Jump to content

Senegal- need for Visa for Australians


Recommended Posts

Looking specifically for responses from any Australians who have recently sailed West Coast of Africa calling at Senegal. It appears a Visa is required for Australians  but there is much conflicting “advice”  as to this. Someone sailing with Azamara has been told they need to send their passport to Tokyo( nearest Senegal Embassy to Australia) to get a Visa .Personally I would never send my passport by mail to a foreign country and this information does not sound right.

We are sailing with Regent and have been told we will be covered by their blanket Visa provided that we are doing ship excursion.

It is different for UK and USA nationals so I am looking for specific experience  pertaining to Australians.

Many thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This link.

 

https://senegal-embassy.uk/visas/list-of-countries-and-categories/

 

Would suggest that Australia is a category B country.

 

"Category B: A special arrangement is in place at Dakar Blaise Diagne International airport (DSS) that allows applicants under this category to obtained a visa on arrival at Dakar Airport only. (documents to present are: return air ticket, valid passport, hotel booking/letter of invitation/business letter, yellow fever vaccination and no charge)."

 

It would be strange if Regent could not make similar arrangements at the port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently visited Dakar in Senegal on Serenade of the Seas last month without arranging a visa in advance.

 

Pre-cruise, I also came across conflicting information about Visa requirements for Australian citizens. Neither the Senegal Embassy in Tokyo or CIBTvisas (suggested by RCI customer outreach) could clarify since they never responded to my enquiry. Once onboard, Serenade guest services said that as an Australian citizen I did not need to organise a visa for Senegal. I was able to get off the ship in Dakar, no problem. Phew!

 

It is worth mentioning that the Africa West Coast was not Serenade's originally advertised itinerary and some cruisers were already onboard prior to the change (as it is a world cruise).

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for getting back to me. This is what I thought but the comments I have seen are so confusing. I think it is because this is a relatively new itinerary .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/2/2024 at 3:46 PM, Hamwen3839 said:

Looking specifically for responses from any Australians who have recently sailed West Coast of Africa calling at Senegal. It appears a Visa is required for Australians  but there is much conflicting “advice”  as to this. Someone sailing with Azamara has been told they need to send their passport to Tokyo( nearest Senegal Embassy to Australia) to get a Visa .Personally I would never send my passport by mail to a foreign country and this information does not sound right.

We are sailing with Regent and have been told we will be covered by their blanket Visa provided that we are doing ship excursion.

It is different for UK and USA nationals so I am looking for specific experience  pertaining to Australians.

Many thanks in advance.

Thank you for posting this Hamwen3839. I was just about to post it myself. My only update is that Azamara got back to me and said that all of the information on their Web site regarding visa requirements is correct. However I do not trust that because their site also says that Australians need a visa for The Gambia, which is not correct. The problem is that we only get responses from people who sit in an office and do not have a practicle view of on the ground reality. 

I am thinking of turning up at the dock for boarding without a Senegal visa, but don't want to be denied boarding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, archiefamily said:

Thank you for posting this Hamwen3839. I was just about to post it myself. My only update is that Azamara got back to me and said that all of the information on their Web site regarding visa requirements is correct. However I do not trust that because their site also says that Australians need a visa for The Gambia, which is not correct. The problem is that we only get responses from people who sit in an office and do not have a practicle view of on the ground reality. 

I am thinking of turning up at the dock for boarding without a Senegal visa, but don't want to be denied boarding.

Travel should not be this stressful should it? I think part of the problem is that UK and USA citizens do not need a Visa for Senegal and perhaps Azamara  is not inclined to assist the few Aussies on board. All I know is that Regent have told us the only Visa we need is for Ghana and we have asked them to get that for us and have paid for it.
 

There must have been an Azamara cruise in the last year to Senegal ? The fact that I have not read one post from an Australian who had to send their passport to Tokyo to get a Senegal Visa confirms my view that I don’t need it. We are only in Senegal for less than a day and perhaps they consider it as “in transit”. No idea really but I hope you sort it out  and are able to look forward to your holiday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Hamwen3839 said:

Travel should not be this stressful should it? I think part of the problem is that UK and USA citizens do not need a Visa for Senegal and perhaps Azamara  is not inclined to assist the few Aussies on board. All I know is that Regent have told us the only Visa we need is for Ghana and we have asked them to get that for us and have paid for it.
 

There must have been an Azamara cruise in the last year to Senegal ? The fact that I have not read one post from an Australian who had to send their passport to Tokyo to get a Senegal Visa confirms my view that I don’t need it. We are only in Senegal for less than a day and perhaps they consider it as “in transit”. No idea really but I hope you sort it out  and are able to look forward to your holiday.

By the way, we were also booked on the Regent cruise you are taking, from Barcelona to Dubai, but we cancelled it earlier this year and then booked the Azamara one a few months later. Our cruise consultant with RSSC told us that we did not need to get a visa for Senegal. Same as you have been told.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com Summer 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...