India visa and cruise ship difficulties.

I hope you are right. Otherwise you will not be going on the cruise.

I trust the India embassy, the visa centre staff, the cruise line staff n our immigration and I am sure their answers are correct. We will know in 42 hours’ time.

I trust the India embassy, the visa centre staff, the cruise line staff n our immigration and I am sure their answers are correct. We will know in 42 hours’ time.

The India embassy has given wrong info before. Did you read the link posted in one of the replies?

Cruise line staff are notorious for giving all kinds of incorrect information and they rarely know all the rules about passports, and definitely not about visas.

I think I'd rather have a Visa I don't need than need a Visa I don't have.

The India embassy has given wrong info before. Did you read the link posted in one of the replies?

 

Cruise line staff are notorious for giving all kinds of incorrect information and they rarely know all the rules about passports, and definitely not about visas.

If even embassy cant be trusted, all others wont be. 19 more hours before check in.

We've been to Cochin. Several people ignored the then-rule requiring a visa. And yes, the cruise line gave out wrong information. So did some consulates. Because of the numbers, passengers were allowed to board, but US$100 pp was charged to their on board account to pay the Indian authorities for their visas. No exceptions. Even if the passengers did not leave the ship.

With current new rules allowing for e-visas at ports, I would expect a similar situation. Boarding without a visa is fine, but your account will be charged for the e-visa, even if not going ashore.

If even embassy cant be trusted, all others wont be. 19 more hours before check in.

Waiting to hear what happened.

Waiting to hear what happened.

I have just checked in at the cruise centre and the time here is 1735, the ship will sail in 2h30min. I DO NOT have any Indian visa but I am going to board the ship.

Countries requiring visas insist that you have a visa even if you plan to stay on the ship. After all you are in that country when you are docked in port. Cruise lines check that passengers have proper documentation upon embarkation. If you don't you'll be waving goodbye from the dock as the ship sails.

Hi Capriccio, I m nw gg to board the ship and waving goodbye to my country.

No indian visa needed

The visa is a challenge but it would never keep us from cruising.

Keith

Hi Capriccio, I m nw gg to board the ship and waving goodbye to my country.

No indian visa needed

You're not there yet. Only time will tell. And will you?

I have just checked in at the cruise centre and the time here is 1735, the ship will sail in 2h30min. I DO NOT have any Indian visa but I am going to board the ship.

I hope you are aboard now and didn't get detained after check in while trying to board.

You're not there yet. Only time will tell. And will you?

I have already sailed n reach kuala lumpur, jus connected my data and in the bus from the port in Malaysia. When I get to Mangalore, I will update u guys again ;p

I hope you are aboard now and didn't get detained after check in while trying to board.

I sailed whole night and have reached Malaysia and now going to tour Kuala Lumpur before I embark again in 6 hours’ time. Detained? Not at all.

I have already sailed n reach kuala lumpur, jus connected my data and in the bus from the port in Malaysia. When I get to Mangalore, I will update u guys again ;p

We haven't heard back from you. You said you would be in Mangalore on March 3. Did you stay on the ship hoping not to be charged for a visa? Possibly you did not have internet at the time, So we are still waiting to hear.

So........ Was there a charge to your onboard account for the Indian visa?

We haven't heard back from you. You said you would be in Mangalore on March 3. Did you stay on the ship hoping not to be charged for a visa? Possibly you did not have internet at the time, So we are still waiting to hear.

 

So........ Was there a charge to your onboard account for the Indian visa?

I checked but no one replied so I skipped the updating. We reached Rome an hour ago today. In Mangalore, we stayed on board so we did not need to pay a cent.

So it appeared Kortark,was correct,  did board and sail without a problem, rather surprised  at lack of response from the doubters.

Trolling the internet shows a lot of really annoyed people at the conflicting and erroneous information supplied by Indian authorities and we concur fully with that, you can also add Cunard to that list.

We had the following experience.

Yes - we were told -  as Canadians you are eligible for an e visa, so as a trial we filled out one application, double checked it and sent it in. Reply 48 hours later, rejected no explanation given: 6 unanswered emails later and two phones to the 'help' desk provided nothing but ambiguity, indifference, and conflicting information; oh yes, and we keep your money regardless. So you have no redress, no one who gives a toss, and buck passing of the highest order (that, they excel at) Boondoggle!

From Cunard? Stay on board, no problem: No, you must have an evisa: No, you must have a regular visa, hey, that's an interesting question!  (no response provided)

So there you have it, do as Kotark did, or play their expensive game and shell out the money for a regular visa.

Our mistake was forgetting our basic rule, don't visit countries that require visas, it's nothing but a pain in the neck and a ready supply of money from tourists.

Hi Zigma, I provided the entire situation as I move along and yes right. We DO NOT NEED an India visa if we do not want to disembark and spent not a single cent to get any evisa when we reached New Mangalore Port as we did not even disembark. For anyone who wants to disembark, kindly get your visa. Cheers! 

Luckily my cruiseline pays for all visas and uses VisaCentral. I filled out both China and India and VisaCentral submits them. If anything is wrong on the application, VisaCentral calls or emails me to get it right before they submit them.

1 hour ago, Go-Bucks! said:

Luckily my cruiseline pays for all visas and uses VisaCentral. I filled out both China and India and VisaCentral submits them. If anything is wrong on the application, VisaCentral calls or emails me to get it right before they submit them.

Same with our next world cruise. Viking uses Gen Visa, which I assume provide a similar service to what you get from Oceania & VisaCentral.

About 5-6 months before sailing, Viking will send us a Visa package, we fill out the forms and send them to GenVisa, with passports. Couple of months later we receive our passports back with all the Visas.

On 2/21/2018 at 6:04 PM, Kortark said:

 

Simple! Jus dun get off the ship at India port. You dun have to give up the whole trip due to one port. 😊

Tell that story to the people who took a South American cruise and did not know that they needed a Brazilian visa to board the ship in the US even if they planning to stay onboard on the single stop in Brazil.  India may be the same, regardless of what someone tells you on the phone.  

DON

3 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

Tell that story to the people who took a South American cruise and did not know that they needed a Brazilian visa to board the ship in the US even if they planning to stay onboard on the single stop in Brazil.  India may be the same, regardless of what someone tells you on the phone.  

 

DON

To Don,

it is not someone told me. I had already done that cruise. 

On 2/22/2018 at 3:04 AM, Kortark said:

 

Simple! Jus dun get off the ship at India port. You dun have to give up the whole trip due to one port. 😊

You enter the country when the ship enters that countries territorial waters.  NOT when you step on land.

You still need the visa.

Glad it worked for you, but it might not work the next time.

Rules change.  And Indian visa rules change often.

Hi Kortak,  I couldn't find which cruise line you were on when you did this.  We are about to leave on the Sapphire Princess on March 10th.  It stops in Cochin, India.  Like you, I contacted the India Embassy here in the United States and was told that as long as I didn't get off the ship, I would not need a Visa.  However, they did say to still check with my cruiseline.  I asked if this was anywhere in writing so I could take that with me, but they replied no.  All I have is their email.  Princess says they will deny boarding if you don't have a e-visa or regular visa.  I wonder if anyone recently has sailed on Princess and was able to board the ship without proof of a Inda visa.  I want to thank you for being so thorough in exactly what you did and what you experienced, step by step.  You are the only post I have been able to find that has done that.  

7 hours ago, Rebeccadoll said:

We are about to leave on the Sapphire Princess on March 10th.  It stops in Cochin, India.  Like you, I contacted the India Embassy here in the United States and was told that as long as I didn't get off the ship, I would not need a Visa.  However, they did say to still check with my cruiseline.  I asked if this was anywhere in writing so I could take that with me, but they replied no.  All I have is their email.  Princess says they will deny boarding if you don't have a e-visa or regular visa.  I wonder if anyone recently has sailed on Princess and was able to board the ship without proof of a Inda visa. 

Since you are asking specifically for experiences on a Princess ship, you should post this on the Princess board:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/