144 hour =No Chinese Visa

[Nachosdelux]

Except it's only the first country revisited, not a 3rd country. Otherwise they'd just say leave the country, which everyone with a visa necessarily has to do anyway!

 

+1.

 

You WILL need a visa in this example. Celebrity is mistaken.

 

If your first stop after leaving China was any other country besides Japan, then you would be o.k. But it isn't.

You are departing to the same country from which you arrived (last stop prior and first stop after)

 

Hope it works out but technically you are REQUIRED to have a China Visa for this itinerary.

Edited August 23, 2016 by Nachosdelux

[Bobocasey]

It's a crap shoot!!! How lucky do you feel? If you are willing to risk it then good luck!!!! There is really nothing that any of us can say since the choice is yours. This is a personal decision, hope everything works out for the

best.

[donaldsc]

Why will Celebrity not make a commitment for people that are on a ship that ports in Shanghi, China for the end/start of new cruise. We are on and will go on another leg of the cruise and will only be in China, Shanghai only for 13 hours. I read the rule as we don't need a visa, but we are afraid they won't let us on the ship in Singapore for the cruise. I have called Celebrity three times, no commitment, says Chinese visa is needed. I have written to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC and written my Senator, waiting for answers from the last two.

Has anyone done this and only used Shanghai as a port to get from ship to ship, air to ship, ship to air and not had problem. Who has the answer? or do we just pay and get the visas to be on the safe side. I blame Celebrity who should know what the passenger's have to have.

 

Rita Kwar

 

You wrote your US Senator asking him to intercede w the Chinese government to facilitate your visit to China.

 

1) Why did you expect that he would have any influence at all with a foreign government regarding issuance of visas.

 

2) Don't you think that he has better things to do than to get you a visa from China.

 

3) How long have you been dithering about the visa. Just play it safe and get it.

 

DON

[NantahalaCruiser]

+1.

 

You WILL need a visa in this example. Celebrity is mistaken.

 

If your first stop after leaving China was any other country besides Japan, then you would be o.k. But it isn't.

You are departing to the same country from which you arrived (last stop prior and first stop after)

 

Hope it works out but technically you are REQUIRED to have a China Visa for this itinerary.

 

Since I already forked over $400 for our visas, I no longer care that much - just wish those that have decided not to obtain visas the very best of luck.

 

And I have put the $400 visa payment in perspective since the current price for an AQ cabin on the Millennium's Oct 16 cruise is now 60% higher than when I booked our cabin back in December 2014!

 

Larry

Edited August 23, 2016 by NantahalaCruiser

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

With this 144-hour free visa thing being in effect since January, where are the horror postings or stories from other sources about this program not working and PAX either being fined or asked to leave the ship (in the case of continuing on a B2B to Shanghai)?

 

Celebrity and their visa partners are totally clueless on advising their PAX.

 

At least we have confirmation from the Celebrity Millennium documentation officer that the 144-hour visa thing will work for us.

 

Look for us being kicked off the ship in Yokohama the morning of September 18 if it doesn't.... ;-)

[Canada17]

With this 144-hour free visa thing being in effect since January, where are the horror postings or stories from other sources about this program not working and PAX either being fined or asked to leave the ship (in the case of continuing on a B2B to Shanghai)?

 

Celebrity and their visa partners are totally clueless on advising their PAX.

 

At least we have confirmation from the Celebrity Millennium documentation officer that the 144-hour visa thing will work for us.

 

Look for us being kicked off the ship in Yokohama the morning of September 18 if it doesn't.... ;-)

 

Please look at the 5 shore excursions for for Shanghai for the Millennium in the shore excursion booklet, at the bottom where it says "Important Notes", "Guests must obtain a Visa in order to enter China. This must be obtained before guests leave home". Think Celebrity is pretty clear about the Visa requirements.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

I asked the Celebrity Millennium documentation officer:

 

"As USA citizens flying directly back to the USA after debarkation in Shanghai, can you confirm that all we need to show Millennium staff in Yokohama is our passports and airline tickets showing departure from Shanghai before the end of the 144-hour period? And we will NOT be required to have a standard China visa stamped into our passports?"

 

The Millennium documentation officer forwarded my email to Wu xiaomin/Mr, Deputy Director, Cruises Department, Penavico Shanghai/as agent, No 531 Wusong Road Shanghai China with this note:

 

"Good Day Wu,

 

Please confirm if the below is correct...

 

Kind Regards,

 

Seby Vaz

Documentation Officer"

 

Wu responded:

 

"Good day!

 

Yes, you need to show the departure flight from Shanghai to US to the check-in staff when embark. And Chinese immigration will stamp on the passport when debark in Shanghai even if no visa on the passport only the flight details."

 

B.rgds

Wu xiaomin/Mr"

[Canada17]

I asked the Celebrity Millennium documentation officer:

 

"As USA citizens flying directly back to the USA after debarkation in Shanghai, can you confirm that all we need to show Millennium staff in Yokohama is our passports and airline tickets showing departure from Shanghai before the end of the 144-hour period? And we will NOT be required to have a standard China visa stamped into our passports?"

 

The Millennium documentation officer forwarded my email to Wu xiaomin/Mr, Deputy Director, Cruises Department, Penavico Shanghai/as agent, No 531 Wusong Road Shanghai China with this note:

 

"Good Day Wu,

 

Please confirm if the below is correct...

 

Kind Regards,

 

Seby Vaz

Documentation Officer"

 

Wu responded:

 

"Good day!

 

Yes, you need to show the departure flight from Shanghai to US to the check-in staff when embark. And Chinese immigration will stamp on the passport when debark in Shanghai even if no visa on the passport only the flight details."

 

B.rgds

Wu xiaomin/Mr"

 

My apologies, you are correct. Thought you were on the Oct 16 Millie cruise, where we cruise from Nagasaki to Shanghai then to Okinawa. The 144 hour exemtion would not apply as we are not entering China and leaving for a 3rd country. I think your cruise cruises into Shanghai from Jehu (?) and then you fly home.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

That's right; from Korea, then to Shanghai and then to LAX.

 

You know, even with all this discussion and all the 'confirmation' that we have, we're still gonna be crossing our fingers behind our backs while on the 1st leg of our B2B. ;-)

[NantahalaCruiser]

That's right; from Korea, then to Shanghai and then to LAX.

 

You know, even with all this discussion and all the 'confirmation' that we have, we're still gonna be crossing our fingers behind our backs while on the 1st leg of our B2B. ;-)

 

Yeah, if your B2B is 9/29 to 10/5 and 10/5 to 10/9 then your first leg will be entering China from Maizuru, Japan on 10/5 and departing to Kagoshima, Japan on the same day. Raising ye olde 3rd country issue once again!

 

Best of luck

Larry

[The_Big_M]

With this 144-hour free visa thing being in effect since January, where are the horror postings or stories from other sources about this program not working and PAX either being fined or asked to leave the ship (in the case of continuing on a B2B to Shanghai)?

 

Simply because how many sailings have there been since the rule came in?

 

I agree with your scenario that it complies with the requirements so yours should be fine.

[rhblake]

Celebrity has indicated that you need a China visa. Even if there is this new rule about 144 hours and you are right, it will do you no good if you are denied boarding because you failed to have in your possession the visa Celebrity told you to obtain. That is way too big a gamble to take when you have thousands of dollars at stake. You should play by Celebrity’s rules and forget this legalize you are discussing in this thread.

[kwar]

You wrote your US Senator asking him to intercede w the Chinese government to facilitate your visit to China.

 

1) Why did you expect that he would have any influence at all with a foreign government regarding issuance of visas.

 

2) Don't you think that he has better things to do than to get you a visa from China.

 

3) How long have you been dithering about the visa. Just play it safe and get it.

 

DON

 

I am not asking for him to interfere, I am asking for his interpretation as a citizen in his district whether this rule is as I read it.

 

And for your information Celebrity has said I do not need a visa.

[gowilk]

I am not asking for him to interfere, I am asking for his interpretation as a citizen in his district whether this rule is as I read it.

 

And for your information Celebrity has said I do not need a visa.

 

So you SHOULD enjoy your endless communication with a political hack...

You SHOULD enjoy your 30 minute argument at check in while I'm at the bar on board...

And you SHOULD enjoy your argument in China while some low-paid bureaucrat tries their hand at their version of the rule as opposed to yours.

 

 

You get to be the trailblazer by choice, while I meekly go down and pay the $140 a head but get the privilege of briefly watching the drama go down assuming I don't get stuck in line behind you ( that would not be pretty).

[Bobocasey]

Be aware that Celebrity said the same thing last year to people then 6 weeks before the cruise they sent everyone an email stating you needed a visa. So even though you have a email from someone high up in Celebrity it doesn't make any difference because of the Chinese government. Go Figure. Since you are dealing with the Chinese government anything can and will happen. They can change the rules anytime they desire with no thoughts to your plans.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Bobocasey

[emileg]

My apologies, you are correct. Thought you were on the Oct 16 Millie cruise, where we cruise from Nagasaki to Shanghai then to Okinawa. The 144 hour exemtion would not apply as we are not entering China and leaving for a 3rd country. I think your cruise cruises into Shanghai from Jehu (?) and then you fly home.

Look forward to hearing from you after your October 16th cruise on the Millie. Please let us know what passengers experience regarding the 144 hour rule. Were they denied boarding? Thanks ahead of time. We are on the April 8, 2017 cruise and will plan accordingly based on the experiences of passengers on the October 16th cruise.

[Canada17]

Look forward to hearing from you after your October 16th cruise on the Millie. Please let us know what passengers experience regarding the 144 hour rule. Were they denied boarding? Thanks ahead of time. We are on the April 8, 2017 cruise and will plan accordingly based on the experiences of passengers on the October 16th cruise.

 

Will do. Just a frustrating experience for everyone right now. Even Celebrity reps give out conflicting info.....visa required, visa not required. A real dog and pony show at times. Think most of cc cruisers on our October cruise will be or have gotten a visa. But will definitely do a lot of " investgatng" when we get on Millie and report back to everyone. And if internet is good on board, will report from Shanghai.

[emileg]

Will do. Just a frustrating experience for everyone right now. Even Celebrity reps give out conflicting info.....visa required, visa not required. A real dog and pony show at times. Think most of cc cruisers on our October cruise will be or have gotten a visa. But will definitely do a lot of " investgating" when we get on Millie and report back to everyone. And if internet is good on board, will report from Shanghai.

Really appreciated. Thanks.

[kwar]

Will do. Just a frustrating experience for everyone right now. Even Celebrity reps give out conflicting info.....visa required, visa not required. A real dog and pony show at times. Think most of cc cruisers on our October cruise will be or have gotten a visa. But will definitely do a lot of " investgatng" when we get on Millie and report back to everyone. And if internet is good on board, will report from Shanghai.

 

we are on the Jan2 leg of the Milleniumwith 3 btb, and we port in Shanghai to unload and load up new passengers, I am waiting to hear how you guys make out - hate wasting $500 for unneeded visas.

 

Rita K

[cruisingtheword]

Thankfully, my husband and I visited China in March 2015 and purchased 10 year, multiple entry visas which actually were the same price as single entry visas. The visa application form was not clear about this, but fortunately the visa service we used here in Atlanta reviewed our form and changed our request to the 10 year, multiple entry visa. Therefore, we do not have to worry about our day in Shanghai on our Oct. 16 cruise because our visas are still valid. Actually my husband has had to renew his passport since our trip to China but I verified with the Chinese government that as long as his name and birthdate are the same in both documents, he can carry both his old passport with the Chinese visa and his new passport and it will still be honored. I'm saying this because if you decide it is worth it to get the visa, be sure and request the 10 year visa - $140 IS expensive for one day in Shanghai, but hopefully over the next 10 years you will have another opportunity to visit China. It was a wonderful trip, the history and culture are fascinating and the Chinese people were wonderful. I assure you, your $140 will be well worth it, if you are able to make it back to China in the next 10 years.

[The_Big_M]

Unfortunately I visited China, and in fact Shanghai earlier this year.

 

However, they don't issue 10 year visas here. In fact they tightly control entries and you have to pay per entry, and every entry has to be justified in advance to get that visa. So as much as I'd love to not need a visa, and would also be fine with not entering again if a visa is not required, based on what's written on they do require yet another visa if just making a visit and returning to the same country.

 

I do await the situation on the October cruise with interest, but am not optimistic. And if it comes down to some form of discretion, it also wouldn't be definitive either.

[Happy2roam]

Have just received an email today from Celebrity Guest services in UK confirming that Celebrity have confirmed with the Chinese High Commission that, as long as we present full UK passports, when we check in Celebrity Millenium in Tokyo on 16 October we will be able to complete a 144 hour visa exemption form which will allow us to travel onboard and visit Shanghai. The email states that this was introduced on 31st January 2016. It has taken us many phone calls and emails to get this confirmation, and only after insisting on speaking to someone above the level of customer service. I cannot say whether this waiver applies to those outside the UK, but it's worth pursuing with Celebrity.

 

Hi Teeyween,

 

I take it from your post that you are not getting a visa? We also are leaving Tokyo on the 16th October cruising with Celebritie and are in 2 minds do we or don't we ??? We are looking at NOT getting one will we be the only ones.

 

 

Happy2roam

[valencia expat]

Hi happy2roam

 

We have not got a Visa for 16th October cruise and do not intend to get one.

Have confirmation from Celebrity that we will not be denied boarding and from Shanghai Immigration Authority that one is not required if we do leave the ship.

[emileg]

Hi happy2roam

 

We have not got a Visa for 16th October cruise and do not intend to get one.

Have confirmation from Celebrity that we will not be denied boarding and from Shanghai Immigration Authority that one is not required if we do leave the ship.

That's great news. Would you kindly let us know who at Celebrity confirmed that we will not be denied board without the visa? Also, who and how do you get in touch with the Shanghai Immigration Authority? We trust you, but it would be helpful to have documentation in hand should any problems arise. Thanks in advance.

[kwar]

Hi happy2roam

 

We have not got a Visa for 16th October cruise and do not intend to get one.

Have confirmation from Celebrity that we will not be denied boarding and from Shanghai Immigration Authority that one is not required if we do leave the ship.

 

Who did you speak with at Celebrity? Higher up then an agent.

 

How about Shanghai Imm. did you call them or email them??

 

Appreciate your help..

 

Kwar

Edited August 29, 2016 by kwar