South America Visa required?

[lissa42886]

so i was looking at the HA website.. just for fun. at a cruise to south america.. in the brazil area and that coast... and lots of the ports say you need a visa... and they also seem to have alot of over night stays in ports.... why the visa?? and how are over nighters.. i never did 1 on a cruise b4... thanks.

[serendipity1499]

so i was looking at the HA website.. just for fun. at a cruise to south america.. in the brazil area and that coast... and lots of the ports say you need a visa... and they also seem to have alot of over night stays in ports.... why the visa?? and how are over nighters.. i never did 1 on a cruise b4... thanks.

 

In RIO, you will have an overnighter, due to Brazil Immigrations as some of the shore excursions..In the Amazon you have an overnighter in Manaus...W enjoy overnighters as not worried about returning to the ship by 4 or 5..Also in the Amazon they have some evening & night tours which are great..

Since The U.S. charges most other countries for Visa's, Brazil charges U.S. citizens for Visa's..It's called "Tit for Tat" & it's quite common.. Brazil has required Visa's for many years..

They charge $140..Visa services charge an extra fee & they are approx $100 more..I would suggest going directly to the Consulate in your area or the Embassy in DCA..It should take about 3 to 4 weeks to get a Visa & you can apply directly or via a Visa service..Be sure to ask if they will grant you a 5 year Visa, as you may go back several times as we did..We used our Visa three times in 5 years...

In other countries & In some parts of Brazil & you will also need a yellow fever shot which you can get from your Health service in the County where you live..And if you are going into the Amazon Malaria pills are def. recommended!

The WEB site for Brazil is: http://www.brasilemb.org/

Some Consulates accept Visa applications by mail..Be sure to read the instructions carefully & enclose your pics..

Also this is one of many a visa services:

 

http://www.visarite.com/BrazilConsulate.htm

 

You will love South America on HAL..We did the cruise around the Horn on the Amsterdam & also two Amazon Cruises, one on the Prinsendam HAL & one on Oceania's Regatta..Loved all of them..

 

:)You will not be dissappointed..cheers..:)Betty

[lissa42886]

thanks that was way more information then i had expected on getting! and helpfull too.. id love to go to south america.. i think ill need to save quite a few more pennies before i get to tho.. and make a friend do the same! thanks

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did have to have visas for Brazil.

And because of this and having to send in our passports -- make certain that you do not have a cruise planned at least 3 - 4 months before your South American cruise.

[Pam in CA]

As has been said, you do need a visa when you enter Brazil. On our S.A. cruise in January, a couple hundred passengers boarded the ship in Buenos Aires rather than Rio because they didn't want to get the visa. They also didn't have to pay as much for the cruise but it wasn't a huge difference.

[arzz]

A quick warning -- before you get your visa for Brazil be sure that you understand the terms of the visa -- if my memory serves you must apply for the visa within a certain number of days of your anticipated arrival in Brazil -- if you apply too early the visa may no longer be valid when you arrive, too late and you risk not getting your passport and visa back in time for your journey -- the devil is in the details, be sure that you understand them

[woody73]

In January and February, we went on a cruise around Cape Horn, from Port Canaveral to the Port of Los Angeles. Some 70 passengers were denied boarding at the port because they did not have a Brazilian visa.

 

A Brazilian visa cost us $131 each, and the Consulate was very strict about our entering the country within a certain period after the visa was issued.

 

Woody

[YXU AC*SE]

A quick warning -- before you get your visa for Brazil be sure that you understand the terms of the visa -- if my memory serves you must apply for the visa within a certain number of days of your anticipated arrival in Brazil -- if you apply too early the visa may no longer be valid when you arrive, too late and you risk not getting your passport and visa back in time for your journey -- the devil is in the details, be sure that you understand them

 

Correct. First arrival in Brazil must take place within 90 days from the date the visa was issued. Scott.

[world~citizen]

...Since The U.S. charges most other countries for Visa's, Brazil charges U.S. citizens for Visa's..It's called "Tit for Tat" & it's quite common..

 

Yes indeed. "Reciprocal" is what its all about. It is at the very heart of international relations.

 

Also, every sovereign country gets to decide the rules upon which we may enter their borders.

 

To understand visa requirements for any country, you can go to the website of the embassy of that country in your own nation...ie - the embassy of Brazil in the United States. As has been noted earlier, read ALL the relevant information then apply for visas accordingly.

 

This applies not just to South American countries, but any country you are planning to visit.

 

Smooth sailing...

[Pam in CA]

A quick warning -- before you get your visa for Brazil be sure that you understand the terms of the visa -- if my memory serves you must apply for the visa within a certain number of days of your anticipated arrival in Brazil -- if you apply too early the visa may no longer be valid when you arrive, too late and you risk not getting your passport and visa back in time for your journey -- the devil is in the details, be sure that you understand them

This is very true. From my Brazilian visa (which is almost unreadable because of another country's stamp right over the wording), "Valid for arrival within 90 days." Also, once you've had a valid entry with the visa, it's good for 5 years. For my Amsterdam cruise in January, my visa was stamped March 2, 2005 which means that I was able to use it for my cruise and didn't need another one. It was a bit of a pain because the visa was on my OLD passport (which expired last year) so I had to carry both passports with me and submit both when boarding the ship.

 

Here's a link to the Brazilian Consulate in NY with some good information. http://en.brazilny.org/index.php?/consulado/anchor/visas/

[Mary Ellen]

Also, once you've had a valid entry with the visa, it's good for 5 years.

Not always the case. Some consulates issue visas that are only good for 90 days from first arrival in Brazil. The consulate one uses is dependent upon where in the U.S. one lives.

[Pam in CA]

Not always the case. Some consulates issue visas that are only good for 90 days from first arrival in Brazil. The consulate one uses is dependent upon where in the U.S. one lives.

You are correct. I meant to include that in my post but forgot. On my Amazon cruise in 2005, quite a few people weren't allowed to fly out of Ft. Lauderdale to Manaus because they had the wrong kind of visa. The cruiseline rushed them to the Brazilian Consulate in Miami but I don't know if they were able to get the correct visa in time or even made the ship, since we were on cruiseline charters and at that time, it was almost impossible to find a flight between the U.S. and Manaus that didn't have several stops along the way. FYI, I've used visa services which use the Washington DC consulate; they have the 5-year visa.

[lissa42886]

so heres another question then... i went to spain when i was in 11th grade i belive it was... 2003ish.. and i did not need a visa.. just a passport.. we also went to Morrocco for the day and did not need one ( but we did stay on spanish soil while there )

[ScottishMaid]

If you are reading this thread and you have a non US passport you may not need a visa. I did not need one because I have a UK passport and I believe that applies to all EU passport holders. Brazil requires passports of countries that require visas for Brazilians to enter. As someone said it's tit for tat unless there is a reciprocal agreement.

[jcrandle]

so heres another question then... i went to spain when i was in 11th grade i belive it was... 2003ish.. and i did not need a visa.. just a passport.. we also went to Morrocco for the day and did not need one ( but we did stay on spanish soil while there )

 

lissa42886 , welcome to the world of changing rules and regulations. On my first international trip, back in 1964, to Canada, I didn't even need a passport or birth certificate. Later trips to Mexico just required proof of US citizenship, for me a draft card (luckily I didn't burn mine). My first trip to Europe in 1974 required only a passport, as a tourist, when we went through passport control in each country, they just stamped our passport (which I later found out was indeed a visa).

 

On our 2008 Amazon cruise, we had to research the visa requirement carefully on the Brazilian Embassy website. As others have posted, their rules are very specific, and must be followed precisely. There was a couple on our cruise, one a Canadian citizen, and the other a US citizen. The Canadian required no visa, just a passport. The US citizen had a visa, but his travel agent had applied for the visa too early, so it was issued before the 90 day window that it was valid for first entry into Brazil.

 

HAL denied him boarding. He and his wife drove from FLL to Miami and spent two days pleading with the Brazilian embassy staff to re-issue a visa (normally a 7 to 10 day wait). He was able to get a rush visa issued (at a second cost) and they flew to the next stop (at their own expense) and joined the cruise.

 

I'm not trying to frighten you, but I do want to emphasize that the documentation requirements are real, you should not assume that an innocent smile and "I didn't know" will not work to get you past an immigration official. And, since the cruise and air lines can be fined for allowing passengers who do not possess the appropriate documentation, they are even MORE adamant that your doc must be in order.

 

Having said that, our Amazon cruise was marvelous, well worth the cost and hassle of getting the Brazilian visa.