Visa requirement to board Celebrity in Japan

[TVA]

PLEASE HELP!

We’ll be on Celebrity Millennium June 8 this year, sailing round trip from Yokohama with a port stop in Busan. Just learned yesterday that my mom would need visa to enter both Japan and Korea. We live in northern Virginia but she’s currently out of the country and won’t be back until beginning of May. Both embassies require original passport and in-person submission. Korea Embassy also requires appointment to submit visa application. We’re flying to Tokyo on June4. I’m worried that my mom won’t have enough time to obtain both visas. My questions are:

1. Does Celebrity allow my mom to board our cruise with just a Japan visa?
2. Would Celebrity help passengers obtain visas on arrival in Busan if needed? I heard some cruise lines do this.

3. Can my mom just stay on board in Busan if she doesn’t have her Korea visa?

Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated!

[Northern Aurora]

You really need to call celebrity yourself or have your travel agent contact them.

 

Last fall we spent 40 nights on the Edge from Rome to Sydney.  A number of visas were required (Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia).  A surprising number of passengers were on board without the required visas, and the attitude on the ship was not sympathetic.  Celebrity’s position was that the passengers are responsible for obtaining their proper paperwork.

[Pushka]

8 hours ago, TVA said:

PLEASE HELP!

We’ll be on Celebrity Millennium June 8 this year, sailing round trip from Yokohama with a port stop in Busan. Just learned yesterday that my mom would need visa to enter both Japan and Korea. We live in northern Virginia but she’s currently out of the country and won’t be back until beginning of May. Both embassies require original passport and in-person submission. Korea Embassy also requires appointment to submit visa application. We’re flying to Tokyo on June4. I’m worried that my mom won’t have enough time to obtain both visas. My questions are:

1. Does Celebrity allow my mom to board our cruise with just a Japan visa?
2. Would Celebrity help passengers obtain visas on arrival in Busan if needed? I heard some cruise lines do this.

3. Can my mom just stay on board in Busan if she doesn’t have her Korea visa?

Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated!

Not US passport holders? 

[TVA]

5 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

You really need to call celebrity yourself or have your travel agent contact them.

 

Last fall we spent 40 nights on the Edge from Rome to Sydney.  A number of visas were required (Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia).  A surprising number of passengers were on board without the required visas, and the attitude on the ship was not sympathetic.  Celebrity’s position was that the passengers are responsible for obtaining their proper paperwork.

Thank you. I booked our cruise directly with Celebrity. I emailed Celebrity last night, hopefully I’ll hear back from them soon.

[TVA]

19 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Not US passport holders? 

You’re correct. My mom is a permanent resident (green card holder) but not a US passport holder. The rest of our family are US passport holders.

 

I’ve also reached out to Korea Embassy for guidance. But none of the links they provided to book an appointment worked. And they said it could be because their schedule is full…Visa Central said Korea Embassy had suspended all visa services and that we should contacted the Embassy directly for guidance…

[TVA]

 

6 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

You really need to call celebrity yourself or have your travel agent contact them.

 

Last fall we spent 40 nights on the Edge from Rome to Sydney.  A number of visas were required (Jordan, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia).  A surprising number of passengers were on board without the required visas, and the attitude on the ship was not sympathetic.  Celebrity’s position was that the passengers are responsible for obtaining their proper paperwork.

What happened to those passengers on your cruise? Did Celebrity allow them to board without proper visas? Were they able to just stay onboard in those countries that they didn’t have visas for?

 

We will try our best to get all the necessary paperwork before we leave. But just in case things don’t go smoothly, I want to know our options.

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, TVA said:

Just learned yesterday that my mom would need visa to enter both Japan and Korea. We live in northern Virginia but she’s currently out of the country and won’t be back until beginning of May. Both embassies require original passport and in-person submission.

 

 Is there any way she can visit a Japanese and or Korean embassy in the country where she is now?  

 My wife is also a green card holder buy does not require a visa to visit Japan or Korea as a tourist for less than 30 days.  

 

 Good luck.  Celebrity, like most airlines and other cruise companies we have traveled with, are very clear than the traveler is responsible for ensuring they have the proper documentation for any of the ports they visit.  

 

[WESTEAST]

We recently returned from a cruise of Japan with a stop in Busan, South Korea (not Celebrity). Can't answer your question about visas.  However, for your information, Japan is very security conscious: photo recognition, fingerprinting plus passports were checked numerous times. You are told to carry your original passport with you at all ports of call and Japanese authorities check your passports exiting and sometimes re-entering the ship after a day touring. When leaving Japan to South Korea, Japanese authorities require a face-to-face and presentation of original passports (immigration and customs) onboard as well as re-entering Japan. South Korea, we had to show passports etc. but did not encounter long queues. 

[TVA]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Is there any way she can visit a Japanese and or Korean embassy in the country where she is now?  

 My wife is also a green card holder buy does not require a visa to visit Japan or Korea as a tourist for less than 30 days.  

 

 Good luck.  Celebrity, like most airlines and other cruise companies we have traveled with, are very clear than the traveler is responsible for ensuring they have the proper documentation for any of the ports they visit.  

 

Thank you for the suggestion DaKahuna. My mom asked Japanese and Korean consulates in Saigon, Vietnam but no luck there either. There are a couple of holidays in Vietnam that the consulates get off before month-end. She doesn’t have enough time to get either visa before her flight home.

 

At this point, I just hope that either my mom is lucky enough to get both visas in a month between the time she comes back home and our trip in June; or Celebrity would let my mom board with just her Japan visa. She’s ok with staying onboard in Busan. 

 

On a side note, I really enjoyed reading your live report on Millennium Panama Canal. Crossing Panama Canal is on my bucket list.

[TVA]

1 hour ago, WESTEAST said:

We recently returned from a cruise of Japan with a stop in Busan, South Korea (not Celebrity). Can't answer your question about visas.  However, for your information, Japan is very security conscious: photo recognition, fingerprinting plus passports were checked numerous times. You are told to carry your original passport with you at all ports of call and Japanese authorities check your passports exiting and sometimes re-entering the ship after a day touring. When leaving Japan to South Korea, Japanese authorities require a face-to-face and presentation of original passports (immigration and customs) onboard as well as re-entering Japan. South Korea, we had to show passports etc. but did not encounter long queues. 

Thank you for the info. We have a private tour booked in Osaka for a day in Kyoto. Our pickup is at 8:30am, 30 mins after the ship is scheduled to arrive in Osaka port. Should we schedule a later pickup time to accommodate  the passport control process?
 

On our previous cruises, we were told it was best practice to store our original passports in the cruises’ safes and only carry copies when we left the ships. But that was pre-pandemic. Have things changed or just Japan cruise is different?

[WESTEAST]

40 minutes ago, TVA said:

Thank you for the info. We have a private tour booked in Osaka for a day in Kyoto. Our pickup is at 8:30am, 30 mins after the ship is scheduled to arrive in Osaka port. Should we schedule a later pickup time to accommodate  the passport control process?
 

On our previous cruises, we were told it was best practice to store our original passports in the cruises’ safes and only carry copies when we left the ships. But that was pre-pandemic. Have things changed or just Japan cruise is different?

We have cruised twice since Covid and have stored our passports in our stateroom safes with no issues to ports of call in UK and Ireland.  However, Japan is indeed different and every port of call in Japan, the Cruise Director would announce daily for everyone to remember to have their original passports with them and in every port; Japan had officials after we disembarked to check our passports but was quick.  We did not dock at Osaka but at Kobe (for Kyoto and Osaka tours), but in Kobe there was no problem. As mentioned, returning from Busan to Japan, our first port was Hiroshima and it took approx. 2 hours to clear Japanese Immigration and Customs onboard but all tour operators were waiting whether independent or with the cruise line as they understood the timing to clear authorities but may impact your time in Kyoto unless you ship has a late or overnight departure. Also, we arrived at Haneda airport and that process was lengthy as well despite the fact that we had our QR codes from the Visit Japan website. Pack your patience. 

 

[TVA]

1 hour ago, WESTEAST said:

We have cruised twice since Covid and have stored our passports in our stateroom safes with no issues to ports of call in UK and Ireland.  However, Japan is indeed different and every port of call in Japan, the Cruise Director would announce daily for everyone to remember to have their original passports with them and in every port; Japan had officials after we disembarked to check our passports but was quick.  We did not dock at Osaka but at Kobe (for Kyoto and Osaka tours), but in Kobe there was no problem. As mentioned, returning from Busan to Japan, our first port was Hiroshima and it took approx. 2 hours to clear Japanese Immigration and Customs onboard but all tour operators were waiting whether independent or with the cruise line as they understood the timing to clear authorities but may impact your time in Kyoto unless you ship has a late or overnight departure. Also, we arrived at Haneda airport and that process was lengthy as well despite the fact that we had our QR codes from the Visit Japan website. Pack your patience. 

 

I appreciate the detailed explanation! I will inform my family so everyone knows what to expect. There are a couple people in our travel party who may need to save up their patience for this trip! 😭

[Pushka]

4 hours ago, TVA said:

Thank you for the info. We have a private tour booked in Osaka for a day in Kyoto. Our pickup is at 8:30am, 30 mins after the ship is scheduled to arrive in Osaka port. Should we schedule a later pickup time to accommodate  the passport control process?
 

On our previous cruises, we were told it was best practice to store our original passports in the cruises’ safes and only carry copies when we left the ships. But that was pre-pandemic. Have things changed or just Japan cruise is different?

We have had to carry passports at various cruise ports, eg Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Japan is the same. It isn't up to the cruise line but the country you are visiting. 

[WESTEAST]

3 hours ago, Pushka said:

We have had to carry passports at various cruise ports, eg Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Japan is the same. It isn't up to the cruise line but the country you are visiting. 

Yes of course it is always the country rules that apply however, we were surprised that Japan was stricter than when we visited Russia in the pre-war era.

[WESTEAST]

6 hours ago, TVA said:

I appreciate the detailed explanation! I will inform my family so everyone knows what to expect. There are a couple people in our travel party who may need to save up their patience for this trip! 😭

It is well worth it as Japan has many beautiful sights. People and culture are great.

[Northern Aurora]

17 hours ago, TVA said:

 

What happened to those passengers on your cruise? Did Celebrity allow them to board without proper visas? Were they able to just stay onboard in those countries that they didn’t have visas for?

 

We will try our best to get all the necessary paperwork before we leave. But just in case things don’t go smoothly, I want to know our options.

@TVA:    The situation I mentioned has no relevance to your situation.  We were on the Edge for a B2B2B series as the ship repositioned from the Mediterranean to Australia.  Since we went through the Suez it was an unusual set of cruises and over a thousand passengers did multiple legs.  When we boarded in Citiveechia our visas were checked for the first leg but not for following legs so a number of passengers slipped through.  And let me state again that there was little sympathy from the onboard concierges for those passengers trying to upload photos for their visas needed at future port calls.  
 

I am posting from the Celebrity Millennium as we near the end of a B2B set of cruises in Japan.  We are in Aomori, Japan today.  Both cruises overnighted in Osaka, and that was one of the few ports which did not check our passports.  In the bulk of Japanese ports you will be asked to show your passport in the cruise terminal, but do not confuse that process with a full immigration process.  We did B2B cruises in Japan in 2018 and I do not remember this frequent passport check, but the world was a different place then.

 

Yesterday we underwent a full immigration and customs inspection in Hakodate as the ship returned from Busan.  For those with no status nor on a Celebrity shore excursion I can only wonder at the amount of time folks stood in line.  We were escorted to the front as we are in a Suite and are also Zenith level loyalty members.

 

I have no idea if Celebrity will allow your mother to board with only a visa for Japan.  If there was some sort of medical emergency and they needed to take your mother to a hospital in Korea Celebrity would have a serious problem.  Not having that visa is a liability for them.

 

And please don’t wait for an email response to your question.  You need to be on the phone.  And write down the name of the person you talk to.  Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TVA]

7 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

@TVA:    The situation I mentioned has no relevance to your situation.  We were on the Edge for a B2B2B series as the ship repositioned from the Mediterranean to Australia.  Since we went through the Suez it was an unusual set of cruises and over a thousand passengers did multiple legs.  When we boarded in Citiveechia our visas were checked for the first leg but not for following legs so a number of passengers slipped through.  And let me state again that there was little sympathy from the onboard concierges for those passengers trying to upload photos for their visas needed at future port calls.  
 

I am posting from the Celebrity Millennium as we near the end of a B2B set of cruises in Japan.  We are in Aomori, Japan today.  Both cruises overnighted in Osaka, and that was one of the few ports which did not check our passports.  In the bulk of Japanese ports you will be asked to show your passport in the cruise terminal, but do not confuse that process with a full immigration process.  We did B2B cruises in Japan in 2018 and I do not remember this frequent passport check, but the world was a different place then.

 

Yesterday we underwent a full immigration and customs inspection in Hakodate as the ship returned from Busan.  For those with no status nor on a Celebrity shore excursion I can only wonder at the amount of time folks stood in line.  We were escorted to the front as we are in a Suite and are also Zenith level loyalty members.

 

I have no idea if Celebrity will allow your mother to board with only a visa for Japan.  If there was some sort of medical emergency and they needed to take your mother to a hospital in Korea Celebrity would have a serious problem.  Not having that visa is a liability for them.

 

And please don’t wait for an email response to your question.  You need to be on the phone.  And write down the name of the person you talk to.  Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you SO MUCH Northern Aurora for taking the time out of your cruises to respond and give me advice! I will give Celebrity a call. I was thinking having a written record from them would be better.

[TVA]

Thank you everyone for your recommendations and inputs. We are all very excited, this is our first time visiting Japan. But this whole visa thing for my mom really stresses me out. I’m hoping for the best. I hope my mom doesn’t have to cancel her cruise just because of my own oversight.

[monkey@cruise]

8 hours ago, TVA said:

Thank you everyone for your recommendations and inputs. We are all very excited, this is our first time visiting Japan. But this whole visa thing for my mom really stresses me out. I’m hoping for the best. I hope my mom doesn’t have to cancel her cruise just because of my own oversight.

When I was on a Celebrity NE Asia cruise from Singapore to Japan. Three weeks before sailing, Celebrity emailed all passengers stating that anyone without Vietnam eVisa will deny boarding in Singapore, anyone who had eVisa but incorrect information, will stay onboard while in Vietnam.

 

You mother requires a multiple entry Japan Visa, because South Korea visit. 

[TVA]

1 hour ago, monkey@cruise said:

When I was on a Celebrity NE Asia cruise from Singapore to Japan. Three weeks before sailing, Celebrity emailed all passengers stating that anyone without Vietnam eVisa will deny boarding in Singapore, anyone who had eVisa but incorrect information, will stay onboard while in Vietnam.

 

You mother requires a multiple entry Japan Visa, because South Korea visit. 

Thank you for remind me that my mom would need the multi entry visa for Japan. I almost slipped my mind too!
 

I hope people on that cruise didn’t have to cancel their cruise because of the visa. Or at least got refunds for their expenses if they couldn’t go. I know it is our responsibility to get proper documents, but I do wish the cruise line could provide more guidance.