India e visa vs multientry visa

[icsys]

Can I just ask you to confirm how many ports you visited? I have three and celebrity have said an evisa is fine but I am just a little concerned as apparently two is the max on an evisa.

Thanks.

 

 

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This has caused some confusion as the e-visa states 'double entry' within a 60 day period. I assumed it was only good for two ports of call.

 

However, your first port of call (as long as it is one of the designated ports) is the 'entry'. As long as your ship does not visit any other country in between India ports of call it is classed as one entry.

 

VisaCentral (or CIBT) are Celebirty's preferred visa partner, if you have any doubt, contact them for advice.

[Stairsonly]

On 12/17/2017 at 12:20 AM, Doc Mom said:

 

 

Thank you soooo much for the update Jen. I've had 2 sleepless nights regarding my eVisa to India and even worse is the look of disappointment on my daughter's faces when I told them that we might not be able to board the ship on January 2. I'm from Australia and when I first contacted celebrity Regarding Indian visa, I was told (as per their terms and conditions) "check the applicable passport and visa requirements (including multi-entry visa requirements and for additional visa photos) with the embassies of the countries you will be visiting during your cruise, or check the up-to-date position with your travel agent in good time before departure"..

 

So, under the advice of the Indian Government, eVisa is accepted in Goa seaport, (with an Autralian passport). And since I have an e-visa, under the general terms and conditions of Celebrity, i would expect to be able to board the cruise.

But then I got an email yesterday, saying that I may be denied boarding without traditional visa for which I have absolutely no time to get as I leave Australia soon for a short pre-cruise holidays. And I couldn't take the risk of NOT having our passports back before our flight in 2 days. We were just going to turn up at Abu Dhabi and take our chances... And hopefully it doesn't end up in years esp for my 2 daughters!!!!

 

 

[Stairsonly]

I really hope that as past cruisers on a similar Celebrity Cruise to India that my husband and I are doing this March can shed some light on the Evisa vs regular fiasco. Were you actually allowed entry to the 3 Indian ports (Mumbai, Goa and Cochin)  with your Evisa? I am getting so much conflicting information even from the Indian authorities as some say that the cruise is considered one entry and others say triple entry, which is not allowed on an Evisa. Not sure if it makes any difference but we are both Australian citizens. 

So, again if anyone out there has actually done this cruise in 2018 can you please please please let me know how you got on.

Thank you

Lorraine 

[begagirl]

We were on the Constellation earlier this year sailing from Singapore to Rome.  We visited three ports in India and had the Multi Entry visa as did other Australians we met on the ship and our visas were checked before we were able to board in Singapore.  It was a bit of a nuisance having to go to Sydney for an interview with the Indian officials and then return a week later to pick-up the visas but worth it for the peace of mind.  Some passengers we met from other countries said they only had E-Visas.

[Stairsonly]

Thanks very much Begagirl (stunning part of the south coat ☺), I think that's most likely the safest option. Most of the posts I've seen of Evisa users have been from countries other than Australia.

Much appreciated 

Lorraine 

[gek]

We got the multi entry visas for our cruise last April. Others got evisas. Nobody had any problems as far as I know, but  multi-entry visas were recommended for anyone doing the multi-day Delhi shore excursion.
I believe that the process for cruise ship arrivals was simplified around 12 months ago and evisas should be fine.

However...if I were to go again I'd make the effort and get the multi-entry visa just to be sure. You never know when it comes to Indian bureaucracy. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by gek

[Doc Mom]

Hi Stairsonly....

Below was my experience with e visa (I must have our it on another thread soon after our cruise). 

"

Hi... We're now back from the cruise, and it was FANTASTIC!!!

At check in, we had a super friendly person, and after we got all our ship cards, he just took us to the documentation officer, who said we had the wrong type of visa, took down our room number, told us we needed to clear immigration at GOA Port, then allowed us to board.

 

Main difference is that passengers on traditional/stamped Indian visa had their passports/immigration processed onboard (during sea day), 2 days before arriving in GOA, and apparently, it only took 5 minutes. But they needed another stamp when they got to the port (and maybe waited 20 minutes in line). This was the case for about 2,000 passengers.

 

Indian eVisa could NOT be processed on board, and we needed to get off the ship, where the Indian immigration were set up on the port. We were the 2nd group to get processed and took about 30-45 minutes. Their process on port could be done much quicker. Once we got processed in GOA, other ports of call in India (Mumbai, Cochin) are completely fine, as they are now considered domestic travel. 

 

So it was definitely no hassle for us to get onboard, and tour India on eVisa. About 200 passengers have eVisa and 2,000 passengers have stamped Visa. I'm not sure if cruise ships will or will not allow Indian eVisa in the future, because if more than 10% of passengers have eVisas, I don't think port immigration officers in GOA can handle it. I can see long long long delays for processing of eVisa in the port if more passengers have EVisas. 200 passengers on EVisa took 30 minutes to 3 hours.. Imagine 2,200 passengers!!! It could take all day and more!!!!! This would surely lead to shore excursion delays or even cancellations!! And ships DON'T like that!!!

 

All in all, our Indian eVisa was no problems for us and we had an AMAZING cruise!!!!! It's our 8th cruise, and my kids said it was the BEST cruise ever (but I think it's because they made great friends at the kids club, rather than the ports of call)!!! They would have been happy to stay on the ship with their new friends rather than tour India!!!!"

[4774Papa]

I don't know the status of what the Indian government now requires for visa for cruise ships.

 

We did the Singapore to Dubai cruise in 2015 and had to get the expensive visa with the lengthy application process, which in my opinion was the worst we had encountered anywhere.  That includes the Russian and China visa process.

 

Also, the Indian ladies that handled our clearance for each port were slow and about as inefficient as any we have encountered.  Frankly, it would take a lot to convince we to go back to India.

 

If they have an visa that you can purchase on the internet prior to arrival like Australia, that would be huge, but don't know if that works for cruisers.

[begagirl]

17 hours ago, Stairsonly said:

Thanks very much Begagirl (stunning part of the south coat ☺), I think that's most likely the safest option. Most of the posts I've seen of Evisa users have been from countries other than Australia.

Much appreciated 

Lorraine 

Hi Lorraine, glad I could be of help.  One small tip.  When we said to Indian officials we were paying for the visa by cash they gave us a 10% discount.  I now live in Wollongong but lived in Bega as a young child (agree it is a beautiful part of the south coast) and when I had to chose a password for Cruise Critic just decided on Begagirl.

[cjcruiser27]

23 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

I don't know the status of what the Indian government now requires for visa for cruise ships.

 

We did the Singapore to Dubai cruise in 2015 and had to get the expensive visa with the lengthy application process, which in my opinion was the worst we had encountered anywhere.  That includes the Russian and China visa process.

 

Also, the Indian ladies that handled our clearance for each port were slow and about as inefficient as any we have encountered.  Frankly, it would take a lot to convince we to go back to India.

 

If they have an visa that you can purchase on the internet prior to arrival like Australia, that would be huge, but don't know if that works for cruisers.

I was trying to find a review of the Singapore to Dubai cruise, did you write one?  I know that I have reviews of yours in the past. Tried to send you a message but the site is not allowing me to .  Thinking of doing the holiday 2019, NYE in Dubai???

[4774Papa]

6 minutes ago, cjcruiser27 said:

I was trying to find a review of the Singapore to Dubai cruise, did you write one?  I know that I have reviews of yours in the past. Tried to send you a message but the site is not allowing me to .  Thinking of doing the holiday 2019, NYE in Dubai???

Here is my review:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=501167

 

 

[cjcruiser27]

1 minute ago, 4774Papa said:

Here is my review:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=501167

 

 

You're  awesome!!!  Thanks so much😄

[Honey49]

Cruising on the Explorer Sydney to Southampton from 29th March. Regarding the Indian e-visa, their website (documents required section) says you only need to download a copy of the picture page in your passport in one section. In another it says you also need a separate square head shot. Can anyone advise me how they went about it successfully.