Visiting India

[casofilia]

I see that the Rotterdam is due to visit various ports in India in the near future. I presume that it has been there previously!!

 

I wondered what documentation was required by the Indian Authorities? Do you need a visa if you are making your own excursion arrangements? What if you use ship based shore excursions?

 

If you need a visa can it be obtained on arrival?

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[momatibm]

I see that the Rotterdam is due to visit various ports in India in the near future. I presume that it has been there previously!!

 

I wondered what documentation was required by the Indian Authorities? Do you need a visa if you are making your own excursion arrangements? What if you use ship based shore excursions?

 

If you need a visa can it be obtained on arrival?

 

Thanks

 

Mike

I would suggest you look online with the Indian Embassy. They are the best places to get this info. If you don't have the right docs you might not be able to board. I don't believe India allows visa's on arrival.

[sail7seas]

Way too risky to depend upon an Internet forum to be sure you have proper travel documents. Without all necessary visas etc, you would be refused boarding.

[casofilia]

While I anticipate that I will have to get in touch with the Indian High Commission in Wellington NZ, I live in NZ, I was hoping that someone who has done these visits in the past could give me some hints of what had happened when they visited the ports that the Rotterdam is about to visit. Then I will be able to ask the right questions of the IHC.

 

The other thing is that people about to go on the Rotterdam will have gone through the process recently.

 

I will not be visit in India on a cruise ship for about 8 months.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[RuthC]

Mike, the thing is the (arguably) majority of posters to this forum are Americans, and certainly the vast majority are not New Zealanders. The rules for you would not necessarily be the same as for most of us.

Add to that India is not a cruise destination for most of us. You are unlikely to get valid info here.

[Iwant2BatC]

Mike - I did the Passage to the Far East on the Rotterdam several years ago. I obtained my visa through a US visa service. Getting the visa was not a problem except the Indian authorities require perfection on the application. The problems we had were related to the actual ports of call and local authorities. We called at four ports and each port seemed to handle things differently. I remember the front office was tearing out their hair (figuratively). Lots of issues that seem to take time. The thing is that is all beyond your control as a passenger. Just be sure you have any required visa before leaving home and the rest is part of the sail.

[jaxonboy]

India requires New Zealanders to obtain a tourist visa prior to entering the country. We have entered Indian ports on cruise ships and flown in and out on international flights. We hold an Indian visa that was good for five years, but only six months at a time if that makes sense to you.

 

Whether you make your own arrangements or use cruise excursions has no bearing. We had a card that allowed us to enter the port upon our return.

[LunaTan]

I am from Australia and were on this cruise in 2014. We obtained the visa in Melbourne from the Indian High Commission agency for visas, it cost about $100 and took a couple of days to process before we could collect. Download the documents and make sure that every question is responded to 100% correct, make sure it is a multi entry visa. You may need to contact HAL to obtain the address of the port agency. I have heard that India is introducing visa on arrival however I would avoid unless organised by Hal. Alternatively, you could organise through a private agency but these tend to be expensive. Also, note that the photo required is a different size then a regular passport photo. Note also, this may have all changed since last year.

[Scrapnana]

Visitors from virtually every country in the world need a visa for India (only a handful of exempt countries). Currently, you also need the visa even if you do not get off the ship. As LunaTan stated, things are constantly changing with the Indian visas and are somewhat different in every country (for example in the US we cannot apply directly to the consulate but must go through a company to which India has outsourced the processing of visas:eek:).

 

Unless things change dramatically (and who knows - they might), be sure to have the visa before embarking. When I went last year the cruise line checked my passport to make sure I had it or they would have denied me boarding.

[Keith1010]

Yes, you need a visa.

 

What you need actually varies not only by country but by state you live in.

 

I would use a visa service.

 

They will assist you with this.

 

Keith

[Lis2065]

Yes a visa is necessary - make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get it too. One of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had was organising travel, visas and accommodation for a group of colleagues traveling to India...

 

I believe the Brits invented bureaucracy, however its my experience that our friends in India have perfected it!

[Sunriseatsea]

Our experience ranks India's visa application process among the most frustrating. In the USA, the online portion of the application, which must be filled out EXACTLY, is almost unintelligible. The questions have double negatives, etc that constantly make you wonder what they are really asking and how you should answer. Good luck, take your time, but don't wait til the last minute!

[take us away]

While I anticipate that I will have to get in touch with the Indian High Commission in Wellington NZ, I live in NZ, I was hoping that someone who has done these visits in the past could give me some hints of what had happened when they visited the ports that the Rotterdam is about to visit. Then I will be able to ask the right questions of the IHC.

 

The other thing is that people about to go on the Rotterdam will have gone through the process recently.

 

I will not be visit in India on a cruise ship for about 8 months.

 

Thanks

 

Mike[/quote

 

Have done this and as a US citizen, needed a full tourist visa, used a visa agency and applied about 7 months before I needed the visa. There is a 'visa on arrival' but only for tourists arriving by plane and only at certain airports so be careful when you look into this. Things change so you really need to check with the Indian embassy in your country.

Edited November 28, 2015 by take us away

[kiwijohn]

Mike, I have done the Rotterdam cruise and obtained my visa from the Indian High Commission in Wellington. The form is not easy to fill in and takes about a week for them to process it. Full details are on the Indian High Commission website. John

[Birder1]

In 2012, I was on a cruise (different line) that called-on India.

 

At embarkation in Dubai, 2 ladies (one, Malaysian, the other from the UK) did not have Indian visas. After hours at the checkin counter, they were allowed to board but told they were forbidden from leaving the ship in Indian ports. They also were required to have special interviews w Indian immigration aboard ship. From what one lady conveyed to me, that interview didn't go well.

[doublebzz]

Yes a visa is necessary - make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get it too. One of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had was organising travel, visas and accommodation for a group of colleagues traveling to India...

 

I believe the Brits invented bureaucracy, however its my experience that our friends in India have perfected it!

 

Just returned from land tour of India and your observation is right on. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating country and well worth the bureaucratic nightmares.

[Lis2065]

Just returned from land tour of India and your observation is right on. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating country and well worth the bureaucratic nightmares.

 

Agree 100%

[casofilia]

Thank you for all the words of wisdom; it has certainly answered my question fully and to my satisfaction.

 

We are cruising in March/April next year and when we get back from that I will immediately get on to the Indian High Commission in Wellington to get my visa for our trip in October/November.

 

Thanks again

 

Mike