Visas

[mickym]

Are visas required if your ships itinerary includes Russia or China?

[LHT28]

For Russia if you do not use a ship sponsored tour or licensed private guide you need to get a personal VISA

 

You can check the PORTS OF CALL forums for more information on bother Countries requirements

[Keith1010]

For USA Passport Holders.

 

For Russia it is as LHT28 said.

 

For Mainland China a visas is needed and they type will depend on your itinerary. One is not needed for Hong Kong.

 

Keith

[Gunner22aa]

You will require one for sure and it must be obtained in advance from the embassy or your nearest consulate. You will have to send them your passport or hand deliver it, the required application and a passport photo. The cost depends on the type of vias required, single, double or multiple entry and how fast you want it processed. They can do overnight, two day or regular. You pay a premium for the faster service. We needed a multiple entry visa and the cost in Canada was $220 Cdn per person for the two day service. I believe that a single entry one was around $120 and the double somewhere in the middle. US costs are about the same if I remember correctly.

[Donray]

China visas are the same $120 for sigle or multiple entry. I got the multiple since it was the same cost.

[mickym]

Thank you so much for the help. We will need one for China so hope I can get it all figured out. We are nowhere near an Embassy or Consulate so will have to use a service the way it looks and pay them a fee also.

[Zach1213]

Thank you so much for the help. We will need one for China so hope I can get it all figured out. We are nowhere near an Embassy or Consulate so will have to use a service the way it looks and pay them a fee also.

My company uses China Visa Service Center on a regular basis for our frequent trips to China, and they're always quick and have good customer service if you need it (which is rare).

[cruiseco]

With Russia it depends on the type of cruise you are doing. For a regular cruise the above info is correct. If you're doing a river cruise you will need a visa.

[BassettMom]

I used ZVS (Zierer Visa Service) to help get my China visa on my SE Asia and China cruise. Thank goodness I did since I needed a double entry and the Chinese consulate only approved a single entry. ZVS went back multiple times to convince the consulate to issue a double entry, and it was finally approved and the visa issued. Yes, it's expensive, but for me, well worth it since without their help, I would have had to cancel the cruise.

[alcpa1]

The Russian Federation visa is a pain to fill out, particularly if you have ever been employed by the US govt, were in the military, or have had "issues." It must be completed without errors, spots, or marks of any kind. I think it still costs $175 US. As noted if you are joining a ship's tour or private (govt approved company) life as a foreign tourist is far easier.

Both countries have a well defined timeframe for applying and traveling so check the embassy's web sites.