Bellissima Jeddah question-embarkation time

[VickyMcG]

Bellissima, Saudi Arabia 7 nite: Jan 29, 2022 out of Jeddah.

Since we have to fly in the same day as embarkation, does anyone know what time the Bellissima sails from Jeddah?

Thank you!

[intr3pid]

We are doing this itinerary in December.  The listed departure is 11.00 PM local time.  Our embarkation time is listed as 9.00 PM.  That said, they have committed the Bellissima only last week to this 7-night itinerary, and I think the local sales haven't begun yet.  These listed times might change.

[VickyMcG]

1 hour ago, intr3pid said:

We are doing this itinerary in December.  The listed departure is 11.00 PM local time.  Our embarkation time is listed as 9.00 PM.  That said, they have committed the Bellissima only last week to this 7-night itinerary, and I think the local sales haven't begun yet.  These listed times might change.

thank you so much. I'll check back later.

[Travelnplane]

Our December booking states 9.59PM as Check-in time.

 

Other question; Is anyone already able to book shore excursions for the ports of call?

[intr3pid]

7 hours ago, Travelnplane said:

Other question; Is anyone already able to book shore excursions for the ports of call?

No, we can't see the excursions either.  They were posted for some ports when we initially booked on Magnifica (the original ship sailing this itinerary).  Slowly, they all disappeared.

 

Of particular interest are the trips to (1) Luxor from Safaga, (2) Petra/Wadi Rum from Aqaba, and (3) Hegra from Wajih(?).  Till a few weeks ago, they still had the Hegra excursion listed for about $300pp (in a few flavors) before the takedown.  We called to inquire and were asked to wait until closer to the sailing date.  I imagine they are re-arranging some of them to accommodate the new ship size.  We'll see.

 

If you are curious about what they have been offering to the locals, we found this link:

https://msccruisesksa.com/itineraries/destinations/saudi-arabia-red-sea/

Edited September 27, 2021 by intr3pid

[Travelnplane]

Thank you for the link. So we‘ll wait and see what becomes available.

[VickyMcG]

Where do you get your Saudi Visa, or for Egypt (on our itinerary Jan 29). We are leaving a different MSC cruise on Jan 29th then going on the Jeddah Jan 29 cruise.  Where do we get a PCR for Saudi Arabia? Does MSC provide PCR on the first cruise as passengers need them to go home or to another cruise?

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

1 hour ago, VickyMcG said:

Does MSC provide PCR on the first cruise as passengers need them to go home or to another cruise?

After our MSC cruise in the Baltic in August, we were flying to Sweden which at the time required a fresh covid19 test. We were able to get a Rapid test on the ship in the health clinic. I imagine they had PCR tests too but the Rapid was cheaper and is all we needed.

As for Visa's, check with MSC about those. On our last cruise to Egypt the ship arranged for visas for all passengers because they kept passports during the entire cruise. There was an Egyptian stamp in the passports when they returned them the final morning of the cruise. For Saudi Arabia, looks like U.S. citizens qualify for eVisas: https://www.onlinevisa.com/saudi-arabia-visa/american/

[intr3pid]

They have just released more info on how the winter itineraries will be run. 

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/news/winter-health-safety-protocol

 

For the Red Sea sailing:

 

"All guests 12 years and above need to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours of their cruise departure. Guests aged from two years to 11 years old will need to provide proof of a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours of their cruise departure.

For MSC Bellissima cruises in the Red Sea, a visa is required for entry into Saudi Arabia and guests who purchase an MSC Fly & Cruise package will have a visa for Saudi Arabia valued at €30 per person included in the overall cost.  

Guests need to register their vaccination status with the authorities from Saudi Arabia prior to arriving in the country. More information can be found here."

 

------------------

 

For testing on board:

 

"To enable guests to return home in compliance with the various national regulations, it is possible for guests to purchase and perform an RT-PCR or an antigen test during their cruise if this is required for them to return to their home country. This service is booked and paid for on board and is organized through the Medical Centre."

 

 

[intr3pid]

10 hours ago, VickyMcG said:

Where do you get your Saudi Visa, or for Egypt (on our itinerary Jan 29). We are leaving a different MSC cruise on Jan 29th then going on the Jeddah Jan 29 cruise.  Where do we get a PCR for Saudi Arabia? Does MSC provide PCR on the first cruise as passengers need them to go home or to another cruise?

We are planning on getting our e-visas for both Saudi and Egypt before departure.  I'm sure MSC will arrange some or all, but we aren't taking any chances so far from home during the pandemic.  The e-visas are pretty inexpensive, take hardly any time to apply, and arrive within a few days. 

 

Saudi e-visa:

https://visa.visitsaudi.com/

 

Egypt e-visa:

https://www.visa2egypt.gov.eg/eVisa

 

Jordan has a visa-on-arrival setup for most countries in Europe and North America, but they are still asking you to register before arrival:

https://www.gateway2jordan.gov.jo/index.html

 

For the PCR test, where are you debarking your first cruise?  Looks like MSC is providing an on-board test option, but we have heard stories of the test results going missing or there being delays.  I would keep a backup plan too.

Edited October 5, 2021 by intr3pid

[intr3pid]

Looks like this Jeddah cruise has removed the Safaga stop from its December sailings.  They also seem to have dropped the port from where to do the Hegra excursion. 

 

We are thinking of rescheduling/cancelling.  No longer sure where this cruise will go ⁉️

[perakcruiser]

If someone is going on a Middle East cruise before mid January we would love to know about going to the EXPO from Abu Dhabi. There are free shuttle busses from Abu Dhabi to the EXPO but not from the port. 

 

The Saudi eVisa seems to be crazy expensive? In this case we leave it to what MSC offers and stay on board if it is more than 30€. We actually only go there for the EXPO, so the cruise is not really important, but looking forward to see the Virtuosa. 

[Travelnplane]

Received an e-mail today with a major itinerary change. Safaga in Egypt is gone, Al-Wadsh also. The ship is two days in Yanbu and one day in a port called King Abdullah that both have mostly beach excursions which is not the reason going to Saudi-Arabia.

 

We will most likely cancel this trip and go to the Mediterranean instead.

Edited October 20, 2021 by Travelnplane

[LeCommandant]

I booked the 7 days cruise from Jeddah. Departure at the end of the month. 

I will answer all your questions 😉 I will be in Yacht Club. 

[Travelnplane]

Did you do the Elephant rock excursion which uses a plane to get to Al-Ula and back? Are there any areas on board not usable or blocked due to cultural differences (e.g. Bars)? Did you find out how many guests were on board? And finally: Did you apply for your visa yourself? Thanks in advance.

[LeCommandant]

1 hour ago, Travelnplane said:

Did you do the Elephant rock excursion which uses a plane to get to Al-Ula and back? Are there any areas on board not usable or blocked due to cultural differences (e.g. Bars)? Did you find out how many guests were on board? And finally: Did you apply for your visa yourself? Thanks in advance.

I cannot help you for that excursion, but I have heard that all the formalities for the flight takes a lot of time, no more info. 

No, every part of the ship is open, except 2 areas during limited hours (from 11am to 3pm if I remember: Thermal Suite and covered pool reserved for women). 

 

Bars don’t serve alcohol when in saudis ports (local regulation applies). In international waters and Jordan, no more restriction. 
 

About the visa: it was supposed to be done by MSC, but finally they called me to explain me that I had to do it myself, because they had to too much to do…

It is not difficult to apply for the eVisa (20 min per person). 
 

The ship is not crowded at all…600 guests, most of them are international guests. MSC seems to struggle to attract people on that cruise, because of uncertainty due to COVID + people don’t know how beautiful that region is. 
 

I really appreciated that cruise. Note that all the offerings on board are the same as in Mediterranean, but with a selection of Arabic dishes if you want 😉 Entertainment is the same as other MSC ships. 

[LeCommandant]

There are very attractive offers with flight included. If you hesitate to go, I just have one thing to say: GO ! 

[VickyMcG]

Quick question: I'm confused because of wording of types of PCR's required.  My PCr is called:

SARS-COV-2 RNA QL NAAT,

RT PCR/TMA (Covid 19)

...

But on our Airline site,it says:"... "NAAT", "COVID19", "SARS COVID2" are not acceptable by immigration."

Does this mean that if ONLY these terms are listed on the test, the test is not good enough. Ugh, so confusing.  Is my test going to be accepted?  This is what we get at CVS or Kaiser for in -person PCR test.

[VickyMcG]

never mind

[CptFatguts]

On 11/11/2021 at 7:00 AM, LeCommandant said:

I booked the 7 days cruise from Jeddah. Departure at the end of the month. 

I will answer all your questions 😉 I will be in Yacht Club. 

 

 

My wife and I are disembarking from the Splendida (ex Genoa) in November and I am currently sorting out flights to DXB. 

 

Could you please indicate the time taken for departure and customs clearance? 

 

I am contemplating a 10:30 flight ex JED. 

 

Did MSC arrange any visas on board or was it up to pax to prearrange? We are visiting Aqaba, Safaga, Yanbu and Jeddah overnight. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

Bruce and Tania

[emmas gran]

I think you need to start a new topic as you are relying on someone reading your post 8 months later!

Edited May 29, 2022 by emmas gran

[intr3pid]

2 hours ago, CptFatguts said:

 

 

My wife and I are disembarking from the Splendida (ex Genoa) in November and I am currently sorting out flights to DXB. 

 

Could you please indicate the time taken for departure and customs clearance? 

 

I am contemplating a 10:30 flight ex JED. 

 

Did MSC arrange any visas on board or was it up to pax to prearrange? We are visiting Aqaba, Safaga, Yanbu and Jeddah overnight. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

Bruce and Tania

We cruised in December when the ship had less than 400 guests.  Everything upon arrival in Jeddah was a breeze.  I can't say how it will be next year if the ships are sailing full(er).   You might be cutting it close though with a 10.30 AM departure. Try a dummy flight booking through MSC to see the earliest departures it gives you.

 

Visas aren't arranged on board, but MSC can arrange them ahead of time.  We arranged our own before leaving home (all online in less than 30 minutes) since we didn't want this to be a last-minute issue.  It so happened that MSC had to bail out of visa arrangements for guests because of the rapidly changing entry rules due to Omicron.

 

 

[LeCommandant]

On 5/29/2022 at 9:32 AM, CptFatguts said:

 

 

My wife and I are disembarking from the Splendida (ex Genoa) in November and I am currently sorting out flights to DXB. 

 

Could you please indicate the time taken for departure and customs clearance? 

 

I am contemplating a 10:30 flight ex JED. 

 

Did MSC arrange any visas on board or was it up to pax to prearrange? We are visiting Aqaba, Safaga, Yanbu and Jeddah overnight. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

Bruce and Tania

 

Hello, 

 

The debarkation does not take long. We were all invited in the lounge early in the morning (at 5 am) and after a quick breakfast we took a bus to the cruise terminal (5 minutes), then 10 minutes to pick the luggages, and then a 30 minutes ride with a bus to Jeddah Airport. In total, from the ship to the airport, it takes about one hour. Our transfers were organized by MSC. 

 

In Aqaba, when you take an official excursion with MSC, the visa is included in the price. For Saudi Arabia, you need a visa. I did the visa request (online, easy to do) on myself as MSC told be a few days before the cruise that they were overwhelmed and they could not do it for me. 

 

Bests

Edited June 3, 2022 by LeCommandant

[VickyMcG]

On 5/29/2022 at 3:31 AM, intr3pid said:

We cruised in December when the ship had less than 400 guests.  Everything upon arrival in Jeddah was a breeze.  I can't say how it will be next year if the ships are sailing full(er).   You might be cutting it close though with a 10.30 AM departure. Try a dummy flight booking through MSC to see the earliest departures it gives you.

 

Visas aren't arranged on board, but MSC can arrange them ahead of time.  We arranged our own before leaving home (all online in less than 30 minutes) since we didn't want this to be a last-minute issue.  It so happened that MSC had to bail out of visa arrangements for guests because of the rapidly changing entry rules due to Omicron.

 

 

agreed. Obtain your visa ahead of the trip.  We went in feb/MSC, lovely time.