millybess

I'm sorry I can't help you. We used our Macs.

Excellent! That's great that MSC changed the visa requirement for your cruise 👍 Enjoy!!

Here was the Brazil Visa site on Dec 5th https://brazil.vfsevisa.com/ Important Notice: The Electronic Visa (eVisa) of the Brazil is a new entry requirement for Americans, Australians & Canadians traveling to Brazil by air. The online form to apply for this type of Visa is available here. Starting January 10th, eVisas are mandatory for USA, Australia, and Canada passport holders visiting Brazil. If you're arriving on January 9th, we strongly advise applying for your eVisa to avoid travel disruptions due to delays or missed connections. Secure your eVisa for a hassle-free journey! Here is what is says today Dec 8th Important Notice: The Electronic Visa (eVisa) of the Federative Republic of Brazil is a new entry requirement for Americans, Australians & Canadians entering Brazil by air, sea, or land. The online form to apply for this type of Visa is available here. Starting January 10th, eVisas are mandatory for USA, Australia, and Canada passport holders visiting Brazil. If you're arriving on January 9th, we strongly advise applying for your eVisa to avoid travel disruptions due to delays or missed connections. Secure your eVisa for a hassle-free journey! The-Inside-Cabin posted the above here https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2798924-zuiderdam-jan-3-2024-grand-world-voyage/page/133/#comment-66555083 As of this morning, they both have Brazilian e-visas.

Apparently HAL sent the following to passengers last night: VISA NOTIFICATION As communicated previously, US, Canadian and Australian guests require a Brazil visa for this voyage. This visa is required to be obtained in advance of the cruise and is required whether guests go ashore or remain on board in Brazil. The eVisa application is now available at https://brazil.vfsevisa.com. The cost is approximately 80.90 USD per applicant. During the application process guests will be requested to upload a copy of their passport page, a 2x2 photograph, financial information (such as a banking or credit card statement) and round-trip flight itinerary. Guests arriving to Brazil via ship should upload their cruise booking confirmation where flight details are requested. Current processing times are approximately 5 days but we encourage guests to apply now. Guests must bring a printed copy or screen shot of the visa to the cruise check-in as WiFi may not be available at the cruise terminal. Guests who require a visa and do not present it at cruise check-in may be denied boarding." https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2798924-zuiderdam-jan-3-2024-grand-world-voyage/page/131/

Thanks for this. There seems to be a lot of confusion. I’ll be on a cruise and they have referred my application. We have been following other CC threads and many people who will be arriving on a cruise before us have also had their completed applications referred. Viking told us we would need the visa. MSC told you you would need the visa. If you are in conversation with MSC about this email, any further developments would be of great interest to many on Cruise Critic.

No, that wasn't my takeaway. You would be exempt if you arrive before January 9, but leave after January 10. The info we received from GenVisa yesterday was that it was required for sea and air. So now everyone's confused eh?😊 We are arriving by sea and departing by air. Today my application was bumped up to "Recommended by GFS" to the Brazilian government.

@Cruise New York this is off topic, but are you flying nonstop from Montreal to Buenos Aires and returning to Montreal nonstop?

This is from August 2023: The measure will now take effect on and after the 10th of January 2024. Until then, the exemption will remain valid, meaning that those entering before 09/01/2024 are still exempt from a Visit Visa, even if they leave after 10/01/2024. https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/embaixada-camberra/English/visitor-visas-for-citizens-from-australia-canada-and-the-united-states-of-america But you'll still have to sort this out with MSC.

Having looked into your situation a little further, it is possible you don't need the visa because, as you pointed out, you will be arriving on the 9th. But if MSC requires you to have the visa, I would try to straighten that out with them because you might not be allowed to board. I'll see if I can get any more information.

So far, I know of no one who has obtained the visa, but many who are trying. According to GenVisa (an American company that we don't use, but many cruise lines do use) you must have the visa upon arrival by sea or air. I didn't ask about land. We have applied for 2 visas. One of them passed "Quality Control", which we assume means the documents have been deemed acceptable (finally) and the application has been passed on to the Brazilian Immigration Department. According to the website, that process could take another 5 business days. We have a consulate in Toronto that we have been in touch with. They are very responsive via email, but not really helpful because the visa service has been contracted out to a company in India? Singapore? If you are seriously considering a visit to the consulate in NYC, I would definitely call first. You might have to set up an appointment. Please post back with any developments.

We fly out of Brazil, so we have no choice. This morning I passed into the "Quality Control" zone. We'll see what happens from there.

Or maybe not. We just got word back from GenVisa that it definitely includes arrival by sea and that the visa website is wrong.

If they offered that trip with the Falconry Centre, that would be ideal!

I think that they are quietly relaxing the rules. We’ve done a little digging and certainly both Viking and GenVisa still think the visa is required when arriving by sea. Fingers crossed that you will be able to go to the falls. Again, we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Lorna we spent about 1-1/2 hours at the Falconry Centre. We had a very nice lunch somewhere. We spent about 3 hours at Krka and much of that time was waiting for everyone to get back to the parking lot. It was a very well done excursion by Viking. But we wouldn’t do it again. Also, I think it might be a longer drive from Split as opposed to Zadar.

Another tidbit of information, the website now states that you need a visa if you are arriving by air. We don’t think this was on the website at the beginning of this process, PLUS we did get an email from Viking informing us that we would require this visa.

We did the Krka Waterfalls and Falconry Centre also from Zadar. The Falconry Centre was one of the best excursions on our b2b cruise. We could have skipped Krka. There was a lot of walking as CDR2001 said. In fact, our tour guide did say that if anyone had heart or breathing problems, that person should only walk to a certain point and then turn around, which would mean the person wouldn't get to the falls. It was very hot and very busy with folks also walking in the opposite direction. Walking back up was not fun for most. There was a busload of us and we often had to stop. When we got up to the parking lot, we had to wait for many stragglers while standing in the hot sun. The parking lot is very small and the bus is not allowed to wait there. It comes back at a certain time. If we were to go back to Split or Zadar, we would do a private tour to the Falconry Centre

Thanks for that! Misery loves company lol. New this morning: I have 12 hours to send them a new photo that shows both my ears.

No brochures here. Lots of email promotions though. It would be lovely if the $25 deposit is here to stay, however I think it's a 25th anniversary promotion. Possibly it will disappear in January?

I'm curious if you're arriving by sea and departing by air. That seems to be their sticking point at the moment.

Our itinerary was not sufficient, but we've made our final payment -- we have to stick with it!!! 😊

Have you done that? Was it successful?

We have done that. But you can’t combine arriving by sea and departing by air. We are in conversation with them to change that little bug. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Maybe by October they will decide that we have all suffered enough and drop the visa requirement.

We will look forward to reading about the response.