Unexpected Visa Fees on Ocean Princess Southeast Asia Cruise

[Kemmie67]

We just learned that our Dec. 2, 2009 cruise on the Ocean Princess is going to cost us at least $200. more per person than expected. While Princess did alert us that we would have to purchase a $30 visa for Vietnam (provided by Princess while aboard the ship) neither Princess nor our travel agent, Costco, ever mentioned that we would also need a visa for the overnight stay in Shanghai required by the ship's itinerary.

 

We only learned about the China visa requirement from postings on Cruise Critic. We called Princess and they confirmed that we had to have a China visa. They referred us to a visa services agency. If you do NOT plan to travel further in China, disembarkation in Shanghai adds the cost of an overnight hotel stay and transfers (about $180 per person) AND the cost of the China visa ($200 per person) to the basic price of the cruise. This extra cost of $380 per person does not enhance the cruise experience at all. At best, we would only have time for a short afternoon or evening tour in Shanghai before heading for the Pu Dong airport early the next day.

 

When I asked Costco why we weren't told of the $200 China visa charge earlier, their explanation was that they only send out the visa requirement information with the cruise documents. I believe these documents usually arrive AFTER the period when it is possible to cancel the cruise without penalty. By the time you receive the cruise documents and learn that you must have a China visa, there may be a very short window in which to order it—I was told by the visa services agency that they need at least a month to supply the visa without incurring even MORE charges for "rush" fees.

 

For us, the "surprise" of having to pay $400 more for our 24-hour stay in Shanghai was the deal breaker. We canceled our booking today—just under the wire for being able to cancel without penalties. We've taken a considerable number of cruises, but never before were we kept in the dark about significant charges that were required. We appreciate those Cruise Critic postings that brought this to our attention.

[phillipahain]

If you are intending to travel to China more than once

 

The Answer is to buy a MULTI trip Visa its only a little more and it means you can plan more than one trip to China over i think its a 3 yr period

 

Contact Chinese Embasies for more info

[paul929207]

Sorry you were surprised by the China visa requirement. I always ask our TA what visa will be needed so I am prepared for the expense.

[ocngypz]

Costco................therein lies your problem.

 

Next time use a professional travel agent.. and one who can can read from the reservation screen in POLAR that the visa is required.

 

Also, when it comes to China visas, 99% of the time a double entry visa is required because the single entry visa will have expired by the time you arrive in China. The double entries have longer effective dates.

[Maryandi]

I wouldn't cancel a cruise because of a visa , I want to go there. Went to China last year (Shanghai) and 2010, Beijing. Never thought I would go back so quickly so I have to pay again.(and India, Australia, VietNam, who knows what else on the ship)

 

Yes, it irks but if you travel in Asia & South America (alot of visas in those areas), that's part of the cost of the cruise.

 

Now, if you want to travel there, add the cost of the visas to the cost of the trip.

 

I would hate to stay in the Caribbean just because of visas.

 

MaryAnn

[Pia1913]

If you fly into China you need a VISA, even if only for one day. I don't need a TA to tell me that, because I already would have done my own research. Same thing with other countries; i.e. Russia and India.

 

OTOH, if you just cruise into a Brazilian port on a ship and even if you don't get off, you still need a VISA. And that one can cost just as much depending on where/how you get it.

 

As for Vietnam, when we were there 4 years ago the Visa was $6.00. I guess VietNam found out they were "giving" it away.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Pia, enjoy your cruise on Coral Princess. Look after her, we will be on her in Feb doing the same cruise....... well excluding the Alaskan bit.

[Pia1913]

Pia' date=' enjoy your cruise on Coral Princess. Look after her, we will be on her in Feb doing the same cruise....... well excluding the Alaskan bit.[/quote']

 

Thanks Eileen. We'll be doing it again in December, so I'll be taking care of her pre and post dry dock. :)

[FritzG]

It kind of sounds like you're cutting off your nose to spite your face unless you really didn't want to take this cruise in the first place. You can't change individual countries' requirements, and I certainly wouldn't cancel my trip for this reason alone.

[Mimg Pao]

I wouldn't cancel a cruise because of a visa , I want to go there. Went to China last year (Shanghai) and 2010, Beijing. Never thought I would go back so quickly so I have to pay again.(and India, Australia, VietNam, who knows what else on the ship)

 

Yes, it irks but if you travel in Asia & South America (alot of visas in those areas), that's part of the cost of the cruise.

 

Now, if you want to travel there, add the cost of the visas to the cost of the trip.

 

I would hate to stay in the Caribbean just because of visas.

 

MaryAnn

 

I was really surprised to read on your roll call that you had cancelled a wonderful cruise because you were not informed in advance of the visa cost.

 

I have been lurking on your roll call as our cruise is Dec. 18 from Shanghai.

 

Although I am a very experienced world traveler, I always do my own research beforehand so that there are no surprises. It is usual in some of the most interesting parts of the world that visas are required as well as the fact that passports must be valid for six months beyond the return date.

 

I am sure you have time to reconsider as I have been monitoring both the Dec. 2 and 18 sailings and both are half full. If you have never been to Asia before, you are truly missing a uinque experience.

 

HOPE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND.

 

Princess Elite Passenger

[Pia1913]

I was really surprised to read on your roll call that you had cancelled a wonderful cruise because you were not informed in advance of the visa cost.

 

I have been lurking on your roll call as our cruise is Dec. 18 from Shanghai.

 

Although I am a very experienced world traveler, I always do my own research beforehand so that there are no surprises. It is usual in some of the most interesting parts of the world that visas are required as well as the fact that passports must be valid for six months beyond the return date.

 

I am sure you have time to reconsider as I have been monitoring both the Dec. 2 and 18 sailings and both are half full. If you have never been to Asia before, you are truly missing a uinque experience.

 

HOPE YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND.

 

Princess Elite Passenger

 

If you look at the OP's sig line, you will note that she has never been anywhere where a Visa was required. And she evidentally won't be going to those exotic places either, unless she understands that this is part of the cost of her trip. U.S. charges them; they charge us. It's called reciprocity.

 

Just an aside to the OP: If you're thinking about South America, you won't need a VISA, but the entrance fee into Santiago costs almost as much.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Thanks Eileen. We'll be doing it again in December, so I'll be taking care of her pre and post dry dock. :)

 

You'll have to let us know what they do to her in dry dock.

[FredS]

Pia, you mention to the OP if they plan on visiting So. America they won't need a visa. Then you mention Santiago. But, if you plan on going to Brazil you will need a visa. Brazil usually gives a visa good for 5 years. We went several years ago with no plans to go back and then a trip came up that we wanted to take and we still had a valid Brazil visa, so there was no problem to take the second trip to Brazil. Whenever you travel to a foreign country you better check to see if a visa is needed. As has been stated, if the US requires them for some country, they will require them for US citizens. If the US raises its visa price for a specific country, that country raises its price for US citizens to get a visa.

 

to the OP if you go to this site you can find out what countries require US citizens to have a visa to enter the country: http://www.passportvisasexpress.com/visas.xml

[Roses2]

When traveling to ANY foreign country from the UNited States one should check the Department of State internet site for official information on visa requirements.

 

Go to: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html#c

 

Then click on the country. This will give you the latest visa requirements (it does not include costs since this often changes)

 

The principle of international reciprocity usually applies between and among countries.

[G'ma]

We just learned that our Dec. 2, 2009 cruise on the Ocean Princess is going to cost us at least $200. more per person than expected. While Princess did alert us that we would have to purchase a $30 visa for Vietnam (provided by Princess while aboard the ship) neither Princess nor our travel agent, Costco, ever mentioned that we would also need a visa for the overnight stay in Shanghai required by the ship's itinerary.

 

We only learned about the China visa requirement from postings on Cruise Critic. We called Princess and they confirmed that we had to have a China visa. They referred us to a visa services agency. If you do NOT plan to travel further in China, disembarkation in Shanghai adds the cost of an overnight hotel stay and transfers (about $180 per person) AND the cost of the China visa ($200 per person) to the basic price of the cruise. This extra cost of $380 per person does not enhance the cruise experience at all. At best, we would only have time for a short afternoon or evening tour in Shanghai before heading for the Pu Dong airport early the next day.

 

When I asked Costco why we weren't told of the $200 China visa charge earlier, their explanation was that they only send out the visa requirement information with the cruise documents. I believe these documents usually arrive AFTER the period when it is possible to cancel the cruise without penalty. By the time you receive the cruise documents and learn that you must have a China visa, there may be a very short window in which to order it—I was told by the visa services agency that they need at least a month to supply the visa without incurring even MORE charges for "rush" fees.

 

For us, the "surprise" of having to pay $400 more for our 24-hour stay in Shanghai was the deal breaker. We canceled our booking today—just under the wire for being able to cancel without penalties. We've taken a considerable number of cruises, but never before were we kept in the dark about significant charges that were required. We appreciate those Cruise Critic postings that brought this to our attention.

 

It is your travel agents responsibility to advise you of any documents you need.

 

However, ultimately, it's your responsibility to ask or read or find out..which you did from CC, fortunately in time to get what is needed. I'd be all over that agent if it were me.

 

Personally, I'd never use any travel agency without first determing the expertise, experience and education of the agent I'd be working with. A good travel agent is a blessing.....a not so good travel agent is a nightmare.

[Pia1913]

Pia, you mention to the OP if they plan on visiting So. America they won't need a visa. Then you mention Santiago. But, if you plan on going to Brazil you will need a visa. Brazil usually gives a visa good for 5 years. We went several years ago with no plans to go back and then a trip came up that we wanted to take and we still had a valid Brazil visa, so there was no problem to take the second trip to Brazil. Whenever you travel to a foreign country you better check to see if a visa is needed. As has been stated, if the US requires them for some country, they will require them for US citizens. If the US raises its visa price for a specific country, that country raises its price for US citizens to get a visa.

 

to the OP if you go to this site you can find out what countries require US citizens to have a visa to enter the country: http://www.passportvisasexpress.com/visas.xml

 

Fred, I specifically mentioned the Brazilian Visa on a prior post, just to make a point of needing one even if you sail in and don't get off the ship. We were just there this past March/April and somewhere along the way we need to go back in less than 5 years to get our money's worth. :D

 

The OP cancelled a fantastic trip just because of a Visa. Ludicrous!

[Thumper69]

I was going to tell you to check with the Chinese Consulate as I travel on an Australian passport and I know they don't cost that much. However, I looked myself on-line....WOW the Chinese charges alot for an American passport holders. I still would have gone on the cruise, visas are just a part of travel.

Hey to renew my visa to live here in San Francisco I have to travel back to Sydney. Start adding up the cost of a trip to Australia just to renew a visa. Last time I renewed was after 9/11 and they made me come back for another interview, which only took 90 seconds because I was unaware of the security changes after 9/11. 2 five day trips (including airtravel time) to Australia really made the cost of a visa extremely high. At that point $200 doesn't seem quite so high.

 

Sorry you cancelled, think about it? Make it worth while and stay in China a little longer.

 

Anthony

[Coral]

You can only tell where someone has cruised by their signature. You can't tell where they have traveled via land.

 

I agree with others - you booked with an order taker - you can't expect to receive information such as this by an order taker. I really think one has to ask these questions when they travel abroad. I also think a good TA would advise their clients of this. They may not know the fees involved as it is more if you use a service but they should advise you of this. I wouldn't blame Princess as Costco acted as your representative and all correspondence such as this needs to go through your agent. If you are going to be mad at anyone - it should be Costco.

 

When I travel, I used a real travel agent. When I need surgery - I go to a real surgeon. Both are worth their weight in gold!

 

Also, as others have stated, I would not cancel a trip like this over $400.

[TrikeRider]

I can't believe $400 is a dealbreaker. You would have to pay it anyway whether you found out about it today or three months ago. What difference does that make in the grand scheme of things?

[bubbadog]

You should have stuck it out 200pp isnt that much,when you just paid for a cruise and airfare to go to china,well at least you know for next time;)

[Mimg Pao]

If you look at the OP's sig line, you will note that she has never been anywhere where a Visa was required. And she evidentally won't be going to those exotic places either, unless she understands that this is part of the cost of her trip. U.S. charges them; they charge us. It's called reciprocity.

 

Just an aside to the OP: If you're thinking about South America, you won't need a VISA, but the entrance fee into Santiago costs almost as much.

 

Pia - I just checked the completed cruises taken by the op and yes, he has been to Russia. I know for Canadians, visas are definitely required there. So....wonder why that trip was not cancelled. Someone else posted on this thread that it does not really make a difference if you find out about the visa cost when you first book or just before final payment, it is all part of the cost. Certainly, the cruise plus the air and etc., etc., is not exactly cheap, so an extra $200 pp should not break the bank.

 

One more thing, Pia, you mention being in South America in March and April - were you on the Star March 16 to April 17? Incidentally, we paid C$130 pp for our Brazil visas - our old ones expired.

 

Princess Elite Passenger

[Coral]

Pia - I just checked the completed cruises taken by the op and yes, he has been to Russia. I know for Canadians, visas are definitely required there.

 

If you go to Russia on a cruise ship (don't fly there) and stay with an an organized tour that arranges a group visa - you do not need an individual visa (at least for US people). You can not wander outside of the group but you can take tours through the ship or through companies like Red October.

 

Both times I have been to Russia - I did need a visa but I could roam on my own so it was so worth it!

[Pam in CA]

I'm sorry the OP canceled their cruise. Princess ALWAYS alerts you if a visa is necessary, even if you don't have a TA. In this case, CostCo is to blame. If they do ANY travel plans that include China, they'd know a visa is required and should have educated the OP. I don't know a TA who wouldn't know that.

[Kemmie67]

Hi Everyone,

 

Thanks for all your responses. And yes, maybe we will regret canceling this cruise. But, once you lose confidence in the cruise line, it throws a bit of a pall over the trip. As many of you noticed in our signature line, we've been on a few cruises, but none of them have required a visa. Guess that was just a lucky coincidence, as we've never avoided a cruise or land tour because of possible visa expenses. We just don't like last-minute surprise expenses like the China visa, I guess.

 

Our beef with Princess and/or Costco (they each say the other had the responsibility of notifying us of any needed visas) is that they should have told us about the need for the China visa right up front—at the time of booking. The required overnight hotel stays for this cruise in Singapore and Shanghai are listed right on the itinerary. Several months ago we asked a Princess representative what visas would be required for the cruise. The representative assured us the only visa we would need was for Vietnam and it would be issued aboard the ship. I suppose we could have checked each port on the itinerary for visa requirements, but we assumed the Princess representative was giving us correct and complete information. Our past cruising experiences with Princess and other cruise lines gave us no reason to question what Princess told us.

 

We also have to question why Princess is arranging for the Vietnam visa for all the ship's passengers, but not the China visa. When we called them this week they told us we would have to get the China visa on our own. Their only assistance was to give us the 800 number for a visa agency.

 

We also have to say that we have booked all of our cruises and other resort stays (in Mexico, etc.) through Costco for the last ten years and have never had a single problem with them. So, we felt we had every reason to place our confidence in them.

 

If this cruise had been on our "bucket list" we would probably just pay the extra costs of the required overnight stay in Shanghai and go on the cruise-- but actually, it isn't. We've been in SE Asia before so we've had some opportunity to see portions of the area. This is indeed a nice itinerary, but we are getting to an age where sometimes, a trip just ain't worth the hassle. This one was beginning to be a hassle!

 

Maybe we are the only ones sailing this itinerary who were living under a rock and didn't realize a China visa was needed. Maybe Princess and/or their TA's have alerted all the other passengers about arranging to get this visa. Then again, maybe this will at least alert some to the need for obtaining this visa, on their own, before they have to pay those additional "rush" fees to get it.

 

Again, thanks for all your comments. Best wishes to all!

Barbara

[Toto2Kansas]

Although I understand your disappointment, I have to add this.

On each of our Princess bookings, there is a notice on our online booking with Princess that actually warns the passenger to check for visas that might be needed for our itinerary. You must have missed this statement. Or, you may have been relying on your travel agent to discuss this with you, which evidentally they did not.

 

Since you booked through a TA, that TA is responsible for your booking and should have been the one to notify you of any visa requirements for your upcoming cruise. Normally, Princess won't even discuss your booking or any aspect of your booking with you if you booked through a travel agency.

 

Each time we have booked a cruise, where we needed a visa, our travel agent has always alerted us of this (not Princess). It is definitely the TA's responsibilty.

 

Sorry you didn't realize you would need visas for this trip, but a lesson learned to all.