Cruising with RCCL - New Caledonia Visa Problem

A similar situation occurs in cruises that stop in China at present. There is info available that suggests there is now a 144 hour free entry visa on arrival. Problem is RCL tells people they wont be allowed on the ship without a visa and who knows what will happen in China where local officials are sometimes not up to date with the latest changes.

The 144 hour visa free entry has been allowed in China since January 2016. For the year prior to that it was a shorter period - 72 hours I think. We have been to China since the 144 hour visa free entry was brought in and there was no problem with the Chinese officials. They didn't even look in the passports to see if there was a visa: they simply looked at the photograph and the person's face. Unfortunately the cruise companies don't see to be up to date with the regulations and insist passengers pay for an expensive visa they don't need.

Pity the various nations websites are not forthcoming with easy to find up to date visa requirements.

I'm not sure that "they're not up to date" - there's nothing to say a visa isn't officially required.

I suspect it's just a matter of budget and resources. Just like how we have prohibitions on bringing many foodstuffs into the country, but AQIS/borderforce aren't on hand at every single entry, so sometimes people get through without being checked.

With these small island nations, where most visitors are tourists, is it worth their coin paying for staff members and infrastructure to check visas at every location? That doesn't mean that it's not required, just that practically you may and often have gotten through without one.

In fact, I've even arrived at airports in western countries where there has been no immigration staff to check passports/visas. That doesn't mean it's not a requirement to visit.