Help?! Schengen Visa Reminder

[SuzyQ123]

We are US citizens, have passports (which have been recently renewed) and received this today from Princess on our upcoming British Isles trip. A bit confused. The first sentence makes me think because we are US citizens we have nothing else we have to do, but when I read the second, I am now confused and wondering. Are we off the hook on this? We are taking the 26 day cruise, staying in London a week and then bringing the Queen Mary back. What do you think?

 

"As a reminder, you will be visiting countries which are member of the Schengen Agreement.Schengen Agreement countries require passport holders from various countries to obtain a visa in advance. This requirement does not apply to Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, UK, or U.S. passport holders. A multiple entry visa will be required if a non-Schengen country is visited between visits to Schengen countries (Example;depart from Italy, visit Turkey, arrive in Greece.)Schengen Agreementy countries include: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estronia, Finland,France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Poland,Portugal,Slovakia, Slobenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switerland.

 

Thanks!

[Essiesmom]

You do not need a visa. EM

[CI66774]

No visa required if you're a U.S. citizen. Relax and enjoy your trip!:D

[peety3]

I'd recommend having your overall travel itinerary handy whenever needed. The Schengen Zone requires you to stay no more than 90 days in a six-month period. With the travels you've got planned (i.e. it's more than just a 7 or 8-day cruise), border control will probably want to see your travel plans laid out, return airfare proof, etc.

 

Friends of ours planned a 108-day trip on their tandem bicycle a year or two ago. Major flooding caused them to completely redo their trip, and they had to "get out" for 18 days in the middle to avoid breaking the rules, death, taxation, torture, you know. ;)

[fishywood]

You can just stop reading after the words "...does not apply to...U.S. passport holders" ;)

 

But having done a similar trip two years ago (eastbound TA on NCL followed by British Isles and westbound TA on QM2; your itinerary looks even better) I was surprised how many ports required non-UK or EU citizens to show their passports when going ashore. Certainly no inconvenience, just a mild curiosity. Likely it happened because there were so few Americans on the British Isles segment (fewer than 300 on a ship of 2500) that authorities in Scotland and Ireland decided to work-to-rule--usually in non-turnaround ports they simply inspect passports en masse when they board the ship, which is why they are held by the purser.

 

And no need to worry about proof of itinerary or ticket home as suggested above--no one will question you unless you have exceeded 90 days from the first Schengen nation stamp in your passport; you will only need one third of that.

Edited February 11, 2015 by fishywood

[caribill]

 

And no need to worry about proof of itinerary or ticket home as suggested above--no one will question you unless you have exceeded 90 days from the first Schengen nation stamp in your passport; you will only need one third of that.

 

And the chance that any agent will thumb through your passport to locate the most recent entry stamp that would apply is infinitesimal.

[Water Log]

We did this trip in the spring of 2014. Emerald princess transatlantic, a week in a cottage outside of Bath and the Queen Mary back. You are fine with your passport. It's a great trip. You will have a wonderful time.

[SuzyQ123]

Thank you for the reassurance!! I thought we were trying to make more of it than necessary! Looking forward to our trip!:)

[Loonbeam]

To clarify the overall topic, in most cases your passport will be sufficient for a US cruiser without a visa.

 

US Citizens generally have free ingress to the Schengen Agreement countries.

 

IF you happen to cruise a variant itinerary that goes to a non-schengen country that also requires a visa for that, you will need that. Most in that area do not require one for US citizens for cruise visits.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I'd recommend having your overall travel itinerary handy whenever needed. The Schengen Zone requires you to stay no more than 90 days in a six-month period. With the travels you've got planned (i.e. it's more than just a 7 or 8-day cruise), border control will probably want to see your travel plans laid out, return airfare proof, etc.

 

Friends of ours planned a 108-day trip on their tandem bicycle a year or two ago. Major flooding caused them to completely redo their trip, and they had to "get out" for 18 days in the middle to avoid breaking the rules, death, taxation, torture, you know. ;)

 

That is not necessary at all. No problems at all being a US Citizen. As a US Citizen, a British Isles cruise is a breeze.

Edited February 11, 2015 by DrivesLikeMario

[Potstech]

"This requirement does not apply to Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, UK, or U.S. passport holders."

 

This is part of what you posted. Unless you hold a passport from a country other than those stated above you should not need a visa or have any other problems.