Visa Requirements

[NC&KY]

For the first time ever, it appears Azamara will not be helping with getting visas for our Japan Intensive cruise in April. In general they have always obtained the visas on our behalf. If not, they have at least given us notice that we needed to get a visa on our own from Country A. This time, no notice whatsoever. Fortunately, someone on the Roll Call discovered that we need a visa to go ashore in South Korea (which currently is scheduled to be the location of our Azamazing Evening). I contacted my TA to ask what was going on, and they said Azamara will not be procuring visas on any of its cruises in the future! Has anyone else run into this situation? Is my TA misinformed?

[roberts2005]

I believe I am on the cruise following yours and will need a visa for Vietnam .  Nothing has been id to us.

[sarasotascott]

I called Azamara last week regarding a visa for Egypt in Oct. 2023 and was told they will get them for you on the ship but they don’t guarantee it is 100% for every guest due to extenuating circumstances.

[FlyerTalker]

On our recent Azamara cruise, we found that information from HQ regarding visas ranged from non-existent to contradictory, depending on whom you were talking with.

 

Contrast with an upcoming Oceania cruise, where we get detailed information for each of the various ports, along with updates as things may change.  Given that the ships are cookie-cutter duplicates, it's a big black mark for Azamara vis-a-vis their competition.

[laurieb]

If you actually go to them…

Edited January 21, 2023 by laurieb

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 1/20/2023 at 2:49 PM, NC&KY said:

For the first time ever, it appears Azamara will not be helping with getting visas for our Japan Intensive cruise in April. In general they have always obtained the visas on our behalf. If not, they have at least given us notice that we needed to get a visa on our own from Country A. This time, no notice whatsoever. Fortunately, someone on the Roll Call discovered that we need a visa to go ashore in South Korea (which currently is scheduled to be the location of our Azamazing Evening). I contacted my TA to ask what was going on, and they said Azamara will not be procuring visas on any of its cruises in the future! Has anyone else run into this situation? Is my TA misinformed?

We did Toyko to Singapore, yes 2 months, and I think the only visa we got was China.  I’ve read recently that Japan has added an extra step, but in 2019 we just got our visa upon arrival.  
 

After we had our China visa Azamara told several that they could get the transit Ida upon arrival.  The problem was that we arrived on a 1 week holiday, Golden Week, and there were no issues services available.   That would have been enough to swear off getting visa for passengers  for sure.   In contrast on a cruise that included India, we were told we all needed to get visa but it wasn't clear if a single entry was enough, it was. The problem came when several passengers were told by the local consulates that they don’t need visas, they even put it in writing on their letterhead.As I’m sure you’ve guessed the letters were ignored as having no “power” on immigrations and they were denied entry. 

[john1970]

If you search visa on the website it will give you the details of their visa agent. I would email them and see what they say. There are  definitely destinations that have different procedures and policies for cruise passengers and they should hopefully know this. Azamara have always been lacking in this department and want to fob you off. 

[nonrev1]

I am also on the Japan cruise that goes to South Korea.  Does anyone know if we take a ships tour are we still required to get the Electronic Travel Authorization?  I know in the past when we have been in Russia if you were on a tour, a visa was not necessary.  On another note we did receive an email from Azamara about Japan requirements.  Crazy….don’t need a Covid test to enter Japan but we need one to board the ship.  

[Nuts4pi]

We are US citizens & will be visiting Angola on March 10, 2023 during our 21-Night Journey voyage. We can't seem to get a straight answer as to whether or not we need a Visa, even if we stay on board! The travel websites all say yes (no exceptions for cruisers) but Azamara said no. What is the real answer?

[Aardvaark]

2 hours ago, Nuts4pi said:

We are US citizens & will be visiting Angola on March 10, 2023 during our 21-Night Journey voyage. We can't seem to get a straight answer as to whether or not we need a Visa, even if we stay on board! The travel websites all say yes (no exceptions for cruisers) but Azamara said no. What is the real answer?

As always, confirm with the country.  They make the rules.

[Nuts4pi]

7 minutes ago, Aardvaark said:

As always, confirm with the country.  They make the rules.

This is what transpired on the previous, reversed route, for the port in Angola (November 2022).

 

 

Just trying to confirm what the plans are for the upcoming cruise Mar 04, 2023. Also, that country was not mentioned in the email we received this past January (shows a 2022 date but it was received January 13, 2023).

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Nuts4pi
Added info