I posting last summer on this board about this cruise - your name is Jan if I am remembering correctly?)
Thanks - any info you'd like to share I would appreciate it, and of course return same favour!
Thanks
Lynda
Hi, Lynda... haven't found any info on independent tours for the black sea cruise yet. We will probably stick to the tours offered by the ship. You may be confusing me with someone else, however, as my name is Ellen not Jan. It will probably be easier for us to use the ship's destination services as we a large group of 12 traveling together. But if I hear of anything interesting I will post here.

[Lynda S]

Thanks Ellen, and I will post my findings on this board as well if I find some, just in case you are interested!

[JimandStan]

Zebra:
You're darned right it's a relief not to have to mail the passports away! Whew!!
We called the Turkish Consulate in New York:
Address: 821 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
Tel: (212) 949-0160 (4)
Fax: (212) 983-1293
as well as the Turkish Tourist Office:
also 821 United Nations Plaza
877) 367-8875 or (212) 687-2194, fax (212) 599-7568, http://www.tourismturkey.org.

Both agreed that there is a Visa office at EVERY TOURIST POINT OF ENTRY (they were emphatic about that!). They both also said that as long as you have a valid passport and twenty U.S. Dollars, there should be no problem.

They also told me that passengers who are traveling directly from the ship to the airport to go home won't need a Visa (only those overnighting in Istanbul).

One less thing to get worried over.......

Have a great trip

Stan & Jim

[craven3]

This thread began for the July 22, Insignia Black Sea departure, but was diverted to a conversation about Turkish visas, which don't apply to this particular cruise.

Have met most of you on through the CC ROLL CALL thread on the same cruise, but didn't know Cruise Maven's name; you've picked up 4 more in your group since we last talked, Ellen.

At any rate, with Ellen's 12 I have 30 fellow cruisers on a spreadsheet. Am not sure how many have registered for the party on the Yahoo website, but several have had problems with that thread. There are more postings about this cruise on Yahoo, but I no longer sign on because so much span arrives for weeks after I go there.

Lynda, Mike and I also are not particularly interested in the cruise line's excursions. Now that we're back from our Canal/South America cruise I'll start reseraching what's to do and who to do it with. Perhaps we can do some together. My e-mail address is: craven3 at adelphia.net (omitting the spaces and substituting @ for the word, of course).

Charlotte

[zebra]

It seems to me that this thread is titled - Visa's for Turkey????????

[merryecho]

And speaking of visa's for Turkey, according to the Turkish consulate website, US citizens can buy visas at their point of entry, or in advance. Has anyone bought theirs at the airport? I wonder if it is a big hassle, or a simple procedure.

[Rickey 88]

It's no big hassle - at least at Ataturk airport in Istanbul. Just before you get to Passport Control, there's a desk where you present your passports, pay your money, and get stamps stuck onto one page. Takes about a minute or two unless there's a long line.

(At least, that's how it was a short time ago!)

[merryecho]

Thanks so much for the info Rickey! You really relieved my mind. I could picture some hard to find office 3 terminals away from the one we arrive in, now I will relax.