Cruise New York

Hello! I received my visa on 12/22! My travel partner, however, still has not received any approval. She applied the day after me. They asked her to re-upload her financial documents, which she did immediately, and for the past two weeks her status has remained “pending document uploaded” or something similar. Our flight is on January 2 and only one of us has a visa so far. Yikes! We may be missing the cruise after all 😞

Hello! I still haven’t received my visa yet. Has he? Do you know what email address it should come from? Or the subject line? I just want to make sure I don’t miss it in my inbox 🙂

Thank you for that update. I still have not received my visa and I was "approved" on December 15.

Please let us know when you do receive the visa, and how long it takes after being “approved!” Thank you, and congrats!

Haha! Yes, it certainly wasn't a painless process. Thank you for all of your help millybess! Safe and happy travels to you!

For the sections that allowed PDFs, I converted my image to PDF and then "reduced size" until it was under the maximum. As for the photo, I used my iPhone and a free app called IDPassportPhoto. It made a great photo in the correct size and the visa processing system accepted it without any problems! It was also a small enough size digitally to meet their upload requirements.

I have an update since my last post. Although MSC said we would not need a visa, when I called back to request this confirmation in writing, they politely refused to provide this. The supervisor said that we shouldn't need the visa, but that it wouldn't hurt to get one. Since the eVisa has now been expanded to allow tourists who are entering by land and sea to apply, I decided to just get a visa for the peace of mind. I applied on Monday (Dec. 11) and my application was cleared and recommended by Tuesday. After three days of hearing nothing, I logged in this morning (Dec. 15) and see that my application status has changed to "approved." This is very exciting news, but I have not received any email or any copy of the visa to bring with me on the trip. Does anyone know if we have to print something out or need to physically attach anything to our passports? Do we just arrive and let the authorities know that the website says we're "approved?" I am very happy that they opened this process up to cruise passengers who are not flying into Brazil. It is worth the $80.90 to have the piece of mind. The process was quick, although the website is AWFUL and required multiple steps back when it got lost in a "thinking spiral." One piece of advice to anyone who is going through the application: if the page has any questions with answers in drop-down boxes, answer those FIRST before answering any that require you type an answer. For some reason, those drop-down boxes seem to change to blanks if you don't answer them first.

I received confirmation from MSC Cruises today that we DO NOT need a visa for Brazil, since it is beginning and ending in Argentina with only stops in Brazil. This also aligns with what I've seen on VisaHQ (the visa service that MSC refers customers to). If you click on your nationality and select "Cruise" as the visa type, it says the visa is not required. My situation may be unique, though, since we are setting sail on January 6th and will be in Brazil January 9-11 (entering before the first date of the requirement of January 10th).

I received a reply from the Brazil eVisa team (below). It looks like people on cruises don’t need the visa: “Thank you for contacting the Brazil E-visa Helpdesk Based on the information provided, if you'll be traveling on a cruise or crossing the border by land, an Electronic Visa (eVisa) is not applicable.”

No, the flight has a layover in Santo Domingo. I would usually fly out of Boston or one of the NYC airports, but there is a new airline (Arajet) that had round-trip flights between Montreal and Buenos Aires for only $700. That was half the price of Boston/NYC, so it seemed worth the 3.5 hour drive to Montreal to save that much!

Oh my gosh, thank you! I even knew this, having lived in Mexico, but my American eyes still can't see that for anything but September 1! And, yes, GenVisa was confused today by the requirement. At least the agent I spoke with and the colleagues she consulted while I was on hold. Maybe it was because I am arriving by sea and departing by sea. In either case, the application requires proof of round-trip air travel and explicitly says that it must list a Brazilian airport. I wouldn't be so worried if my cruise was in March or April, but I fly out on January 2 and the cruise departs on January 6 - so that doesn't leave much time for processing a visa, if one is required. The consulate in NYC does not have an option to speak with anyone by phone, so I don't think I can make an appointment. If the one in Toronto is more responsive, I suppose I could drive out there to see if they can help me. That would be better than flying to Argentina and not being able to board the ship! Thanks for all the suggestions!

Wow - thank you! The wording of that is still a bit confusing to me. The measure will take effect on January 10, 2024, but I would be exempt from it if I enter before September 1, 2024? I have called two visa processing companies today. One said I should be fine (not super reassuring). The other one (GenVisa, which you suggested) was very understanding, but expressed that they were in the same situation and had several clients who are traveling by cruise into Brazil in January. They are not sure if they need a visa or if they are even eligible for the eVisa since they are not entering Brazil by air. Apparently they have also requested clarification from the Brazilian government and have not heard back. So they, too, are in a holding pattern with their clients.

Thank you for your reply! The issue I am having is that the visa application requires me to upload my round-trip flight itinerary, showing the airport(s) in Brazil in which I am flying into/out of. My round-trip flight is from Montreal to Buenos Aires and back, since the cruise starts and ends in Buenos Aires. We will only be in Brazil for the ports of call, so we will just be getting off and on the ship (no Brazilian airports). This leads me to believe that the visa processors are correct that we do not need the visa. However, this is contrary MSC Cruise's website, which indicates we will need the visa in order to board.

I am taking an MSC Cruise out of Buenos Aires, leaving January 6, 2024 and returning to Buenos Aires on January 14. There are three ports in Brazil on this cruise, on January 9, 10, and 11. The visa requirement goes into effect on January 10, so in theory people who first enter Brazilian waters on January 9 should be okay. Of course, I would hate to fly all the way down to Argentina only to be denied boarding. The MSC Cruise website says I need the visa and cannot just remain on the ship while in port (I wouldn't want to anyway). The visa processing company that seems to be contracted by the Brazilian government (VFS Global) informed me by email that I am not eligible for a visa because they are only for "Americans, Australians, and Canadians traveling to Brazil by air," not for cruise or land boarder crossing. So MSC says I need a visa, but the people who process the Brazilian visas say I can't get one. I have literally contacted each Brazilian consulate location in the United States by email and phone. The emails go without reply and there is no option to speak to a representative by phone - they just refer me to their website or ask me to email. There is nothing but contradictory information on the websites and no one who can answer definitively. I've considered taking a day off work and driving the 2 hours from Albany to the Brazilian Consulate in New York City, but am afraid that I would end up getting the run-around there too (if I can even get in to speak to a person). Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone had any luck with this? I foresee a very messy embarkation process for all the Canadians, Americans, and Australians who are on this cruise!