Visas on Pursuit West Africa Cruise

[nucdrf]

We will be sailing on the Pursuit's February 20 cruise from Cape Town.  It appears that Gambia is the only country on the itinerary that requires an entry visa.  Does anyone know if we need to get the visa before we arrive or if we can get it on arrival in Gambia?.  

[beatnix]

We did Gran Canaria to Capetown in November on Pursuit. 

The ship took care for all visas. The cost was charged on the account. 

[Grandma Cruising]

No visas needed for UK citizens.

[nucdrf]

We are doing the northbound version: Capetown to Gran Canaria.  We are U.S. citizens resident in Barcelona, so don't know how that will complicate things.

[ECCruise]

15 minutes ago, nucdrf said:

We are doing the northbound version: Capetown to Gran Canaria.  We are U.S. citizens resident in Barcelona, so don't know how that will complicate things.

The ports are the same.  US passport holders, we did not need to secure any visas prior to sailing.  

[nucdrf]

Great!  Thank you.

[Keeria]

5 hours ago, beatnix said:

We did Gran Canaria to Capetown in November on Pursuit. 

The ship took care for all visas. The cost was charged on the account. 

Did you need a yellow fever vaccination? 

[ECCruise]

8 minutes ago, Keeria said:

Did you need a yellow fever vaccination? 

We did, but we were in the opposite direction.  Since we visited The Gambia and Senegal first, South Africa required YF vax if previous jab was over 10 years ago.  If you are headed north, that will not be an issue unless you enter South Africa from a country they consider a hot spot, and then you will need one. 

[Grandma Cruising]

26 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

We did, but we were in the opposite direction.  Since we visited The Gambia and Senegal first, South Africa required YF vax if previous jab was over 10 years ago.  If you are headed north, that will not be an issue unless you enter South Africa from a country they consider a hot spot, and then you will need one. 

The 10 years issue is a bit of an issue as the yellow fever vaccination is now considered to be for life, but S. Africa doesn’t seem to have caught up with that.

As we’re doing it the other way round we’ll be going from one yellow fever area (The Gambia) to another (Senegal), so if we want to go ashore in Senegal we need a yellow fever vaccination.

[nucdrf]

I’m over 70 and my husband is immunocompromised, so no Yellow Fever vaccination for us.  We carry letters to that effect.

[Keeria]

Thank you for your fast reply. 

[ECCruise]

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

The 10 years issue is a bit of an issue as the yellow fever vaccination is now considered to be for life, but S. Africa doesn’t seem to have caught up with that.

As we’re doing it the other way round we’ll be going from one yellow fever area (The Gambia) to another (Senegal), so if we want to go ashore in Senegal we need a yellow fever vaccination.

Yes, and they are non-negotiable on it.

 

And Azamara followed the directive.  Either you had a YF vax within the last 10 years or a current exemption, you could not board the ship.

[nucdrf]

We were also given Typhoid boosters. 

[Grandma Cruising]

7 hours ago, nucdrf said:

We were also given Typhoid boosters. 

Same here.

[oddjob16]

17 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Yes, and they are non-negotiable on it.

 

And Azamara followed the directive.  Either you had a YF vax within the last 10 years or a current exemption, you could not board the ship.

If South Africa is a member of WHO they have to abide by their rules for vaccinations.

This is what it says about yelow fever:

»The international vaccination certificate becomes valid 10 days after basic vaccination and is valid for life [18]. Previously, the validity period was 10 years, but the rules have been changed on the basis of new knowledge about the duration of the vaccine's effect [19]. The change is legally binding for all WHO member countries from 11 July 2016. No country can therefore require a refresher dose after 10 years [18]. The change has retroactive effect, and those who have an international yellow fever certificate marked with 10 years of validity can continue to use this even if the expiry date has expired.»

[ECCruise]

13 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

If South Africa is a member of WHO they have to abide by their rules for vaccinations.

This is what it says about yelow fever:

»The international vaccination certificate becomes valid 10 days after basic vaccination and is valid for life [18]. Previously, the validity period was 10 years, but the rules have been changed on the basis of new knowledge about the duration of the vaccine's effect [19]. The change is legally binding for all WHO member countries from 11 July 2016. No country can therefore require a refresher dose after 10 years [18]. The change has retroactive effect, and those who have an international yellow fever certificate marked with 10 years of validity can continue to use this even if the expiry date has expired.»

That's all sounds well and good but South Africa won't budge. And Azamara won't let you board.  

Just went through all this a couple of months ago.

If you want to fight the SA government, have at it. I tried, and have multiple emails from the Ministry of Health, but the fight wasn't worth it. And I wanted to be able to board. 

[uktog]

51 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

That's all sounds well and good but South Africa won't budge. And Azamara won't let you board.  

Just went through all this a couple of months ago.

If you want to fight the SA government, have at it. I tried, and have multiple emails from the Ministry of Health, but the fight wasn't worth it. And I wanted to be able to board. 

This was why I had to cancel this cruise in November. I was very disappointed to lose my deposit and free days as I am not allowed the vaccination and DH had a 10 year old cert and medical professionals refused to re vaccinate him 

[ECCruise]

Just now, uktog said:

This was why I had to cancel this cruise in November. I was very disappointed to lose my deposit and free days as I am not allowed the vaccination and DH had a 10 year old cert and medical professionals refused to re vaccinate him 

Yes, I remember that you had to cancel. South Africa's position on this is a real problem. Our local health Department also refused to revaccinate us and we were forced to go private. 

[uktog]

1 minute ago, ECCruise said:

Yes, I remember that you had to cancel. South Africa's position on this is a real problem. Our local health Department also refused to revaccinate us and we were forced to go private. 

I did feel Azamara could have let us move our deposit/save our nights in the circumstances but they wouldn’t respond to me or my agent on the matter. 
We have struck Africa off travel plans rather than get burnt again 

[nucdrf]

We have a certificate dated October 2023 issued by the Catalan heath authorities.  Would that fit SA’s requirements?

[ECCruise]

12 minutes ago, nucdrf said:

We have a certificate dated October 2023 issued by the Catalan heath authorities.  Would that fit SA’s requirements?

Should be no problem I would think. 

[Lynda S]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:23 PM, ECCruise said:

Yes, and they are non-negotiable on it.

 

And Azamara followed the directive.  Either you had a YF vax within the last 10 years or a current exemption, you could not board the ship.

This is very disturbing - we are going from Gran Canaria to Capetown this November and our Yellow Fever Cards are from 2006.  Our doctor does not recommend that we get another shot (we are over 70).  Did Azamara actually not let someone on board when you went on this cruise?  I will get my travel agent to call Azamara in the meantime. 

[nucdrf]

You should get an official document stating that you are over 70 and cannot have the shot.  Our letter is dated, stamped, and sealed by the Catalan health authorities, since we live in Spain.  Your doctor should know who you need to get the document from.  

[ECCruise]

8 hours ago, Lynda S said:

This is very disturbing - we are going from Gran Canaria to Capetown this November and our Yellow Fever Cards are from 2006.  Our doctor does not recommend that we get another shot (we are over 70).  Did Azamara actually not let someone on board when you went on this cruise?  I will get my travel agent to call Azamara in the meantime. 

Yes, you will either need a Yellow Fever card within the last 10 years, or the official exemption.  And yes, they check and yes they will not let you board without one or the other.

[maggie777]

On 1/18/2024 at 3:21 PM, nucdrf said:

I’m over 70 and my husband is immunocompromised, so no Yellow Fever vaccination for us.  We carry letters to that effect.

Is your medical waiver age related or other?