Turkish visa?

We are booked on the Viking Star, Venice to Istanbul, on September 27th. As you know the cruise ends in Istanbul, then we fly directly home. I have had different answers about a visa depending on the source - Turkish embassy, Viking, cruise critic. Does anyone know for sure if we will need a visa? Obviously I don't want to fork out $120 if i don't have to. ($60 each in Canada)

Would not hurt to check with the Canadian Embassy and your airline. Do you have a TA?

If YOU go to the Turkish website you will see the answer is yes you need a visa.

 

Us yanks only pay $20.00

We flew into Istanbul two years ago and had to stop at a special line for visa upon entry, and paid $20 each. If you have one before arrival it can save you waiting in another queue, but it was not a long one when we arrived.

NO NO NO

 

Visas are no longer available on arrival for US citizens. Don't accept any advise on the internet.

NO NO NO

 

Visas are no longer available on arrival for US citizens. Don't accept any advise on the internet.

 

Sittraveler is correct. Here is the link from the Turkish Embassy for U.S. citizens.

 

http://turkey.usembassy.gov/acs_tourist_visas.html

The site http://www.turkeyembassy.org gives information for all countries regarding visas.

The OP questions was a little different..he is a Canadian citizen who is not staying in Turkey just disembarking a cruise and then boarding a flight at the airport. It seems that Viking should be able to provide the information that he needs...

I just checked with Turkish Airlines, since I have booked my flight to Istanbul with them. They said that the visa on arrival now costs $30, and is available for the same price on line. I will wait a few more months to find out if that is really the case.

My lack of comment does not constitute agreement with the prior post.

 

This is not a forum for this discussion.

My lack of comment does not constitute agreement with the prior post.

 

This is not a forum for this discussion.

Sitraveler, The original poster asked if they would need a visa when they arrived in Turkey (Ephasus in this case) aboard the Viking Star in September 2015. It would be up to Viking to inform passengers if visas were needed. We visited many countires aboard curise ships where they were given special visa free entry as passengers listed on the passenger list aboard the ship. Even Russia allows this. I think this forum is a reasonable place to discuss any passengers concerns and in no way am trying to dispute your opinion, which may be accurate, but when I read the Turkish embassy requirement for U.S. Passport holders to enter Turkey we need to pay $20 fee for a tourist visa, multiple entrys up to six months, and can apply on line. If we travel in 2014 we can still apply on arrival as before.

Sorry Captain. Russia requires visas, but you can get it through a private tour operator- Alla or many others, the cruise line arranges for ship tours. You cannot disembark in Russia without arrangements in advance. Again for tours in Turkey from a ship no visa is necessary BUT that does not include joining a vessel in Turkey.

We are in UK. Recently we flew into and out of Istanbul to join a cruise - we did not stay ashore in Turkey but did overnight on board at the end of the cruise. We had to apply for one year tourist visas as we 'entered' Turkey 4 times on the cruise. We did it easily on line but visas were available at Ataturk airport (but were more expensive). They were not available to purchase at the cruise port.

 

 

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Hi, porrah. I'm on your cruise. I was assuming we'd have to get a Turkish visa, but I'm happy to hear it's less expensive than others we've had to get for various cruises. I'm assuming that if a person wants to take the Viking-arranged shore excursions, no visa is needed, as that is what the booklet I just got from Viking says. We are staying a day in Istanbul and therefore I'm assuming we need our own visas, but I suppose people who just do the Viking excursions and nothing else don't need them. I give Viking kudos for telling people this, although what they have stated about Russia is not exactly correct unless things have changed since we went (with Oceania) two years ago. They say that if you're traveling with them to Russia and plan to spend time on shore outside of a Viking excursion, you need a visa. As someone pointed out, that's not true if you go with Alla or other legitimate tour provider. Boo on Viking (and many other cruise lines!) for that little piece of misinformation!

 

Anyway, porrah, if you're planning to go early to Venice and make your own hotel reservations, I hope you're all set or else willing to not have much choice at an affordable rate. I just looked for a hotel and the availability was crazy, especially if you're a weirdo like me and can only spend one extra day there. If you need help with Venice basics, let me know, as I'm learning a LOT very quickly. Oh, and have you joined the Roll Call for our cruise? It's pretty small at this point, but it DOES exist!

We were in Istanbul 3 weeks ago. You do not need a Visa if you are coming to and leaving by ship. You do need a Visa if you are starting your cruise or ending your cruise in Turkey - meaning you will need transportation other than a ship in either direction.

Also - we had a private tour in Istanbul - that had no bearing on the Visa requirements. We arrived and left by ship - we did not need a Visa

I did not go back to check, but I think there is another thread on Cruise Critic that states that Turkey decided to go back on their plan to phase out visas at the airport, at least Americans, although I assume everyone is included). That doesn't really concern me, as we will be flying back from Turkey and therefore clearly need visas, which we'll obtain online. However, I thought I'd mention the other thread, as it sounded a bit different from this thread. Of course, it may be an old thread. I didn't go back to find it, but it could have been in the Ports section, not this section.

 

There are a number of variables involved (nationality, plans in Turkey, etc.) and costs, rules, etc. obviously vary. By September I'm sure I will have it figured out, including any changes that Turkey makes before then!

Edited November 8, 2014 by roothy123