Jokate Posted January 20, 2013 #1 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Has anyone had recent experience purchasing a Turkish sticker visa during a cruise while visiting the port of Marmaris or Kusadasi? We are wondering if this would save us time on disembarkation in Istanbul....or is the visa purchase/passport control at the Istanbul port also efficient (like the airport)? We need to be off the ship and through formalities around 7am before travelling on to Cappadocia. Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted January 20, 2013 #2 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Has anyone had recent experience purchasing a Turkish sticker visa during a cruise while visiting the port of Marmaris or Kusadasi?We are wondering if this would save us time on disembarkation in Istanbul....or is the visa purchase/passport control at the Istanbul port also efficient (like the airport)? We need to be off the ship and through formalities around 7am before travelling on to Cappadocia. Thanks for any advice. If you have a time constraint like that when you disembark, I would HIGHLY recommend letting Oceania purchase the Visa for you in advance (even if it costs you more money) for three reasons: 1) The Visa offices in Turkish Ports do not adapt their hours to the times of cruise ship arrivals and departures. They expect the Tourists to conform to THEIR SCHEDULE. 2) I have been to Kusadasi 6 times in the past 8 years and have NEVER seen the Turkish Visa Office Open for business once. 3) The peace of mind that buying the Visa from Oceania will bring, will add immeasurably to your enjoyment of the cruise. There are enough variables on debarkation day without adding in another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenamber Posted January 20, 2013 #3 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Hi, Have to agree with Jim and Stan on this one. There is the old saying " don't spoil the ship for a halfpenny of tar". In other words you are on holiday and do you really want to hang around trying to get a visa with all the added stress for the sake of a few extra dollars. I have been to turkey many times and getting the £10 visa at the airport is easy, but on our upcoming cruise we will be letting Oceania handle it for us so we can get the most out of our time in Turkey. Turkey is amazing and if you have not visited before you will want to make he most of every minute there. Enjoy your cruise and your time in Turkey. X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 20, 2013 #4 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Has anyone had recent experience purchasing a Turkish sticker visa during a cruise while visiting the port of Marmaris or Kusadasi?We are wondering if this would save us time on disembarkation in Istanbul....or is the visa purchase/passport control at the Istanbul port also efficient (like the airport)? We need to be off the ship and through formalities around 7am before travelling on to Cappadocia. Thanks for any advice. Letting Oceania will be the most convenient solution, but, since you're posting from Sydney, you might want to consider getting your own visa at the local consulate in advance of your cruise. I've done this at the Turkish consulate in Washington, DC. Easy peasy. I had expected the process to take two trips to the consulate: one to drop off the paperwork and the second to pick up the visa. However, business was light that day so the visa officials invited me to return 60-90 minutes later to claim the completed visa. Living near Washington, DC, I'm in the habit of getting all my visas myself and I actually enjoy the experience of visiting the consulates, especially when they're co-located with the embassy. The embassies tend to be pretty in contrast to the business-office consulates. Here's the link to the Turkish consulate in Sydney: http://www.sydney.cg.mfa.gov.tr/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted January 20, 2013 #5 Share Posted January 20, 2013 I completely agree - get them before you leave home. We wondered about the same thing because we cannot get one locally and 0 had a greater surcharge for CDN visas than USA (yes, Turkey charges more too but the surcharge is also more). In the end we purchased through O and when on-board I inquired with the Purser, who organizes the Visas (the ship collected passports and Visa stickers to ensure they were in the passports and the pages flagged) and was told, with no uncertainty, that the the availability of Visas at the ship's port and the rules can change at every moment. Just becasue it was one way last time does not mean it will be the same next. As ksps_cuise_fan suggested if you can get them locally, and have time, that that would be my choice but note also that the Embassies can have different ID requirements if in person or by mail. In Australia your rules may vary yet again. It is certainly convenient through O and considering the possible repercussions if we had trouble getting them, for one thing we could be in the country illegally, it was not worth the concern and aggravation to do it otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredFL Posted January 20, 2013 #6 Share Posted January 20, 2013 I believe you have to have the visa before you can board the ship. At least that was the case on our cruises that stopped or ended in a Turkish port. So unless you are flying into Istanbul and can buy one at the airport or can get to a Turkish embassy you need to get one from Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted January 21, 2013 #7 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I believe you have to have the visa before you can board the ship. At least that was the case on our cruises that stopped or ended in a Turkish port.So unless you are flying into Istanbul and can buy one at the airport or can get to a Turkish embassy you need to get one from Oceania. I know jimandstan reported the same experience in another thread that the passports were all checked for a visa before allowed to board. That was not our experience this summer on Riviera (disembarked in Istanbul). So while experiences may vary on how O checks the Visas, your good advice on obtaining one is the important thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jokate Posted January 21, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thank you all for your comments on this question. The last time we flew into Ataturk airport the visa on arrival process took 2 mins for each queue...I was hoping that border entry by port would also be just as easy and efficient.!! As we are onboard overnight in Istanbul before disembarkation I presume we will be able to organise to get off very early...has anyone had experience doing this? Would booking a 7am transfer service be too optimistic? Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 21, 2013 #9 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I can't think of a reason why you couldn't leave at that hour, especially since the ship has cleared customs the day before. They will send around a form asking what time you want to leave, where are you going (hotel? airport?), etc., and you will find your luggage in the appropriate place. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredFL Posted January 21, 2013 #10 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Our last cruise ended with an overnight in Istanbul. We got off the ship at 6:30 to get to the airport on time. Dock kind of deserted but there were several "guards" after luggage pick-up who were friendly and helpful. We had a van arranged but could not find him. Turns out he was parked at the beginning of the dock. One of the guards used his cell phone to call him and find him. (Moral: Always have cell phone numbers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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