Nowvoyager8

I agree with Poppy's comment about the Saudi Arabia website. My husband's visa never arrived (mine did, within 3 days!) so we had to cancel it at the port immigration in Dammam and take out a new one at a cost of 130$. No possibility of getting the Transit visa (which DOES exist). The officers at the port assured me we would get the original payment back - still waiting for refund 2 weeks later! SS told me that we did NOT have to have KSA visa to board ship at beginning of cruise. However, information from SS was SO inconsistent (as was almost everything else on the ship, I have to say) that we didn't know what to believe & were very anxious on embarkation day. The most annoying aspect was meeting another English couple on our Dammam excursion who had been told by their TA that SS would help them get a Transit visa on board ship! They went to ship's reception & were helped to complete the forms to get a Transit visa for 27$!!

Hi, we checked in yesterday too. I applied for our tourist visas in September. Mine arrived within 3 days, hubby's is still stuck in the system. The lady at check-in next to us was in exactly the same position - she had applied ages ago, paid her money & received nothing since! Silversea took copies of my hubby's application form and have said that they'll try to get it sorted. We've spoken to other couples who could not get the single entry or transit visa on the MOFA.gov.sa website & were not prepared to pay the £130+ for the tourist visa. I emailed "MOFA customer care" (what a misnomer!!) 3 times and got the same response - "keep checking the status of your application". Tried to ring the Saudi embassy in London twice but they never answered the phone and emailed them but never received a reply! I don't understand why the Saudi government have spent millions on an advertising campaign to encourage visitors to go and then make it so difficult to get there! It would be interesting to know how many passengers on this cruise have had the same difficulties.

Thank you! How long did it take for your visa to come through? I have now completed my own application and the fee was taken from my credit card 2 days ago but no visa yet. When I go back on the MOFA website under application status it says "Send to Embassy" but apparently no option to do anything else!

Thank you. I'll keep trying!

Thank you David. That may be an option but just be aware that this is a visa agency which charges 89$ to process your visa, on top of the standard application fee. Sue

Thank you for that. I have asked Bolsover Cruise Club for help again. They checked with Silversea who maintain that you can get an E-maritime or transit visa for 21$, specifying the cruise company and the name of the ship as your method of entry, from www.mofa.gov.sa. I have tried yet again & it just isn't an option! Bolsover CC also suggested that I could apply via a visa specialist agency (who obviously charge a fee for the service): The Travel Visa Company or CIBT visas. Silversea confirmed that there is always the option of staying on the ship if you can't get the visa (as there will clearly be no help from them once on board) I'll keep trying!

Has anyone managed to get the Saudi Arabia maritime visa? I understand it costs about 26$ but cannot find where to apply for it. We are on the Silversea cruise Nov 16-25 booked through Bolsover Cruise Club. They told me SA visas are available through visitsaudi.com but the maritime visa is not an option through them. I could get the 90 day tourist visa but, as part of the application, you also have to buy compulsory Saudi health insurance & with the cheapest insurance company on offer + the visa it is 172$ per person, which is a lot for a one day visit! I phoned Silversea & was given an email address of customercare@mofa.gov.sa but have received no reply to my email to them & a number in Saudi Arabia which I am reluctant to try & waste more money! I phoned the SA embassy in London but, after waiting for over an hour for someone to answer, I hung up. Silversea have referred me back to my agent, who have insisted that visitsaudi.com is the website to use, so I am going round in circles! Any help would be gratefully received!