Visas

[leapoffaith21103]

We are taking our family on a cruise with Celebrity (Reflection) in December. It's a closed loop cruise that starts and ends in Florida. We will be visiting Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and the Bahamas.

One of the people in our party is an international college student in the USA on a student visa. She is a citizen of Vietnam. I have called Celebrity and they indicated that as long as she has a valid passport (which she does), she won't have any issues getting on the cruise or getting off into any of our ports. Having said that, she's concerned that she may need a tourist visa for at least Grand Cayman and the Bahamas. 

Does anyone have experience with something like this? If there are issues getting individual tourist visas for each of these places, does that mean that she just cannot get off the ship at those ports or that she cannot travel at all? I just want to be extra sure on this to avoid any possible issues. Thanks!

[SbbquilterUT]

Generally a cruise ship passenger is considered "in transit" rather than someone arriving by air to stay on land.  Verify requirements on the individual countries website - please check there for most current information.

[RedIguana]

VISA FOR TRAVEL TO THE BAHAMAS

Please be advised that all nationalities who would normally require a visa for travel to The Bahamas and intend to travel to The Bahamas by way of cruise ship must obtain a Bahamian visa. The same applies for persons traveling by air to join a cruise ship traveling through The Bahamas.

 

Vietnam normally requires a visa for travel. Sometimes there are exemptions for cruise passengers, this does not appear to be the case here. I could not find cruise exemptions for the Caymans (did not dig too long, they may be there), they also require a tourist visa for Vietnam passport holders.

 

If I were in your situation I would be contacting the appropriate embassies about visa requirements/obtaining them just to be safe.

[prmssk]

I do NOT suggest depending on the cruise line.  What is true for US citizens often is not true for citizens of other countries and the cruise lines representatives do not keep up on the information for citizens of every country traveling to every port.

 

And because of how cruise ship manifests are shared with the various port authorities, boarding a cruise ship without the appropriate visas (if the embarkation port doesn't catch the issue and deny boarding) could cause problems.

 

I agree she should contact the appropriate embassies about visa requirements.

[jwlane]

3 hours ago, leapoffaith21103 said:

Does anyone have experience with something like this? 

I'm curious what her/your research on the individual countrys' websites has uncovered.

[leapoffaith21103]

From what I can tell, she won't have any issues getting into Cozumel. She believes she needs a tourist visa for Grand Cayman, which can be easily gotten. It's the Bahamas that's causing the issue at this point. They require that you go in person to an embassy to get the tourist visa; however, we don't live anywhere near one, so it's impossible at this point.

 

Celebrity assured us that it won't be a problem. I'm scared she either a) won't be able to board the ship or b) she just won't be able to get off at the port in the Bahamas (which is not ideal, but less of a problem). I just can't get a straight answer from anyone so far.

[sanger727]

If she doesn't have the appropriate visas, she won't be allowed to board. Even if you don't get off the ship, you are in their waters once the ship pulls in. 

[Essiesmom]

Make sure that the student visa she has allows her to leave the US and return.  Some have needed permission forms from the exchange program.  EM

[mtmtvo]

On 10/12/2023 at 1:26 PM, leapoffaith21103 said:

From what I can tell, she won't have any issues getting into Cozumel. She believes she needs a tourist visa for Grand Cayman, which can be easily gotten. It's the Bahamas that's causing the issue at this point. They require that you go in person to an embassy to get the tourist visa; however, we don't live anywhere near one, so it's impossible at this point.

 

Celebrity assured us that it won't be a problem. I'm scared she either a) won't be able to board the ship or b) she just won't be able to get off at the port in the Bahamas (which is not ideal, but less of a problem). I just can't get a straight answer from anyone so far.

Hi, I am wondering if your companion was able to board the ship and/or did she run into any other trouble? I have Vietnamese citizens in my party as well.