shipmate13

So, our visa's were absolutely perfect and had no problem at all. They take your passports when you embark on the ship and will return them before you disembark. you will be given a Landing Card that you will have to show when you get off in Vietnam. They will stamp it the first time and then will look at it some of the times you get off at the ports in Vietnam. You will then drop the Landing card off on the last port in Vietnam upon returning to the ship. They collect your printed evisa's that you will bring with you on embarkation day at the check in. If they find any issues with them, they will get that corrected for you prior to arrival at Vietnam. (at a cost) Some passengers did have issues that they could not correct and they were only allowed off in Vietnam with a controlled group of other passengers with evisa issues. This I found out by a passenger I spoke to at a bar who apparently she had a problem with hers which never did get corrected. She told me that she could only get off ship in Vietnam and hang with a group so she decided to just stay on the ship.

I booked the basic Sunset Veranda on Celebrity Solstice for November 28th out of Singapore. Since we are port intense and have booked excursions that are 10 hours up to 14 hours long we just didn't want to spend alot of money on a stateroom we don't plan on being in most of the time. I did however do a Bid Up for the Concierge Class Sunset Veranda only for the perks that you get with that because it was all we cared about. I received notice last week that my bid of 300.00 was accepted so no biggie here. For a 12 night cruise the small amount was worth it. I was able to adjust my bid each time I went into the site.

Make sure when you complete your application all information is correct the first time, if not, they will send you an email saying they cannot make any changes. We went through Vietnam govt. website to complete ours because Celebrity told us they no longer do it for you on board. We leave in a couple of days on Solstice. There are several websites you can go on for the evisa's but they charge almost 100.00 to do them because they are third party. When you go through the Vietnam govt. site, it was only 25.00 each and it is for a single entry. We listed Ho Chi Minh cruise port as our port of entry because Phu My was not listed in drop down. Two weeks after we completed our application, Celebrity sends us an email informing all passengers to complete their evisa's and to list the port of entry as Vung Tau. I don't know if we will be denied because we did not get this information in time. I would hope that since our itinerary shows Ho Chi Minh as our first port they will accept it. When we sent an email to the support department for the evisa with Vietnam govt. they said it could not be changed. Our evisa's were accepted by their govt. and we have a copy so time will tell I guess.

VISA Vietnam Most guests are required to apply for and receive a Vietnam visa prior to arriving to the pier. • Visa-free • Certain nationalities are exempt or waived from the visa process. We have put together information to help you get started on securing your travel docs for Vietnam. We highly recommend staying up to date with your local embassy or consulate as travel requirements may change. ◦ some information to see if you can travel to Vietnam visa-free. • E-visa ◦ All countries and territories are eligible for e-visa. However, certain countries may take longer period to have their e-visa approved. (Please ensure to apply your e-visa 2 weeks prior to the sailing). ◦ Once you are ready, apply for your E-visa. • Important note: Visa on Arrival (VOA) will not be offered for this sailing. Guests must secure any necessary visas and have all required travel documents prior to boarding. Guests who require an E-visa or a physical visa must apply no later than 2 weeks prior to our sail date to ensure timely approval and delivery. Be sure that when you apply, you provide your name as it reflects on your travel documentation. Additionally, you'll need to provide the seaport for entry and exit. For our sailing, entry is Vung Tau Seaport and our seaport for exit it is Hon Gai Seaport. Guests who enter incorrect information risk being denied boarding, so please be sure to double check all your information before submitting your visa application. Hong Kong Many of our guests may also qualify for visa-free travel to Hong Kong. Please review your country's requirements here (open the Part I & II sections for the full breakdown). When debarking in Hong Kong, be sure to keep a printed color copy or a digital copy of your passport photo page. You'll need this to complete immigration before returning to the ship. We hope this information helps you navigate your travel document requirements. If you have any further questions, please reach out to your travel advisor, yourpreferred visa specialist, or contact us directly. Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises Edited 9 hours ago by Torfamm Quote Torfamm

I received the information I was looking for from another cruiser. Thank you very much

You are a life saver!!!. I cannot thank you enough for providing me with this information. What did you put for city providence when you completed your evisa???

A bit ago I posted about VISA information for a cruise we are taking from Singapore with stops in Thailand, Vietnam and then Hong Kong. I called Celebrity Cruises to find out if they provide these visa's for its passengers and was informed that it was the responsibility of the passengers to get their own prior to boarding the cruise ship or will be denied embarkation in Vietnam where Visa's are required for U.S. citizens. I went on the website that was provided by Celebrity to complete the visa form and on it, it requires location of entry through checkpoint and location of entry through exit checkpoint ????? The drop down menu has listing for point of entry through checkpoint being Ho Chi Minh as an option to choose however, there is no listing on drop down menu for point of exit through checkpoint (last stop being Hanoi) Halong Bay...... which means I cannot complete this evisa without completing this information. Can anyone please tell me if they have used the website provided by Celebrity to complete the evisa for Vietnam??? Also those who have done this trip recently, do they ask to see the visa each time you port in cities in Vietnam???? I have looked at other sites to complete evisa for Vietnam but I am cautious of it's validity and the cost for them were almost 300.00

Here is the problem I found in this website, when I have to list the location where we are leaving from, which is Hanoi, it is not listed in the drop down menu to chose from nor is the Cai Lan Port which also is not listed in the drop down menu to complete this visa form. I called Celebrity and they told me they do not do visa for passengers and that it is our responsibility. I have sent a message to support from the site you listed and have yet heard from them.

We are scheduled to cruise on board Celebrity Solstice this November from Singapore to Thailand, Vietnam and ending in Hong Kong. I have read you need a visa to visit Vietnam and then I read you don't if in-transit cruise guest to want to go ashore on tours or individually. If anyone has recently cruised there, could you please let me know which is correct. I search many websites and each one gives something different. I appreciate any assistance. .

We were in the Blu restaurant on one of our cruises for the entire cruise. Every night we asked for the menu from the main dining room instead of what they had in that dining room. We were a party of 5 couples and only a couple of our friends actually ordered from the Blu menu once or twice. It was not appealing to us. We did like the dining room itself as it was very beautiful and quiet. The food was a miss.

Sorry I meant to say on the Celebrity Millennium not the Solstice next July.

First, I want to say how tragic the news is of the the fire at the floating market in Thailand and wish for safety of all involved. We are heading to a cruise from Singapore in November and that was one of the excursions we were taking when we arrived in Thailand. This is horrible news for the people and I pray for all involved.

We are cruising with 3 other couples next July to Japan on Solstice and saw 45% off excursions. We all booked our excursions at the same time with a deal like that. Maybe that has something to do with your cruise also. I had 8 excursions booked on another Celebrity this November to Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in which I booked excursions several months ago. When the discount went to 45% off this past week, I cancelled everyone of the excursions we had for Singapore trip, had money refunded and booked the same excursion all over again saving me alot of money.

Thank all of you for your wonderful, helpful responses. I had spoken to a Norwegian representative and asked about their flight arrangements. I was told that most likely they would be booked a red-eye and arrive early morning of cruise in which they could make arrangements for transportation to pier. I also wanted to ask you all on cruise critic as I know so many of you are extremely smart when it comes to this. After speaking to Norwegian and them telling me it would be a red-eye, it turned out it wasn't and so we are now planning ahead of the game since the flights are a day before. With all your help, this should be easy to work out.. I know things can change at the last minute, but planning is part of the game. I wish all of you a wonderful, healthy year ahead of you and safe and happy cruises.

I guess you are right about better the day before than missing the flight. Especially when it is with an airline I don't have much confidence with. I feel better knowing that now

Thank you jdc987 and workingforobc for making me understand this better. I appreciate it.

My daughter and son in law are flying from Scottsdale to Florida to take a cruise out of Port Canaveral with us in March. They added airfare through Norwegian when they booked the cruise. They received their email today with the PDF file for their air flight. Norwegian has them flying the day before the cruise and arriving in Orlando at 530pm the night before the cruise. Because of that, they have to find a hotel to stay at and then pay for transportation to get to the cruise pier which I believe is about an hour and a half away. I guess I am a little taken back at Norwegian for doing it that way. I would think that they would be a little more accommodating and have their passengers fly to the airport CLOSEST to the pier and not a whole day before making them find a hotel and transportation too. Am I missing something???? Not being nasty about Norwegian as I like the cruise line alot but I am a little confused on this one. Maybe taking flight arrangements through them was not a wise decision. Lesson learned.

I cannot thank each and everyone of you for responding to my post. I feel so much better knowing options as I have never experienced this type of situation prior to getting on board a ship. It sounds overwhelming a bit but I am sure that it will work out. At least I have time to figure out what option is best for us. thanks once again!!!!

I am booked on Celebrity Constellation for July of next year for an Eastern Med. Cruise. I thought we flew into Venice and got on the ship at that location but I noticed that it says on my booking day 1 and 2 are in Revenna, Italy and our airline does not fly in there it flies to Venice. Those of you who have done this already, what do you do for transportation to get to Revenna to board the ship once you land in Venice Airport??? Does the ship stay there in Revenna the first two days of this itinerary? Do you have to go back and forth between there and Venice to visit sites? I am very confused about this and really would like it if someone could explain how that works. Thank you in advance.

I wish our cruise would divert from Bermuda also, fingers crossed. Actually I wish ALL cruise ships divert from their country until they realize how stupid the govt. is. Being able to control the WHOLE cruise and stating you cannot even get on at your embarkation unless you do what THEY want to to do because one stop is to their little island is shocking to me. How is this possible. Please someone explain this to me as I just don't understand how the have total control of this

Asking why you are going on a cruise then is a stupid question! Bermuda is not the only port the cruise ships are going to. I have booked several cruises for SOME if not most of the ports but that doesn't mean you like ALL of them. If a port is included on the itinerary that I don't care about, I just don't get off the ship and enjoy the peace. I am booked on a cruise with several friends on Celebrity and Bermuda happens to be a stop. I was not aware of having to fill out this authorization form and giving them 40.00 for each of us prior to embarking so because of this, we also are not getting off the ship when it arrives. I will not give their country another cent of my money and I know they don't care nor does anyone else but that's OK. Why cruise lines want to go there and put their passengers through all this unnecessary extra steps is questionable. Just when you think traveling is getting back to somewhat normal what ever normal is now a days, you get slapped with this. Shame on Bermuda. Maybe things will change by October when we go but if they don't, I will be looking at it from my balcony enjoying a drink.

I think the cruise lines need to stop going to Bermuda until they change this stupid rule. Its just about getting money from each passenger. If cruise lines quit going there, they would be getting NOTHING!! We are on a cruise that stops there in October. Am I correct in reading that we are paying 40.00 for each passenger to fill out the authorization form to go to that port and if it is not done, we can not get on the ship at embarkation? All other cruise lines are dropping COVID testings prior to sailing but I have read nothing about that with Celebrity. If this is the case, I have no choice but to comply but I do have a choice not to get off the ship and give them one more cent of my money. Why would cruise lines want to put passengers through this? Am I missing something here? I could be totally wrong. Their government needs to wake up