Misinformation from Celebrity about China Visa requirements

[Grahambythesea]

we are currently on Millennium cruising from Hong Kong to Tokyo. We were confused about the requirements for our one day visit to mainland China and phoned Celebrity for advice. They specifically told us we must get one in advance which cost £413.75 for 2 of us! Given that this is for only ONE day in China, this is exorbitant! Loads of other people on the ship had similar experiences with the same advice from Celebrity reps in different countries. However on the ship we have been told that we didn't need one and that they would do a group visa for $10.

 

How can the offices around the world not know that!

 

We feel that any passengers having this incorrect advice should firstly complain to their office of Celebrity, then claim the cost back from them and if Celebrity won't pay up, then start court action against them.

[cruisestitch]

Celebrity specifically says that it's up to you to determine what is needed and that it's your responsibility to make sure you have what is needed. Good luck trying to get your money back.

[Bo1953]

Not sure how your internet search works or even how the Embassy or other 'Official' office from where you received the Visa, it appears there are several options and pricings including free..

 

Other than this, I trust you had a great sailing...

 

bon voyage

[Gonzo70]

Celebrity specifically says that it's up to you to determine what is needed and that it's your responsibility to make sure you have what is needed. Good luck trying to get your money back.

 

But if what the OP stated is true, they were told by Celebrity they MUST purchase the visa in advance. I would be beyond furious if that occurred to me. If Celebrity really did inform people they must buy the visa, when no such visa was required, they should be responsible for reimbursing those wasted expenses people incurred.

[Zoedokey]

It's a shame you can't believe the people who answer the phone at Celebrity. Why do they have customer service lines at all?

[Orator]

The standard reply I've received from Celebrity to questions concerning Visas is: "You need to check for requirements in your country". Some people get upset at this response, but it really is the best response they can give if they want to be safe. I believe that once they give you a specific answer they become liable if the information costs the passenger unnecessary expense. I don't know how they will respond to demands for money. I think the best one can expect is a Future Cruise Voucher.

Visa requirements vary from country to country and one should check with their local authorities or contact a reliable Visa service in their country.

[Bo1953]

It's a shame you can't believe the people who answer the phone at Celebrity. Why do they have customer service lines at all?

 

X, at their website, discusses about getting Visa's when traveling with them. One should be able to get the info there without hesitation, this way you by-pass the 'belief' factor some have when calling in...

 

In fact, their web site should be the first place to go or even taking time to read the T & C's of the Contract of Carriage upon receipt, after all most of us have at least 60 days before travel to review and understand what is required to visit other countries.

 

 

Maybe even calling or writing or emailing the Embassy in the country of visit if nothing else is satisfactory.

 

Either way, it sounds like X won't get a break here, if they said not to worry about it, and passengers needed it upon arrival, then it is X's fault for 'mis-information' and missing any tours planned etc....

 

 

It is X's fault, IMO, if the written info at the website is incorrect, then I would hold them responsible, big time.

 

bon voyage

[bigbenboys]

We were on the Millie in January 2017 Hong Kong to Shanghai. There was talk on our CC Roll Call about getting a China Visa and the 144 hours. I did a Google search. It looked like we qualified for the 144 hours. In the end we went for the 10 year China Visa. As we live on the west coast of the United States. We plan on going back to areas of China that don't qualify for a 144 hour Visa.

[Gonzo70]

X, at their website, discusses about getting Visa's when traveling with them. One should be able to get the info there without hesitation, this way you by-pass the 'belief' factor some have when calling in...

 

 

That is irrelevant. If someone called Celebrity and were clearly and firmly told they MUST purchase the visa for that cruise, then X is responsible. As Orator stated, generally Celebrity does not give clear answers to such inquiries. If Celebrity broke with their standard operating procedure, they are responsible for these unnecessary expenses people incurred for doing what Celebrity told them they must do. If the OP really was clearly and convincingly told by Celebrity they MUST buy the visa, it is really unfathomable anybody would be such a rabid fanboy of the cruise line they would still blame the customer.

[sanger727]

That is irrelevant. If someone called Celebrity and were clearly and firmly told they MUST purchase the visa for that cruise, then X is responsible. As Orator stated, generally Celebrity does not give clear answers to such inquiries. If Celebrity broke with their standard operating procedure, they are responsible for these unnecessary expenses people incurred for doing what Celebrity told them they must do. If the OP really was clearly and convincingly told by Celebrity they MUST buy the visa, it is really unfathomable anybody would be such a rabid fanboy of the cruise line they would still blame the customer.

 

 

I don't know that it's clear that that's how it happened. As someone said, usually the line is about how it's up to the customer to research visa/customs requirements. I imagine that if a customer pushed them to give them visa advice (and realistically, don't know why you would expect a phone service rep to be versed in every visa situation in every country for every nationality anyway), the safest response for them to give is to get your visa ahead. If they give any other response and you don't and get denied boarding you'd have a legit claim against celebrity. I wasn't party to the conversation but I find that scenario more believable than the idea that the customer service rep appeared knowledgeable enough to convince OP to ignore everything else they had read.

 

 

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[Gonzo70]

Hence why I phrased my post as I did.

[cruisestitch]

This is one of those "he said, she said" situations. Unless the OP had a recording of the call, it would be very difficult to prove that they were mislead by Celebrity, who will always be able to fall back on their previous instruction that it's up to the passenger to get their documents in order.

[englishbird]

The rules for entering China on a cruise and types of visa required has changed recently. Im a TA who have clients currently sailing on a world cruise. The visa rule changed after they had already purchased a full Chinese visa. They are sailing with P&O uk and they have had the visa fee refunded by the cruise line.

 

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[bunnyette]

The standard reply I've received from Celebrity to questions concerning Visas is: "You need to check for requirements in your country". Some people get upset at this response, but it really is the best response they can give if they want to be safe. I believe that once they give you a specific answer they become liable if the information costs the passenger unnecessary expense. I don't know how they will respond to demands for money. I think the best one can expect is a Future Cruise Voucher.

 

Visa requirements vary from country to country and one should check with their local authorities or contact a reliable Visa service in their country.

 

 

I agree. I did a land tour of China with a china based operator, they asked me to check visa requirements & supplied me with the appropriate documents (invitation). Best to check yourself rather than rely on the cruise ship.

 

 

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[loeb]

Based on my experience, it's best to check with the Documentation Officer on the ship who can contact the Port Agent. This is the "official" response. I was on the Millennium early in 2015 and asked if a PRC visa was required for a cruise in Oct 2015 with only a stop in Shanghai for less than 12 hours. The Documentation Officer had already dealt with this issue and provided an email from the port agent that stated a PRC Visa was not required if you didn't get off the ship. Now that the visa rules have change, you can get off the ship without a visa I believe. In any case, try and check with the Documentation Office.

[hcat]

And I would NEVER rely on the Celeb website for very much...it is often wrong & contradictory in diff places & not always up to date either..

 

Esp for important info like Visas, passports etc..need a better source that will put it in writing and stand behind it ..

[Bo1953]

That is irrelevant. If someone called Celebrity and were clearly and firmly told they MUST purchase the visa for that cruise, then X is responsible. As Orator stated, generally Celebrity does not give clear answers to such inquiries. If Celebrity broke with their standard operating procedure, they are responsible for these unnecessary expenses people incurred for doing what Celebrity told them they must do. If the OP really was clearly and convincingly told by Celebrity they MUST buy the visa, it is really unfathomable anybody would be such a rabid fanboy of the cruise line they would still blame the customer.

 

 

The OP never said it was emphatic or not, just told they had to get one. Never indicated if it was to be before sailing or during the sailing,

 

I Am a fanboy of X, you got that right, but I do NOT put all my faith in a telephone call about what is needed, in terms of documents, for my sailing. I go to the website as the Bible. In fact there is an extensive spread sheet about visas when I last perused it.

 

 

Thus, if what was posted at X's website is in contradiction to the phone conversation, I would go with the website hands down OR one can keep calling hoping to get an answer they like or not and go for it and blame X.

 

I would not expect X's agents to know everything about the requirements for entry to various countries, almost impossible for them to know all... in fact on X's website passengers are advised to insure that THEY have the correct documents for each country/port THEY will visit during the selected cruise. How can anyone blame X for this? Apparently there are more than a few who will.

 

As for unnecessary expenses, it comes in when proper research and vetting of info is not done by the traveler and no one else...

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

And I would NEVER rely on the Celeb website for very much...it is often wrong & contradictory in diff places & not always up to date either..

 

Esp for important info like Visas, passports etc..need a better source that will put it in writing and stand behind it ..

 

That is where the Visa information is in writing... the website OR one can go to the official PRC website and find out what is required in terms of Visa's if X's is not good enough or they can punt and see what happens when they get there. In this case and others mind you, X has provided Visas.

 

 

Changes always happen. Sorry for the largess of expense, but if the PRC is a destination they wanted to get off the ship in, better to be safe than sorry.

 

bon voyage