Visas for Celebrity Ascent Med Cruise

[MB9999]

Hi there! We are traveling on the Celebrity Ascent Med Cruise (Departing from Greece, then going to Turkey and finally Italy). My mom (Indian Citizen, Green Card Holder) will be on the cruise with us.

• I looked up the Consulates for the various ports of call and got her a multiple entry Schengen Visa.
• For Turkey, it appears she does not need a visa as she is visiting on a Cruise ship but I may get her one just in case.
• I also called up Celebrity to ask them what visas she will need and they told me that it was my responsibility to find out and they do not advise on such matters. 

 

I am just curious if anyone else has been in a similar situation and what was their experience like? I realize that in immigration matters, it is better to consult official sources rather than cruise review boards. And I have done that. Just wondering what others' experience has been. 

 

 

 

[Northern Aurora]

Last fall we were on the Edge boarding in Civitavecchia and departing in Sydney. Numerous visas were required -- if my memory is correct we, as US citizens, had to obtain visas for India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Australia.  The ship cancelled a port call for Jordan, but we would have needed one there too.

 

It was surprising how many passengers didn't have the required visas.  Also it seemed that so many folks are accustomed to traveling in Schengren Area countries and just were oblivious.  Edge staff patience was very thin and folks who had to try to navigate websites to obtain visas while on the ship didn't get much sympathy or assistance.  During a question and answer session in the Edge theater Capt. Matt expressed irritation and frustration with the lack of passenger compliance.

[MB9999]

Thanks @Northern Aurora! I find that surprising too. I have been obsessing over this for months - lol. I think it would help if Celebrity offered some concrete direction on what is needed. I saw something like this on the MSC Cruises website. They had listed out in detail all the visas that were needed in the various sailings. But Celebrity, like I said, just asked me to look it up myself. 

Edited May 13 by MB9999

[SbbquilterUT]

I believe the challenge is expecting the cruise line to know/keep current on all the visa requirements as there are so many iterations of passport status, etc. 

[MB9999]

@SbbquilterUT - true, good point. 

Edited May 13 by MB9999

[PurpleTraveller]

I don't know if you have seen the Turkey government visa website. You are correct to try and get this confirmed. Maybe you could send them an email to ask.

 

https://www.visa-turkey.org/turkey-e-visa-requirements-for-cruise-ship-visitors/#:~:text=Tourists arriving in Turkey by,eVisa%2C based on their nationality.

 

Edited May 13 by PurpleTraveller

[Northern Aurora]

I also suspect that there are simply so many passenger nationalities on some of these sailings that it would be a challenge.  For example, on that particular Edge itinerary (which was a B2B2B for many) there were folks from all over the world as it was a unique sailing (through the Suez Canal).  But we received Express Notifications indicating that the responsibility for obtaining the correct passports fell onto the passengers, and still a surprising number of folks were oblivious.  And I can't imagine trying to upload passport photos and so forth using the ship internet -- apparently it was a challenge.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

I also suspect that there are simply so many passenger nationalities on some of these sailings that it would be a challenge.  For example, on that particular Edge itinerary (which was a B2B2B for many) there were folks from all over the world as it was a unique sailing (through the Suez Canal).  But we received Express Notifications indicating that the responsibility for obtaining the correct passports fell onto the passengers, and still a surprising number of folks were oblivious.  And I can't imagine trying to upload passport photos and so forth using the ship internet -- apparently it was a challenge.

This. Plus can you imagine if they give even one person incorrect information resulting in them being denied boarding. Better to put the responsibility on the cruiser.

[Liao]

1 hour ago, MB9999 said:

Hi there! We are traveling on the Celebrity Ascent Med Cruise (Departing from Greece, then going to Turkey and finally Italy). My mom (Indian Citizen, Green Card Holder) will be on the cruise with us.

• I looked up the Consulates for the various ports of call and got her a multiple entry Schengen Visa.
• For Turkey, it appears she does not need a visa as she is visiting on a Cruise ship but I may get her one just in case.
• I also called up Celebrity to ask them what visas she will need and they told me that it was my responsibility to find out and they do not advise on such matters. 

 

I am just curious if anyone else has been in a similar situation and what was their experience like? I realize that in immigration matters, it is better to consult official sources rather than cruise review boards. And I have done that. Just wondering what others' experience has been. 

 

 

 

It might be worth hiring an immigration attorney to do the research for the Visa issues and if not cost prohibitive, they could even do the paperwork filing for you.  Good luck, I hope it can be resolved in time for your trip!

[Orator]

Check Visa Central. It is the visa source that is recommended by Celebrity. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

For Turkey she is ok 

https://www.visa-turkey.org/turkey-e-visa-requirements-for-cruise-ship-visitors/#:~:text=Tourists arriving in Turkey by,eVisa%2C based on their nationality.

 

with her  Schengen visa she should be ok for the rest of the EU

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

As others have said  - I doubt any cruise line will answer visa questions especially if requesting information about a relative that doesn't hold a U.S. Passport.

 

One site you may wish to check out is https://www.passportindex.org/travel-visa-checker/

another reliable one is https://apply.joinsherpa.com/travel-restrictions

 

They are a site for obtaining visa's but will give you an idea of requirement.    The second one correctly noted for example a Brazil Visa is not required until April 2025. 

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

5 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

During a question and answer session in the Edge theater Capt. Matt expressed irritation and frustration with the lack of passenger compliance.

What does celebrity do to alert passengers that visas are required?  Is there a red flag somewhere in the booking letting them know?  Lots of people, like me wouldn’t intuitively know this but for the fact that I read cruise critic. While it is certainly not incumbent upon Celebrity to get the proper visas, I would think they bear some responsibility of letting passengers know. Genuinely curious, not being snarky. 😊

Edited May 14 by Georgia_Peaches

[Northern Aurora]

Hello "Peaches" -- Hope you don't mind being called "Peaches" but I remember your difficulties making that Solstice Mexico cruise and somehow I feel I know you.  I was rooting for you.

 

Regarding that Edge sailing, which was unique as it was billed as a "world cruise" as it had a unique itinerary (such as through the Suez which Celebrity does not do frequently and certainly may not do again in the near future), we did have a number of Express Notification e-mails.  Folks are asked to hit a link acknowledging that they received the e-mail.  And my husband and I (both US citizens) received more than one of those notifications.  Those notifications were very clear that the responsibility for obtaining the appropriate visa rested on the passenger.

 

What really "hit me" so to speak on that Edge cruise was that while there were a number of well traveled US citizens so many of those US citizens had traveled essentially only in the Schengren Area.  They just were oblivious that while you can cross borders in the Schengren Area effortlessly, that is not true for so many other areas of the world.  But the responsibility is clearly on the passenger.  And even in this day of electronic visas I can't imagine what it was like for folks on that ship to deal with the Indian, Sri Lankan or Indonesian visa (all rather "wonky" to say the least) on a cruise ship even if they had premium wi-fi.

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

Hello "Peaches" -- Hope you don't mind being called "Peaches" but I remember your difficulties making that Solstice Mexico cruise and somehow I feel I know you.  I was rooting for you.

Don’t mind at all!  😊. And thank you!  
 

6 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

we did have a number of Express Notification e-mails.  Folks are asked to hit a link acknowledging that they received the e-mail.  And my husband and I (both US citizens) received more than one of those notifications.  Those notifications were very clear that the responsibility for obtaining the appropriate visa rested on the passenger.

Thank you for explaining this!  I figured there must have been some sort of communication from Celebrity. I’ve never traveled on an itinerary that required a visa. My passport has always done the trick. But it is certainly something I will pay closer attention to in the future. We are sailing the Med next year and while I don’t think visas are required, I am certainly going to double check. 
 

 

[sushraya]

I have friends who are Indian citizens joining us on a cruise in the mediterranean.   We are likely going to Slovenia from Italy on one of the cruise ports and I looked around to make sure that the Schengen visa is sufficient.   There are so many possibilities, that I see why Celebrity just makes it the cruiser's problem.

 

I read a thread where a cruise line ended up having to stay a day longer in Barcelona (I think it was MSC cruises) because a lot of the passengers were supposed to disembark in Barcelona but they didn't have valid visas.   Apparently, in this case, they had gotten visas - but they were fake?   Feel bad for the other passengers on this ship that were affected by this ...

[MB9999]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments. I was able to find this email address on Celebrity website and have written to it: celebrity@visacentral.com. Again, I have already checked with the consulates, but wanted to know if there was anyone else who had a similar experience. Thanks again for sharing! 

 

For those interested, MSC Cruises who does a similar cruise actually has very specific and detailed instructions on their website. So there are some cruise companies that provide immigration / visa information. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/-/media/global-contents/visa-and-documents-pdf/english/summer/document-visa-est-mediterranean-summer.pdf      and      https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/travel-documents-visas 

Edited May 20 by MB9999

[MB9999]

@sushraya - Curious what did you end up finding out regarding your friends? 

[MB9999]

On 5/14/2024 at 6:52 AM, sushraya said:

I have friends who are Indian citizens joining us on a cruise in the mediterranean.   We are likely going to Slovenia from Italy on one of the cruise ports and I looked around to make sure that the Schengen visa is sufficient.   There are so many possibilities, that I see why Celebrity just makes it the cruiser's problem.

 

I read a thread where a cruise line ended up having to stay a day longer in Barcelona (I think it was MSC cruises) because a lot of the passengers were supposed to disembark in Barcelona but they didn't have valid visas.   Apparently, in this case, they had gotten visas - but they were fake?   Feel bad for the other passengers on this ship that were affected by this ...

@sushraya - Curious what did you end up finding out regarding your friends? 

[sushraya]

30 minutes ago, MB9999 said:

@sushraya - Curious what did you end up finding out regarding your friends? 

They are applying for a Schengen visa sometime next month.   From the MSC website, it looks like they will need a multiple entry Schengen visa - they have the itinerary and will be taking that to the appointment, so hopefully they get what they will need.

[MB9999]

18 minutes ago, sushraya said:

They are applying for a Schengen visa sometime next month.   From the MSC website, it looks like they will need a multiple entry Schengen visa - they have the itinerary and will be taking that to the appointment, so hopefully they get what they will need.

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