Nos_4r2

1 hour ago, Johnbhoy1017 said:

  I am sailing from Singapore end in Shanghai, I qualify for 144 visa , was wondering how it went for you as did you do similar cruise 

Just to clarify on my original post back in 2017. In the end we decided to wing it and go for the 144 hour visa on RCI. 

Despite rci call centre refusing to acknowledge it, the staff at Singapore cruise terminal and on the ship knew all about it and we went to through without any trouble. 

There is a 144 hour visa desk Shanghai terminal that processed our entry and we were approved and went straight through without needing a pre arranged visa. 

Our cruise was Singapore to Shanghai, but because our last port of call was Okinawa, japan, our itinerary allowed us entry and to fly back to Singapore as our itinerary was Japan > Shanghai > Singapore. 

Not sure if anything has changed since but we went through without a hitch. 

This is just a guess, but from what I have read the cruises in this area seem to have primarily Chinese pax onboard, with English speaking guests making up a significantly smaller portion of the demographic. Combine that with the information provided about English translators being in high demand and it would seem to make sense that an English speaking guide would be more expensive. I would venture to say that on cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean that Chinese language tours are much more expensive than English language tours, if you can even find a Chinese language tour.

 

IMO while paying double seems like a lot, it does actually make sense to me.

It was a rhetorical question I actually answered further above with an answer similar to yours.

I can see a few posts have been deleted. But I was just having a crack at those who posted here previously with ridiculous self-righteous statements that had nothing to do with what op asked.

"Just sign up for the lower-priced option. You're just seeing stuff and paying double for an English guide would, for your and your family, be wasted."

"Seeing "stuff" is one thing. Having a clue as to the historic and/or anthropological relevance of what you are looking at in order to fully experience it makes all the difference in the world. In my opinion you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. If getting full benefit out of your trip isn't in the budget, maybe scrimp someplace like the bar tab or casino to make up the difference. The chances are that you might never get back to that part of the world, so I would do everything possible to get the absolute most out of it.

 

If you only want to "see stuff" stay at home and watch it on the Travel Channel or a Rick Steves or Lonely Planet video. "

The world does not revolve around English. There are a lot of countries where English is taught, however it is not the 'native language'.

 

I used to know quite a bit of Spanish, but a move 30 odd years ago took me away from day to day use. I have retained the alphabet and numbers and a few words, but not much else.

 

If we are going to travel the world we need to accept that our language is not the norm.

"I'm going to a foreign country and they want to charge me MORE for a guided tour because I speak English?! I'm an AMERICAN! Everyone should cater to me, even when I'm in China surrounded by people speaking Chinese! 'Merica!"

Also as mentioned earlier. Half the posts here seem to completely miss the point and went straight to focusing on the money side of things, belittling op and insinuating a lack of cultural awareness due to use of the word 'stuff' rather then offer any actual advice.

Rather then answer the question that was asked, you all some how showed your own cultural ignorance by just accepting the notion without any justification that it is perfectly normal for a chinese language tour to be half the price of an english speaking tour in VIETNAM.

This is directed to the posters I have quoted above in this post. As you all seem to be soooo culturally educated, well traveled and went to the great effort of trying to belittle OP, can one of you please do us all a favor and enlighten us all through personal experience by answering the original question?

Why is it that a CHINESE language tour is half the price of the exact same ENGLISH language tour in VIETNAM?

Particularly in a South Vietnamese city such as Ho Chi Minh where English is quite widely spoken?

Just so that there is record that people can search on, I just spoke to the RCI reps through their hotline and they offered no information about it what so ever.

When queried on the visa requirements the rep I was speaking with just went through what was presented on their computer screen and could only tell me that i would need to pre-arrange my china visa prior to boarding.

When queried about the 144 hour Shanghai visa free policy, they had no records of that visa policy and just continued to reiterate that I must pre-arrange my visa prior to boarding and that I would need to speak to the embassy to get that sorted.

When I mentioned that this visa is processed at disembarkation and does not require any pre-arrangements, i was told its not up to RCI whether I board or not and that i may not be allowed to board without a pre-arranged visa and that its up to the embassy or port.

This is, from what I read, not true at all. All the procedures I have read up state that I do not need to pre-arrange a visa, but I do need to satisfy the carrier (in this instance, Royal Caribbean or at least the Departing Port Security at Singapore) that I meet the criteria and display proof of my onward journey to a 3rd country after Shanghai at the time of boarding and the Shanghai General Station will process my entry at the other end.

This does not fill me with any confidence at all.

The RCI rep had no knowledge of the 144 hour Shanghai visa-free policy despite Shanghai being a terminating destination and there being numerous website references (including the official Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection website, the govt department that checks your documents on arrival) stating that the port it docks at will have a 144-hour visa-free desk available specifically for passengers requesting that type of entry into China.

The main issue is you may not even be allowed to board the ship to get to that point without a pre-arranged visa and I was not offered any information about any other passengers who may have previous attempted to enter China using this visa policy.

So a warning to everyone with a cruise ending in Shanghai, from I can tell from the phone call RCI have not updated their references in regards to visa requirements to include the 144-hour Shanghai Visa-Free Policy and will not confirm you will even be able to board the ship despite meeting the criteria.

So I would suggest not relying on it, at least until RCI can eventually confirm in some capacity that it is possible to pass security and board the ship provided you meet the requirements of the 144 Hour Visa-Free Policy.

This kinda sucks because I basically feel like I now have to spend AU$450 in visas for my family that I am fairly certain I won't need, just to be 100% sure we will be allowed to board the Mariner because even RCI don't know or haven't been updated on the visa types.

In addition to this, when the rep began reeling out the different visa requirements and got to Japan, the rep couldn't even tell me what type of visa I would need to enter Japan! Surely knowing I am Australian citizen she would know, or at least have a record stating, I don't need a visa for Japan.

So without knowing what basic visa I would need to Japan, I guess it's a bit of stretch for me to expect them to know about this 1 year old niche visa policy!

I have done a number of searches on the forums for info on experiences with utilizing the Shanghai 144 Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy, but have yet to come across any experiences of passengers who have arrived on RCI cruises.

Essentially, my cruise will be leaving Singapore, stopping in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan and then ending in Shanghai. I will then be flying back to Singapore before heading back to Australia.

I understand the criteria to be eligible for it and I know I will be, as I will be going from Japan to Shanghai to Singapore.

The reason I ask is because from the reports I have heard of others looking it, it seems the reps at various cruise operators didn't know too much about it. I have also heard that RCI may even turn you away before even boarding the ship if you have not already pre-organised your Chinese Visa. But this visa-free policy is specific to Shanghai only and as far as I know no pre-organised Visa is required, just fill out the immigration card on board and head to the 144 Hour Visa Free Desk at the port in Shanghai with your passport and outbound plane ticket at the

So before i give RCI a call to clarify I just wanted to see if anyone has had any first hand experience using this visa policy to enter Shanghai by Cruise ship and exit via plane and what the process was like.

I think alot of people are missing the point here. It is generally accepted that the world is full of different cultures and languages. In saying that though, the tours that op posted are in Vietnam. So I would understand a Vietnamese speaking guide to be much lower in cost, perhaps even French or Russian as they are the second languages in many parts, but why Chinese and why by so much? Neither Chinese nor English are the native languages.

Only conclusion I can come to is supply and demand, there is no point setting up a price if no one is willing to pay it and I am sure rci has run that tour enough times to know what exact price to set it at before they start losing patrons on it. It may just be that price is lower for their Chinese speaking tour because even at that much higher price, people are still willing and able to pay higher for an English speaking tour.