Any bloggers in Jan 2019?

[Go-Bucks!]

21 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Go-Bucks, I've done that once or twice, but even that is a burden, athough I may do a "Live From" thread, or participate in a joint one. Then probably opt for just my own journal--I like to write, and get down impressions of places. .  It's only the length of the cruise with the number of sea days, and my own keyboard that would make me even think of doing this. Then I can post what and if I like.  I like posting on Facebook too, and my friends there are very different from my cruise buddies on CC, and I can broaden my comments a bit and say things I wouldn't say on CC. 

 

Just thought I'd explore the blogging sw.  I have two years, after all, lol!

 

I've kept a journal (short entries) of every day of every cruise I've ever taken because I scrapbook each trip and need a memory refresher when I do it.  This trip will be the same....my own journal, but then I'll send some of those entries via email to my friends and family, along with some pics.  I'm not on Facebook or any other social media.

 

But I think the CC thread will be manageable because several of our roll call folks have said that they'll add their experiences too...this won't just be by me.  And it will allow all of us on the ship to keep in touch with each other.  Hope it works; I was very disappointed that no one on the 2018 O cruise did any threads or blogs....I was really hoping to hear all about theirs.  Oh well....  I'll definitely be following yours in a couple years!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

30 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

...

But I think the CC thread will be manageable because several of our roll call folks have said that they'll add their experiences too...this won't just be by me.  And it will allow all of us on the ship to keep in touch with each other.  Hope it works; I was very disappointed that no one on the 2018 O cruise did any threads or blogs....I was really hoping to hear all about theirs.  Oh well....  I'll definitely be following yours in a couple years!

 

I'll look for the thread on the Oceania board (don't read it much any more, although the recent thread about plastic straws has been entertaining.)  You must be pretty excited by now. Which variation are you on?  I presume you live in Florida so I'm thinking you'll start in Miami.

[Go-Bucks!]

6 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

I'll look for the thread on the Oceania board (don't read it much any more, although the recent thread about plastic straws has been entertaining.)  You must be pretty excited by now. Which variation are you on?  I presume you live in Florida so I'm thinking you'll start in Miami.

 

Wish I lived in Florida!  It's 20 degrees outside my house right now with snow on the ground.  After I get back from the cruise, I'm thinking of moving to FL or at least be a snowbird. 

 

I'll be starting the cruise in Los Angeles.  It seemed silly to start in NYC in January (cold and possibly rough seas)...they'll just have 3 sea days before getting to Miami.  The trip from Miami to LA are all ports that my friend and I have been to before (did a MIA-LA Panama canal, plus we were in Cuba last year) so we saved $5,000 by skipping those and just starting in LA.  I am getting excited, but there are so many last minute things still on the list to do and buy.  Trying to see all doctors and dentists this month since my deductible is paid.  😉

 

As far as the ship things, the luggage delivery is all that's left.  I do have the suitcases out and have been adding things as I get them or pull out of closets. Won't actually pack clothing till soon before, though. I still have 4 weeks left to work, so most packing and shopping will happen after I retire Jan. 2.

 

That straw issue is unbelievable.  Sheesh....I hope I don't have to go buy myself a pack of straws to take.  I prefer to drink out of straws, but I do have my own big cup to take so that might help.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Huh, I just assumed you were from Florida from your screen name!

 

I'm on the other side of the fence about straws, and little tubs of butter, etc.  Can't see why someone hasn't concocted a good paper straw by now--we used to have them when I was a kid.

 

How was the visa process with Oceania?  Was it smooth?

[Go-Bucks!]

43 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Huh, I just assumed you were from Florida from your screen name!

 

I'm on the other side of the fence about straws, and little tubs of butter, etc.  Can't see why someone hasn't concocted a good paper straw by now--we used to have them when I was a kid.

 

How was the visa process with Oceania?  Was it smooth?

 

As you can see from my Avatar, the team that I support is The Ohio State University Buckeyes!  My alma mater.

 

Very easy visa process....filled out the Australia form and sent back to O with a passport pic.  Downloaded Myanmar and Vietnam forms, filled out and will take to embarkation with passport photos.  VisaCentral handled the China and India visas....filled out online applications (not too hard if you follow instructions exactly) and printed out, then sent them with pics and my passport to the VisaCentral office.  Only took about 2 weeks.  They sent the passport back with the visas already stuck onto pages.  People on the NYC or MIA segments also have to get a Cuban visa.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

55 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

As you can see from my Avatar, the team that I support is The Ohio State University Buckeyes!  My alma mater.

 

Very easy visa process....filled out the Australia form and sent back to O with a passport pic.  Downloaded Myanmar and Vietnam forms, filled out and will take to embarkation with passport photos.  VisaCentral handled the China and India visas....filled out online applications (not too hard if you follow instructions exactly) and printed out, then sent them with pics and my passport to the VisaCentral office.  Only took about 2 weeks.  They sent the passport back with the visas already stuck onto pages.  People on the NYC or MIA segments also have to get a Cuban visa.

 

Thanks for the info.  Is "VisaCentral" associated with Oceania?  On our cruise, Regent is supposed to take care of everything, which should be interesting, seeing we're Canadian (and in a city with many consulates, so might be easier ourselves.)

 

Bucks.  You can tell I'm not a football fan.  I think of the Bucks as the Tampa Bay Buckaneers, which I'm only familiar with because we spend the winter near Tampa.

[Go-Bucks!]

6 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Thanks for the info.  Is "VisaCentral" associated with Oceania?  On our cruise, Regent is supposed to take care of everything, which should be interesting, seeing we're Canadian (and in a city with many consulates, so might be easier ourselves.)

 

 

 

No, I don't think Oceania is connected to VisaCentral. O also "took care of everything", but you still have to fill out applications for certain countries and give them passport pics. The cruiseline pays the visa company and has them contact you.

When we got our Cuban visa last year, Oceania did all the work...as they will do for our UAE visa. 

[HotRoot]

Wendy - We are on the 2019 Regent World Cruise.  Regent took care of all of our visas.  They do use Visa Central.  But, you mail the paperwork to a New York address.  Visa Central then sends it to a visa service in your area.  In our case, they sent it to a visa service in Chicago.  That company will actually get all of your visas.  It might be easier to do it yourself but then you will have to pay the fees.  We felt the entire process was very easy.  Some visas you will have to get on the ship.  Regent sends you the link to print the applications.  You just fill them out, get the number of passport pictures needed, and bring everything with you.  The entire process was very easy.  Just make sure you do not need your passports for another trip prior to your World Cruise.  Then you might have to expedite everything which is at your expense.  Hope this helped.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

4 hours ago, HotRoot said:

Wendy - We are on the 2019 Regent World Cruise.  Regent took care of all of our visas.  They do use Visa Central.  But, you mail the paperwork to a New York address.  Visa Central then sends it to a visa service in your area.  In our case, they sent it to a visa service in Chicago.  That company will actually get all of your visas.  It might be easier to do it yourself but then you will have to pay the fees.  We felt the entire process was very easy.  Some visas you will have to get on the ship.  Regent sends you the link to print the applications.  You just fill them out, get the number of passport pictures needed, and bring everything with you.  The entire process was very easy.  Just make sure you do not need your passports for another trip prior to your World Cruise.  Then you might have to expedite everything which is at your expense.  Hope this helped.

 

Thanks, indeed it does.  You must be very excited! Do you remember by chance if they told you how many blank pages you needed in your passport?  I know your route is different from ours, just trying to get an idea if we're going to need new passports by then.

Edited December 8, 2018 by Wendy The Wanderer

[HotRoot]

25 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Thanks, indeed it does.  You must be very excited! Do you remember by chance if they told you how many blank pages you needed in your passport?  I know your route is different from ours, just trying to get an idea if we're going to need new passports by then.

 

Not many.  Maybe 6 or 8?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Just now, HotRoot said:

 

Not many.  Maybe 6 or 8?

 

Great, thanks.  As far as doing trips before our cruise in 2021, we're saving up, so won't be doing any big trips until then (if we can stand it!)

[Keith1010]

15 hours ago, HotRoot said:

 

Not many.  Maybe 6 or 8?

That is amazing.  Did they tell you in advance that would be the case?

 

I only ask because we have taken seven full world cruises (another cruise line) plus one that was 3/4 of a full world cruise.  Each world cruise had a different requirement for blank visas but in general around 20 to 24 and I would say in the end on average about 14 well filled with stamps.

 

I do realize that this can all vary by itinerary but I was just surprised to hear such a low blank count.

 

Have a wonderful time.  We have some friends who will be on the one you are on.

 

Keith

[Wendy The Wanderer]

11 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

That is amazing.  Did they tell you in advance that would be the case?

 

I only ask because we have taken seven full world cruises (another cruise line) plus one that was 3/4 of a full world cruise.  Each world cruise had a different requirement for blank visas but in general around 20 to 24 and I would say in the end on average about 14 well filled with stamps.

 

I do realize that this can all vary by itinerary but I was just surprised to hear such a low blank count.

 

Have a wonderful time.  We have some friends who will be on the one you are on.

 

Keith

 

Interesting. Let's see, few of the countries on my list need the full-blown one or two page visa deal with photo: India comes to mind, and possibly Jordan.

 

Most are are "visa on arrival" or e-visa/ETA countries that probably don't need a photo:  Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia,  Sri Lanka, UAE, Egypt, Turkey. Some of these will probably be "ship-wide" visas and not even involve our passports, like Oman.  But some will no doubt need a page.

 

Other countries that don't require visa for me (Canadian), but will need space for stamps, including possibly entry and exit stamps:  Ecuador, Peru, Chile, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Indonesia,  Malaysia, Israel.  Then there's Europe, presumably at least one entry upon entering Schengen.

 

I would have to research each one to know if they need two full pages, one full page, or entry and exit stamps.  These latter include French Polynesia, Peru and Ecuador, and probably many others.  

 

Just ballparking this, I could easily imagine needing at least 16-20 pages.  I'll have to wait and see.  My passport is fairly new and has a fair amount of space, but I'll have to take advice from the cruise line when the time comes.

Edited December 9, 2018 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Keith1010]

Yes hopefully the cruise line will advise.

 

We sail with Crystal Cruises and they let us know how many blank pages we will need for each World Cruise.

 

Keith

[Two4Sea]

Hi Wendy.

In addition to the full page pre-issued visa from India that will be pasted in, you will get entry and exit stamps from pretty well all the countries even if they just give a visa or permission on the spot. In places like India you will get these stamps at each of the ports within the country, they're bureaucratic. Returning from Europe you will also get one last stamp departing from the airport. A flight via London adds entry/exit there too.

 

I dug out an old passport, in a 2007 trip from Hong Kong to Rome touching 16 countries, 12 pages were used up with these entry/exit stamps. Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, UAE, Oman and Egypt all stamped our passports in and out. The ship wide approval just meant that the purser took care of it one sitting with the officials. You won't get extra stamps while you stay within the Schengen countries but I think it would be cautious to assume you will get a pair of stamps at all the other countries you visit.

 

There are 30 stamp pages in the current Canadian passport. So with 30 countries on your itinerary my own thought would be that unless you have not used more than 3-4 pages it might be best to obtain a new passport in late spring 2020. Passport Canada may want to see your itinerary to be convinced that a renewal would be prudent however. Oceania mentioned having our passport number available by the time of final payment although nothing came of it.

 

I'm under the impression that passport problems are not something that can be fixed up on the spot with a cost of a few hundred dollars. I think your travel comes to a standstill for a number of days when things go wrong and hotels and replacement air tickets get bought at full price. This is a low risk but a big consequence.

 

Regarding Visas, Oceania's ATW19 perks included them too. We got an email from O containing forms for Cuba and Australia to fill out and email back. We got forms for Vietnam and Myanmar to fill out, attach pictures to and turn in when we boarded at the start of the cruise. We got a PDF package from VisaCentral.CA for China and India. We filled out the China one, entered the Indian one online then took the printouts and pictures to their subsidiary's office (CIBT) here in Vancouver. They walked it to the consulates in Vancouver and we picked it up in 3 weeks. They could have equally well gone in by mail or courier but with the office a 40 minute bus ride from home I felt more comfortable going there.

 

Sitting down with their man who visits these consulates several times a week was very valuable because of his expertise. Despite much reading I had still made a mistake on my Indian visa. Not only did this require completely reentering both of our applications, I went home to do it because I was going to need Darlene's signature on the revised printout. O paid for all the consulate fees, which ranged from a little to lots, and paid for Visa Central's fees.

 

The info package helped us with the not inconsiderable photos as well, there are several required sizes and you should get extras too. We got ours at the camera department of a western drug store chain, they were better poses and lower cost than Walmart. It took them about 45 minutes by the time they printed, cut and stamped them all.

 

Bill

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks Bill!

[Scrapnana]

My 2018 World Cruise used parts of 7 pages of my passport.  There were stamps from the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Namibia, Thailand, Singapore, Mozambique, South Africa, The Gambia, and one other which is too blurry to read.  That is less than a third of the countries we visited.

[Go-Bucks!]

21 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Interesting. Let's see, few of the countries on my list need the full-blown one or two page visa deal with photo: India comes to mind, and possibly Jordan.

 

Most are are "visa on arrival" or e-visa/ETA countries that probably don't need a photo:  Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia,  Sri Lanka, UAE, Egypt, Turkey. Some of these will probably be "ship-wide" visas and not even involve our passports, like Oman.  But some will no doubt need a page.

 

Other countries that don't require visa for me (Canadian), but will need space for stamps, including possibly entry and exit stamps:  Ecuador, Peru, Chile, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Indonesia,  Malaysia, Israel.  Then there's Europe, presumably at least one entry upon entering Schengen.

 

I would have to research each one to know if they need two full pages, one full page, or entry and exit stamps.  These latter include French Polynesia, Peru and Ecuador, and probably many others.  

 

Just ballparking this, I could easily imagine needing at least 16-20 pages.  I'll have to wait and see.  My passport is fairly new and has a fair amount of space, but I'll have to take advice from the cruise line when the time comes.

 

I had to renew my passport in the spring and Oceania recommended getting the largest one here in the USA...has 52 pages. Same cost as the smaller one. 

 

As far as what the cruiseline does for visas...it sounds like Regent is the same as Oceania.  The "we take care of it for you" doesn't mean that you do nothing....VisaCentral will contact you and give clear instructions of what YOU need to do. For China and India we filled out the applications (lots of info needed), printed them and sent them to a VisaCentral office with passport photos and passport. China photo had to be trimmed to an exact size. It's not like they do everything for you...they do it all for you AFTER you send it in. Plus, 3 other of our visas had to have forms filled out, so you'll have to do that too.

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

I had to renew my passport in the spring and Oceania recommended getting the largest one here in the USA...has 52 pages. Same cost as the smaller one. 

 

As far as what the cruiseline does for visas...it sounds like Regent is the same as Oceania.  The "we take care of it for you" doesn't mean that you do nothing....VisaCentral will contact you and give clear instructions of what YOU need to do. For China and India we filled out the applications (lots of info needed), printed them and sent them to a VisaCentral office with passport photos and passport. China photo had to be trimmed to an exact size. It's not like they do everything for you...they do it all for you AFTER you send it in. Plus, 3 other of our visas had to have forms filled out, so you'll have to do that too.

Although Viking uses a different provider, the process is exactly the same.

 

In addition to the basic service that Viking pays for, I believe GenVisa offers a premium service where you only fill out 1 form, provide the requisite number of passport photos and passport. Based on the info you provide, they complete each of the Visa application forms. They charge a couple hundred dollars for this service.

[Go-Bucks!]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

Although Viking uses a different provider, the process is exactly the same.

 

In addition to the basic service that Viking pays for, I believe GenVisa offers a premium service where you only fill out 1 form, provide the requisite number of passport photos and passport. Based on the info you provide, they complete each of the Visa application forms. They charge a couple hundred dollars for this service.

 

VisaCentral offers that too...it costs $200-300! The process isn't hard enough to justify the cost,  IMHO.   

[Scrapnana]

6 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

VisaCentral offers that too...it costs $200-300! The process isn't hard enough to justify the cost,  IMHO.   

I agree.  By the time you give them all the information they want you could just as easily have filled out the individual forms.

[Heidi13]

17 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

VisaCentral offers that too...it costs $200-300! The process isn't hard enough to justify the cost,  IMHO.   

My thoughts too. At $300 US, we have to add another 35% exchange, so I'll be completing the forms myself.

[HotRoot]

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 10:40 AM, HotRoot said:

 

Not many.  Maybe 6 or 8?

When I responded before, I was in a different state than my cruise documents.. We are now in the same house.  I double checked what Regent had to say about blank pages.  They say you need one or two blank pages for each country you need a visa for after you board.  We need three visas - Cambodia,  Vietnam, and Myanmar.  I read that as 6 blank pages.  Never do they mention blank pages for countries which do not require a visa.  We have lots of blank pages so are not concerned.  I will report back in six months. 

 

Wendy - You can get your passport stamped at Machu Picchu.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

10 hours ago, HotRoot said:

When I responded before, I was in a different state than my cruise documents.. We are now in the same house.  I double checked what Regent had to say about blank pages.  They say you need one or two blank pages for each country you need a visa for after you board.  We need three visas - Cambodia,  Vietnam, and Myanmar.  I read that as 6 blank pages.  Never do they mention blank pages for countries which do not require a visa.  We have lots of blank pages so are not concerned.  I will report back in six months. 

 

Wendy - You can get your passport stamped at Machu Picchu.

 

Thanks, we're not going to Machu Picchu.  Can't take high altitude. 

 

I agree that by the time you have checked all your visas for correctness and completeness, you could have filled out the forms required by the premium service.  Not worth it. 

[bob brown]

One thing about the forms...the instruction's they provide don't always exactly explain, or in some cases seem to contradict what is required....but Visa Central does have a free support line to call, where they explained the proper procedure to me...