Princess is now charging a processing fee on Indonesian and Vietnamese visas

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

My mother is going on a cruise soon to Asia from Australia and wants to keep her passport when she goes ashore as she had a very bad experience many years ago. (Got stuck in Jakarta with no ID).

 

Does anyone categorically know if it is possible to DEMAND you get your passport to take ashore on a Princess Cruise to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia etc,

You just have to ask

[NSWP]

You just have to ask

 

Ask, but she won't get, Princess holds the passports for inspection by local authorities who board to process pax and issue stamped visas and the buffet brekkie of course.

:')

[MicCanberra]

They always get their feed in.

[alilenny]

I have sent an email to solutions@princesscruises.com.au

 

I don't see why Princess should be charging for a visa that is not required.

 

I have asked for clarification.

 

I know this is an old post but just wondering did you ever get a reply about the visa waiver for Bali

[Calabazar]

I know this is an old post but just wondering did you ever get a reply about the visa waiver for Bali

There was a reply posted at the time (a post or two down), no waiver.

 

And Princess is still charging $25 fee for stops in Indonesia whether you leave the ship or not :(

[alilenny]

:mad:

There was a reply posted at the time (a post or two down), no waiver.

 

And Princess is still charging $25 fee for stops in Indonesia whether you leave the ship or not :(

So this is still going on 2 years after Indonesia stopped charging for visas. This is wrong of Princess if they are doing this

[domwild]

I have contacted Princess several times in 2017 and it is clearly a Princess paper processing fee in Indonesia and Princess is admitting this $60,000 or so windfall (~3,000 pax?), but Princess may have stopped this scam by now, I do not know.

 

I asked Princess again why there is a "fee" for PNG cruises and it appears that money is for the "quarantine fee" and that fee goes to PNG, which is OK in my book. The Indo "visa" scam was admitted once again in my last email to Princess.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I can't say what is happening with the Indonesian fee but I did notice recently that the Vietnamese visa fees includes a US $25 "Stamping Fee".

[Aus Traveller]

I have contacted Princess several times in 2017 and it is clearly a Princess paper processing fee in Indonesia and Princess is admitting this $60,000 or so windfall (~3,000 pax?), but Princess may have stopped this scam by now, I do not know.

 

I asked Princess again why there is a "fee" for PNG cruises and it appears that money is for the "quarantine fee" and that fee goes to PNG, which is OK in my book. The Indo "visa" scam was admitted once again in my last email to Princess.

I doubt that Princess admitted to a "visa scam" as you suggest. On the several times I have cruised to Bali, everyone has had to hand in their passports for processing. Indonesian officials come on board at the previous port and are accommodated in a passenger cabin where they process the passports. I was told this bit about them being in a passenger cabin by passengers in nearby cabins on one cruise. Regardless of whether they are in a passenger cabin or not, they are on board. It is likely that Princess has to pay the Indonesian government the airfares of these officials to fly to the previous port and maybe also their wages for the few days they are on board.

 

I have been on cruises where officials from other countries also come on board at the previous port - Australian, New Zealand and Indian. Often, all the passengers have to line up with their passports for a face-to-face check by officials. This is on a sea day before arrival.

[fishtaco]

Its not a visa scam or money grab even with Bali now being 30 day visa waiver:)

 

Both Indo and viet do not have the processing facilities to process so many people at once in any port thats why officials board early and usually stay on board until the ship has left,so if doing more than one stop in the same Country they stay onboard with your passports until the last stop.

If this was not done then most would spend hours in immigration queues and miss shore tours so somebody has to pay for the blanket immigration control and blanket visa.

 

They collect all passports on boarding day because its the ideal opportunity where everyone has their passports on them,usually in hand and get the least amount of resistance to handing them over

 

Indonesian officials go into a lottery for servicing the cruise ships so to them its like a winning ticket or prize,this is why they use the buffet to its max:)

[shireboi]

I can't say what is happening with the Indonesian fee but I did notice recently that the Vietnamese visa fees includes a US $25 "Stamping Fee".

 

 

sorry.. but that is a SCAM!!!

 

 

We did RC Voyager in late 2016 - and the visa is about $U5 .. not that amount. That amount is for cruises - and covered our tops in HCMC (port) and Nha Trang.

[fishtaco]

sorry.. but that is a SCAM!!!

 

 

We did RC Voyager in late 2016 - and the visa is about $U5 .. not that amount. That amount is for cruises - and covered our tops in HCMC (port) and Nha Trang.

 

Our 2014 VOS visa cost either $25 or $30 for Vietnam.so they must have lowered the cost? Same port I think? Phu My, as VOS was too big to get to the HCMC port.

 

I remember kicking up a stink on one of our Bali /indo cruises with P&O because the fee was a lot higher than the normal Bali VOA but the entire ship was credited a few dollars back on the return (nothing to do with me complaining) as they had over estimated the cost.

[OzKiwiJJ]

According to the notice I received from Princess a couple of days ago, the Vietnam visa for our March Diamond cruise will cost US $56 onboard.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I can't say what is happening with the Indonesian fee but I did notice recently that the Vietnamese visa fees includes a US $25 "Stamping Fee".

 

sorry.. but that is a SCAM!!!

 

Tell that to the Vietnamese Government, that was sourced from their official visa fees webpage.

 

Edit, I just checked again. That is for a single entry visa. It's a US $50 Stamping Fee for a multiple visit visa. I'm not sure what type of visa the cruise lines organise though.

[MicCanberra]

A scam is something where you are duped into paying for something that was not warranted. If you have absolutely no choice in paying the money, then that my friend is just a rip off.

[fishtaco]

Tell that to the Vietnamese Government, that was sourced from their official visa fees webpage.

 

Edit, I just checked again. That is for a single entry visa. It's a US $50 Stamping Fee for a multiple visit visa. I'm not sure what type of visa the cruise lines organise though.

 

I have been to Vietnam a few times in the past 2 years land not cruise and the VOA stamping fee at the airport is $25us for single entry but you have to also pay between $5 to $15 for an invite approval letter before you can fly. An Embassy visa from Australia is $98 single entry.

You cant get a 30 day single entry visa for under $30us for land based visa so I should imagine $30pp and up would be about cruiseline cost because the land based visa is single entry for 30 days or 1 day no different to a cruise visit.

 

Just to edit: if the cruise is visiting Vietnam then Cambodia and has to travel back through Vietnam waters it will be a multi entry cost even though Vietnam and Cambodia are so so close at the southern end.

Edited January 14, 2018 by fishtaco

[Aus Traveller]

sorry.. but that is a SCAM!!!

The fees I think are a scam are the reciprocity fees charged by Chile and, until recently, Brazil. Currently Australians have to pay US$117 just to leave the international airport in Santiago.

[fishtaco]

I can't say what is happening with the Indonesian fee but I did notice recently that the Vietnamese visa fees includes a US $25 "Stamping Fee".

 

If the ship does Visa on arrival VOA the visa is free but it stil costs $25us for stamp fee. If you get a passport visa it has a cost plus stamp duty fee plus embassy fees.

 

I would imagine the higher charge is for getting the immigration on board and checking all those passports! They are quite official in Vietnam even with an embassy visa emigration sit there and study you passport against you,its not a simple look and wave on.

[MicCanberra]

The fees I think are a scam are the reciprocity fees charged by Chile and, until recently, Brazil. Currently Australians have to pay US$117 just to leave the international airport in Santiago.

But as it is a reciprocity fee, that is what we charge them, you can include Argentina in that lot. When we went Brazil was a plain Visa fee and it was not a reciprocal fee. The issue with them is it has to be paid in cash, or money order, no credit cards, no cheques.

[Aus Traveller]

But as it is a reciprocity fee, that is what we charge them, you can include Argentina in that lot. When we went Brazil was a plain Visa fee and it was not a reciprocal fee. The issue with them is it has to be paid in cash, or money order, no credit cards, no cheques.

No reciprocity fee for Argentina now. :)I was there in November and December. I think the fee was removed on 1st July, 2017. You are right. The fee for Brazil is a visa fee. When we went on a South American cruise (Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco) early in 2013, Argentina was just bringing in the reciprocity fee. At the time it only applied to airport arrivals, but by mid-year it also applied to cruise-ship passengers.

[MicCanberra]

No reciprocity fee for Argentina now. :)I was there in November and December. I think the fee was removed on 1st July, 2017. You are right. The fee for Brazil is a visa fee. When we went on a South American cruise (Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco) early in 2013, Argentina was just bringing in the reciprocity fee. At the time it only applied to airport arrivals, but by mid-year it also applied to cruise-ship passengers.

Obviously I don't like paying more than I have to when travelling but I just see visa's and such as a necessary part of travel and when researching itineraries make sure I budget for these type of costs. Another often forgotten part of travel is transfers from airports to hotels or the docks etc. They can really add up if you haven't looked at it previously and worked out the best method.

[Womble99]

I can't say what is happening with the Indonesian fee but I did notice recently that the Vietnamese visa fees includes a US $25 "Stamping Fee".

 

Quote from email received 12 Jan 18 - Sailing date 15 mar 18

 

 

INDONESIA VISA UPDATE

Please be advised the Indonesian visa policy has recently changed. Most guests, including U.S., Canadian, U.K., Australian, and New Zealand passport holders, qualify for a visa-free entry stamp. A service fee of $25 per person will be charged to your stateroom account.

[LC1950]

Hi Womble99, I received that same email on 12/1/18. Looks like we're on the same cruise? I won't be going ashore in Bali but know from past experience that these fees are necessary if you want a pleasant experience. So we just crack open an icy cold can of 'get over it' and move on. At least we're not being slugged the extra gratuity every day that they get on Princess ships sailing out of the U.S.

 

Anyway, I'm not gonna sweat $50 to feed those poor starving Indonesian officials who will have to board in Fremantle so they can process all of our passports. Life's tough. ;)

[MicCanberra]

Hi Womble99, I received that same email on 12/1/18. Looks like we're on the same cruise? I won't be going ashore in Bali but know from past experience that these fees are necessary if you want a pleasant experience. So we just crack open an icy cold can of 'get over it' and move on. At least we're not being slugged the extra gratuity every day that they get on Princess ships sailing out of the U.S.

 

Anyway, I'm not gonna sweat $50 to feed those poor starving Indonesian officials who will have to board in Fremantle so they can process all of our passports. Life's tough. ;)

Good attitude.

[Beanb41]

I would be very surprised if you would be charged anything for visit to Indonesia as about 18 months ago they extended the visa free requirements for tourists from just about every country on the planet