gnu2cruisin' Posted October 10, 2006 #1 Share Posted October 10, 2006 This is our first cruise and our first time in Asia. I'm a bit confused about the Visa. We originally planned to have Oceania take care of it (for $300 each) but because we'll be in the Caribbean this month and Mexico at the end of November, we won't be able to send in our passports until December 1st. I called Passport Express and was told it could take up to 45 days, but they could expedite for an additional $50 each. I then called our travel agent and he suggested contacting Sam's Passport Services in Houston. (We're in LA.) I've read about people being denied entry to a country when the visa wasn't right. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conan Posted October 15, 2006 #2 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Where do you need the visa for? It may be easier (and a lot cheaper) for you to get the visa at the airport of entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoshona2 Posted October 15, 2006 #3 Share Posted October 15, 2006 We live in LA also and have been using Zierer Visa Services for years. Go to their website at http://www.zvs.com, check out the Visas needed and call them in the morning at 866-788-1100. They'll be able to answer all your questions. They did our China visa for our March 16, 2006 Beijing to Hong Kong. We sent the applications and photos to them via Fed Ex. You might be able to use an old passport for the Caribbean and Mexico. They will know!!!! Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saga Ruby Posted October 15, 2006 #4 Share Posted October 15, 2006 They were acquired in April 2006 and are now owned by CIBT. I was swept up in the changeover and instead of the $279 they quoted, CIBT charged me $415. It took weeks to straighten out this problem altho' I pointed out that I had filled out their form as "non-expedited" and I didn't leave on my trip for months. CIBT does only expedited visas and charges a pretty penny for it; they are more business oriented. Unless you have an account number with a cruise line or a TA agency, you will pay a large premium for their service as they will automatically expedite the service. I also wound up sending 3 FedEx packages to their Houston office as the ZVS website had outdated forms for Turkish visas and I had to resubmit the new forms. Over all, I found it a terribly painful and extended process and will never use their services again. I know others have used and had success with Travisa and there are other visa services out there, but I hope to never hear the phrase "CIBT" again. Ruby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoshona2 Posted October 17, 2006 #5 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Thanks for the info, Ruby. We had been using them for over 10 years. We don't need a Visa for a while now, so I will have to check with friends to see who they use. Happy cruising to you. Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu2cruisin' Posted October 18, 2006 Author #6 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Thanks for the info. We have our passports and that's what we'll use this week for our very first cruise--Sun Princess to the Caribbean. I was told by Ocean's visa company that they needed our passports for 45 days to process. This seems absolutely ridiculous. Our TA referred us to Sam's Passport service in Houston. They said it would take 2 weeks max and we'll probably use them. If anyone has used this service, I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks again.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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