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Vietnam cruise visa - not returning to ship?


Searanger
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Question I have. On the Millennium in March and was thinking of not getting back on the ship in Danang and then catching up to it in Halong Bay. I can fly for $49 per person from Danang to Hanoi late in the day and grab a hotel in Hanoi for a couple of nights. This will give us a full day touring in Hanoi and the second day we can grab a tour to Halong Bay but not return to Hanoi with the tour and just return to the ship. My question is...is the cruise ship visa acceptable for this application. Obviously we are entering Vietnam by by cruise ship and leaving by cruise ship, but not on the same day. Because we would be required to produce our passports at the airport in Danang when boarding Vietnam Airlines would the red flags start going off without a full visa in our passport.

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For an overnight trip away from the ship and/or staying at a hotel you do need your own independent visa. Application can be made on-line or in person at the respective Vietnamese Embassy/Consulate (and where we live they will mail the passport back to you).

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We did this when on the the Millenium in March last year after Celebrity changed the itinerary and our 2 day stay in Phu My was changed to a one day and a seaday. We went on a private tour of Saigon with others from our roll call, but when the others returned to the ship, Zoom dropped us off at a hotel in Saigon. The following day, after visiting the Cu Chi tunnnels, we flew to Danang and stayed the night in Hoi An before meeting up with the ship later in the day. We had to arrange our own visa in advance and also get written permission from Celebrity to leave,then rejoin the ship. It all worked perfectly:)

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We did this when on the the Millenium in March last year after Celebrity changed the itinerary and our 2 day stay in Phu My was changed to a one day and a seaday. We went on a private tour of Saigon with others from our roll call, but when the others returned to the ship, Zoom dropped us off at a hotel in Saigon. The following day, after visiting the Cu Chi tunnnels, we flew to Danang and stayed the night in Hoi An before meeting up with the ship later in the day. We had to arrange our own visa in advance and also get written permission from Celebrity to leave,then rejoin the ship. It all worked perfectly:)

 

Thank you...I am fairly sure that the ship's visa just won't do the trick. It's easy to get a E-Visa if you are flying to Vietnam (Hanoi, Saigon only unfortunately) Looks like if I want to do this I'm going have to send our passports to Vietnam Embassy in Ottawa prior to departure. Something to ponder....but a pain in the butt. On a side note.... Celebrity offers a 1 night stay over in Hanoi...I wonder if those people need a full visa?

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We were told that the ship could organise two ditterent types of visa. A day visa for those who returned to the ship to sleep, and a more expensive overnight visa. Unfortunately, those leaving then rejoining the ship at a different port need to arrange their own even more expensive visa in advance. Well worth the hassle and cost imho

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I had this response from our cruise company this morning:

 

Vietnam visa requirements recently changed. Effective January 1, 2015, Vietnam issues a visa on arrival good for 30 days and serves both In-transit and Disembarking guests. A visa application with passport photo is required to be completed / submitted at check-in to the cruise.

 

We are UK citizens. Other nationalities and cruise lines may differ.

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I had this response from our cruise company this morning:

 

Vietnam visa requirements recently changed. Effective January 1, 2015, Vietnam issues a visa on arrival good for 30 days and serves both In-transit and Disembarking guests. A visa application with passport photo is required to be completed / submitted at check-in to the cruise.

 

We are UK citizens. Other nationalities and cruise lines may differ.

 

Yes, I'd heard that arrangements had changed this month, so Searanger had best be wary of out-of-date advice.

 

JB :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

We will be disembarking in Ho Chi Minh city but our flight is not until the evening. I would like to have a tour guide pick us up and show us around for about four hours then take us to the airport. Will the cruise line visa cover this?

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We will be disembarking in Ho Chi Minh city but our flight is not until the evening. I would like to have a tour guide pick us up and show us around for about four hours then take us to the airport. Will the cruise line visa cover this?

 

You can't use a cruise passenger in-transit visa to leave the country by any other means then the ship you arrived on...nor stay overnight. You will need a regular 30 day tourist visa. Do not attempt unless you want to extend your stay in country non voluntarily.

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