SeaandSky5

13 hours ago, willing292 said:

Can you tell me where you got the application for the visa for Egypt? Although we cancelled our upcoming tour for this spring, I would still like to visit there.  Thanks.

You used to be able to download the application from their website. 

Just now, Fouremco said:

Fortunately, they live only a 20-30 minute drive from the embassy in Ottawa.

Excellent!! Unfortunately, we were a 6 hour drive away. 
Hope all goes well!!

Just now, mexico8 said:

We are out of the country and he will apply in early April when we get back home.   Keeping my 

2 minutes ago, mexico8 said:

We are out of the country and he will apply in early April when we get back home.   Keeping my fingers crossed.......

Not sure if you’re aware but unless something has changed, Canadians must apply at either the Embassy or Consulate for a visa. There is no way to apply online. You must either attend in person or send your application through mail or courier. Just want to be sure your husband has enough time to do this if his trip is in April. 

21 minutes ago, mexico8 said:

My husband is booked for a land trip in  April for Egypt and a Nile cruise.   He is retired from the Federal Government.  After reading these posts I am wondering if he will be approved for a Visa.   I am starting to worry he might not get a Visa to visit Egypt.   

It’s possible. From what I see it’s more military and policing that seem to be the issues but you just never know. Has he already applied for his visa? 

1 minute ago, mom says said:

SeaandSky, your experience with the Egyptian Embassy mirrored ours, except we had to go to the  Montreal Consulate. Over $1000 spent in fees, transportation and lodging, and in the end I had a visa and DHs was denied without explanation. We asked our MP to investigate, and his first question was if DH had been in the military or federal government  service. When we said yes, he said there's your answer. They had had many similar cases reported. We were going on a land tour, so had to cancel it.  

 

Glad to hear you were still able to do your cruise. 

Wow. That explains it then. My husband is retired police officer. Sorry you had to cancel. 

1 hour ago, gssmom said:

Hello, I am following up to enquire about your experience while cruising to Egypt last fall.  What ended up happening regarding the visa?  Thanks

Hi there, we made the trip to Ottawa and applied for our visas in person. We had been told that we should be going to Montreal but I was able (at the time) to make an appointment in Ottawa. We submitted our applications and left our passports paid $205 each and were told told to return 2 weeks later after 3pm. We made the 6 hour trip again to pick up our visas on the day and at the time we were told. My husband was then advised that he was not going to be given his visa - no explanation, no appeal process, no refund, no nothing. We were shocked. My husband is retired, has never had any brush with the law, has travelled all over the world and has never been denied a visa before. I was given my visa. When we returned home, we contacted an immigration lawyer who suggested we contact Global Affairs in Ottawa and lodge a complaint, to contact CBC and let them know the Embassy was using citizens as pawns in their battle with Ottawa. We opted to not do this as we were still hopeful that we wouldn’t require the visa to board (which we did not). Two days prior to arrival in Egypt, our passports were collected and stamped. We had no problem- both of us- getting that stamp and being allowed to port in Egypt. But, there was so much anxiety before we got there. I had already decided if my husband couldn’t leave the ship, I wasn’t going either. (He didn’t agree) but in the end, it was fine. Stress level off the charts though. We also didn’t receive our visa for Saudi Arabia until 2 days before we arrived. After this experience, we’ve decided that we will choose our itineraries based on visa requirements and will not put ourselves through that again. 

1 minute ago, Ovsa said:

Just to put this topic to rest, i did recieve a call from the Egyptai Embassy in Ottawa, (I know, amazing they actually called me back)  and the consulate desk informed me that "if you are not getting off the ship no visa is required. You will be covered by the ship's transit visa".

 I would have liked to get it in writing but that would have been pushing it

.That pretty much confirms what my TA says, as well as correspondence i recieved from MSC here in Canada.

 

Does this mean if you are getting off the ship (for an excursion) that you do need a visa? 

15 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

 

 

I don’t know if this helps youbut technically we were supposed to go to Montreal, but chose Ottawa because it’s closer. Confirming the sign on the door says walk-ins were accepted 10-12. 
 

Thank you, that does help. I will try to call on Monday.

 

FYI, my understanding is that they are on a work to rule. They are not answering the phones. 

14 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

I was using the attached instructions to book an appointment in Montreal.

 

Not really working.

I was not able to book an appointment before our departure date in Montreal. We got an appointment in Ottawa. There were people there applying for visas without an appointment. I don’t know if this helps you but technically we were supposed to go to Montreal, but chose Ottawa because it’s closer. Confirming the sign on the door says walk-ins were accepted 10-12. 

6 minutes ago, Ovsa said:

Anyone that has obtained a visa from the Ottawa Embassy in person,  how long did it take you to get it?  I see that drop-off are in the morning and pick-ups in the afternoon. 

 Did you get it the same day?  I wont have enough tme for a mail in as i am in the west.  Thanks

 

 

 

We dropped off on Oct 11-pickup is October 24th

3 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

I am having trouble making a reservation for a Visa appointment. I have a document that has a link to a SuperSaas scheduler. I registered but there do not seem to be appointments available. I may not be using it correctly.

Has anyone used it successfully?

 

Thank you.

Hi there. There are no appointments available. Are you trying for Ottawa or Montreal?

23 minutes ago, Ovsa said:

Please let us know how it goes.

 

I have also been trying to get them to clarify..Get something in writing

My concern has been that the rules can change at any moment. Right now, NCL required documentation guidelines indicate no visa is required for Canadians unless they are flying into Egypt. However, as we saw back in August, Egypt can change the rules today and decide today that all Canadians require a visa for entry into the country regardless of how they are entering - if you look into Egypt’s entry requirements, they make no distinction on entry based on how you get there. We simply couldn’t take that chance. And since no one can assure us that what is outlined today will be in place in a month, we opted to just get the visa. No one will put anything in writing. 

8 minutes ago, trips_ahoy said:

We are also in Southern Ontario and due to a short window I will go to Montreal to drop it off. I would like to have the passports & visa sent back by courier. Does anyone know if the Embassy has a preference on which courier to use?

 

Thank you.

I don’t know about a courier preference but a friend of mine who is a travel agent paid for expedited shipping for a client’s visa (and passport) to be shipped back. It wasn’t and was “lost” by the consulate. They had to send someone in person to Montreal to try to get them to locate it. This was the day prior to her clients leaving. They found the documents and then that person flew from Montreal to Toronto with them so the clients could have them in time for their departure. We opted to drop them off and pick them up in person. It’s a lot of inconvenience but less anxiety. Well, we think so anyway. I’ll let you know when I have my passport and visa in hand on October 24th. 

19 minutes ago, Ovsa said:

Visa Confusion for Canadians to Egypt.  MSC Virtuosa  Nov.11

 

  MSC issued a bulletin today reminding passengers of visa requirements for visiting countries before boarding the ship, with a warning saying passengers maybe denied boarding if visas are not in place.

Included was a link for Canadians to apply for e-visa to Egypt. (Visa rules changed for Canadians on Oct. 1).

  However the link for the e-visa does not allow you to choose Canada as a country of residence, so there is no way to apply for this e-visa, short of mailing or visiting the Consulate in Montreal. (too late for that now)

 I would like MSC to clarify as to wether or not Canadians need a visa for the one day visit to Safaga and/or wether or not there will be any issues with boarding in Barcelona if we dont have the visa in hand. I accept that I may not be able to disembark in Safaga but i just want to be sure I can board the ship .

 The Egyptain Consulate has not been any help as they dont answer phones or respond to e-mails nor is MSC Canada  vey clear of the new visa policy. They refer to there July 2023 visa requirment list, which is prbably out of date

 

Has anyone else been dealing with this and do u have any suggestions?

 

Thanks

Hi there, Canadians can no longer apply for an Egyptian visa online as of October 1st. We drove to Ottawa from Hamilton to apply in person at the Embassy yesterday. We were told we had to go to Montreal but we couldn’t get an appointment in Montreal but got one for Ottawa. Here’s my experience:

1. Made an appointment-arrived a bit early, they let us in. I only made appointment for myself but it was both my husband and I - they let us both in (but he wasn’t on the list and I thought for a moment they would not let him in, but they did)

2. By geography we were supposed to go to the consulate in Montreal. We were concerned we would be declined service- we were not. They took us at the Embassy 

3. We had all paperwork completed, with passports, 2 passport photos (dated) and $205 cash each (for multiple entries) and with our appointment, we were served within 10 minutes and out the door headed home 10 minutes after that. 
4. Your cash must be free of tears, rips etc otherwise they will not accept it. The woman in front of us had a $20 with the corner missing and they refused to accept (my husband gave her $20 so she could complete her application) 

5. We can pickup visas and passports in two weeks - no appointment needed. 
6. There were people there who did not have appointments. Walk ins are accepted. 

This is all very stressful, especially given the current situation and that our ship may not even dock in Egypt. However, I feel better knowing that we will have our visa, just in case. 
I am happy to answer any questions about any of this. 

12 hours ago, chrisn-au said:

Have just finished our cruise on the Apex. Can confirm Canadians received visa stamps the same as I assume all others on the ship. 

Can you confirm your Egypt stop was October 1st or later?

5 hours ago, chrisn-au said:

Have just finished our cruise on the Apex. Can confirm Canadians received visa stamps the same as I assume all others on the ship. 

This is good to know. Since the rules changed this week for Canadians, if the Egyptian authorities stamped all passports, including Canadians even after the change came into effect, the conclusion can be drawn that they will do the same for all cruise ships. If anyone else has firsthand experience, I’d love to hear about it. 

2 minutes ago, fannym123 said:

I followed Celebrity Apex Sept 26th 2023 Roll Call with stop in Alexandra, Egypt. One cruiser with the following comment "Just came from a meeting for the back to back who are already aboard and found out you do not need a visa for Egypt. A waste of $120.00. I thought there was gonna be a mutiny lol with the people in the meeting started questioning the information that was given. They will be collecting our passports the night before and Egyptian imagination will be coming on board the ship at 2am and will be stamping our passports with the visa. Supposedly you only need one when flying into Egypt not by ship. FYI" 

I also read this -

Please READ Celebrity Posts Update section

How does Egypt’s visa change impact cruises? Celebrity posts update

 

How does Egypt’s visa change impact cruises? Celebrity posts update LogiMonde media The complexity of the Egypt’s new visa process for Canadian travellers has left travel advisors and tour operato...

Thanks! This makes me feel a bit more reassured but I’m still worried that NCL will change their page that indicates no visa requirement as we get closer to our departure date. If I could get someone on a NCL ship to confirm no visa required, I might be able to relax a bit. 

Hi All,

Ottawa now requires an appointment to get a visa. We still have no definitive answer on whether or not a visa is required if you are entering by cruise ship. Apparently Celebrity has indicated Canadians do not need to apply for visa in advance. 

I’m still nervous. 
 

Celebrity Cruises is one line that stops in Alexandria, Egypt, and according to an update posted last week by the Canadian team, it appears passengers, under the new guidance, will be granted 72-hour visas on arrival.

Celebrity says a 72-hour visa can be obtained upon vessel arrival for most nationalities (including U.S, Canada, U.K., E.U., and Australia).

For 72-hour visa guests, immigration officers will stamp the guest passports on arrival.

The new requirement for Canadians to apply for an Egyptian visa in advance applies only for entry by air, Celebrity notes.

3 minutes ago, nicper said:

I understand the changes. It's my understanding that Visa Central gets the visa from the embassy on our behalf. The process is that we need to send Visa Central our passport and at that point they need 15 days to bring/send the passport to the embassy where a visa is stuck into our passport. The passport is then returned to us by courier. I have not actually done this full process and so I can not guarantee this is how it works. I am simply saying this is my understanding.

Is this for all Canadians entering Egypt regardless of point of entry? (Air, land or sea) or just by air and land? NCL’s website still says Canadians require a visa to fly into Egypt but not to enter by sea. I’m worried they will change this right before our cruise and then we will be out of luck. 

Does anyone have any information now that this has come into effect? We leave for our cruise in 6 weeks so we have time to drive to Ottawa (7 hours away) but I am concerned we won't get an appointment, or get the documents back in time. it is a lot of stress, time and time off work, if we don't need it. 

Cruising on NCL in November with several stops in Egypt. The NCL site indicates Canadians will need a visa to fly into Egypt but not to enter by cruise ship. I think we need to see what happens over the course of the coming weeks since this all comes into effect on October 1st. 

@ljandgb and @Travelw I hope you have a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to reading about your experiences while we try to decide if we are moving forward with our October cruise on the Danube with Avalon. 

Enjoy!

2 hours ago, ljandgb said:

I just started another thread about our Avalon Danube trip starting tomorrow.  We are doing the full route - Germany to Hungary, with a few days in Prague beforehand.  We're in the US, so some of your questions may not apply, but I can try to answer what I can.

 

I do know Avalon said it would provide testing for the return home.

Thank you very much! I hope your trip goes smoothly. 

35 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

@SeaandSky5 There is the consideration of the EU to recommend restricted entry to its countries again: https://www.travelpulse.com/news/impacting-travel/officials-weigh-the-cost-of-closing-eus-borders-to-american-tourists.html

 

It may be a consideration for you, if it happens. Read the tourism news closely next week.

 

I agree with Daisi that this may be best posted as a new thread.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you @notamermaid. I appreciate the link. We are Canadian but will review all the travel news out of the EU next week very closely. 

1 hour ago, Daisi said:

Thanks, Daisi. This is definitely a consideration and we will need to decide early this week if we will move our cruise to next year. 

I will start a new topic for this particular question and will hopefully get a few responses before next week. 

Take care. 

 

You would be best to copy & paste this to a new topic.  I believe some either are or have just finished a a Danube cruise but they may not be checking out a topic for AMA or the Seine.  

 

If you are nervous, we just changed our Danube cruise from May 2022 to Sept 2023 through Avalon's excellent Peace of Mind plan.  You will have to decide soon if you wish to do this if you are still eligible, so if you have any qualms, you may want to consider it.