Visa Requirements

[Aussie71]

Noumea > Lifou > Vila

 

Are visas required for Australian citizens to disembark at these ports?

[rkmw]

Noumea > Lifou > Vila

 

Are visas required for Australian citizens to disembark at these ports?

 

no visas required for any port

[Aussie71]

Also, maybe someone can also advise....

 

If you decide to visit a port, can you return to the cruise ship at anytime you like or do you have to wait for a specified time? For those destinations without a pier I just cannot imagine how it can be achieved.

 

I am particulary interested in the ports of Noumea, Lifou and Vila.

[Royalty X]

Also, maybe someone can also advise....

 

If you decide to visit a port, can you return to the cruise ship at anytime you like or do you have to wait for a specified time? For those destinations without a pier I just cannot imagine how it can be achieved.

 

I am particulary interested in the ports of Noumea, Lifou and Vila.

In Noumea and Vila, the ship pulls alongside and docks in an actual port. You can return to the ship whenever you're ready (you don't have to wait til a certain time), just as long as you are back on board in time for sailaway (they will advise you what time to be back on board). At Lifou, you will need to go ashore using a tender boat (the ship will anchor out in the bay). Once again, you can go back whenever you like but you just have to wait for the next tender (they usually run every five or ten minutes that the ship is anchored) and make sure you're back onboard for sailaway (they will tell you when the last tender boat will leave the island). :)

[Sandielle]

Yes, you can return to the ship say, for lunch, and also go ashore anytime, as long as you are back by about half an hour before the ship leaves. They announce the time as well as showing it where you disembark the ship.

 

At tender ports they run frequent trips to and from the ship. There are 4 tender boats usually. Just be aware that at lunch times and shortly before last boarding time there is usually a long queue. Don't worry, you will be informed of the procedures and times in the Pacific Daily paper the night before and also by announcements on the day.

[croydonCruiser]

At Noumea and Vila you can walk on and off the ship as many times as you like. Lifou is a tender port, which means they transport you from the ship to the shore on one of the tenders (lifeboats). The tenders travel to and from the shore constantly. Again, you can come and go as often as you like throughout the day. :D

 

With regard to the visa question, providing you are all traveling on Australian passports, you will not require visas. I think things can get a bit messy if you are a permanent resident traveling on a foreign passport. I don't know all the ins and outs, but I think you'd need to obtain a re-entry visa. If this applies to you then I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be able to help you out. :D

[thied]

Also, maybe someone can also advise....

 

If you decide to visit a port, can you return to the cruise ship at anytime you like or do you have to wait for a specified time? For those destinations without a pier I just cannot imagine how it can be achieved.

 

I am particulary interested in the ports of Noumea, Lifou and Vila.

 

If the port is a tender port you will have to a ticket with a number or colour for desembarking the ship, this will be the case till nearly all passengers are of the ship, then it will trun to leave any time with out a ticket.

 

In a tender port for your return trip al you have to do is line up at the jetty you got off at.

 

for tender port you can come and go as many times as you like.

 

AS for ports where the ship is docked at jetty or dock you can leave and return to the ship any time you let after they the crew have said so.

 

 

 

 

as for the port you are interested in Noumea, Lifou and Vila only Lifou is a tender port.

[thied]

At Noumea and Vila you can walk on and off the ship as many times as you like. Lifou is a tender port, which means they transport you from the ship to the shore on one of the tenders (lifeboats). The tenders travel to and from the shore constantly. Again, you can come and go as often as you like throughout the day. :D

 

With regard to the visa question, providing you are all traveling on Australian passports, you will not require visas. I think things can get a bit messy if you are a permanent resident traveling on a foreign passport. I don't know all the ins and outs, but I think you'd need to obtain a re-entry visa. If this applies to you then I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be able to help you out. :D

 

what you said is true(if you are a permanent resident traveling on a foreign passport. I don't know all the ins and outs, but you'd need to obtain a re-entry visa.)

[Skyrules]

Also, maybe someone can also advise....

 

If you decide to visit a port, can you return to the cruise ship at anytime you like or do you have to wait for a specified time? For those destinations without a pier I just cannot imagine how it can be achieved.

 

I am particulary interested in the ports of Noumea, Lifou and Vila.

 

 

As has been said, Noumea & Vila are wharf ports, and Lifou is a tender port.

 

In Noumea the passenger terminal is quite close to town, so it's easy to come and go.

 

The wharf in Vila is quite a distance (10-15 minute drive or long hot/humid walk) from the town centre, so factor that in to your plans for coming and going from the ship there. Apart from the street stalls that set up outside the terminal on cruise days, there's not much else close to the wharf, so you have to go into town for most things.

 

The tender trip at Lifou is quite quick, the ship gets in really close there. It takes almost as long to load/unload the tenders as it does to get to/from the ship.

[Sandielle]

Finetuneit, It seems as though our replies were posted at the same time! :) I wouldn't have posted the same information again if I had seen yours. :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, Aussie71, considered yourself well-advised! :D Hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

[Royalty X]

Finetuneit, It seems as though our replies were posted at the same time! :) I wouldn't have posted the same information again if I had seen yours. :rolleyes:

LOL! It just proves that great minds think alike Sandy! :D

[Aussie71]

Thank you all for the information and well wishes, I think that I got something from everyones post.

[suexxx]

Hi. Hubby travels on a British passport & has to have a Re entry visa to get back into Australia. Got a new 1 last year & lasts for 5 yrs. Suexxx

[Sandielle]

Hi. Hubby travels on a British passport & has to have a Re entry visa to get back into Australia. Got a new 1 last year & lasts for 5 yrs. Suexxx

 

We have both passports (and darned expensive it is too) so when we flew to Europe we used the Aussie ones to leave and return here and the British for England and Portugal. It was certainly a breeze, but I don't think it warrants the expense again.