Visa for Turkey?

[jagshaw]

I know this question has shown up in different forms before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory answer. My question is this - has anyone sailed on a Princess ship into Turkey, and if so, did they have to purchase a visa upon arrival? I know what the various websites (eg, Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc), say, but none seem to address the situation of a cruise ship arrival (where the passengers do not have their passports when disembarking).

 

We are all US citizens, with one Australian citizen.

 

Thanks.

[AAAAmerican]

Well we USe Discover... LoL..

 

Not having been to the divide there in a few years now I am not able to answer this at all with NATO too etc..

 

What maybe the best methodology is to call the US Consolate in Australia and the Turkish one(s) here. NYC, LA, etc...

 

They would do the best propogation of actual methods for your needs ..have them FAX you a copy also so it is deemed real and actual.:cool:

 

I know this question has shown up in different forms before, but I haven't seen a satisfactory answer. My question is this - has anyone sailed on a Princess ship into Turkey, and if so, did they have to purchase a visa upon arrival? I know what the various websites (eg, Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc), say, but none seem to address the situation of a cruise ship arrival (where the passengers do not have their passports when disembarking).

 

We are all US citizens, with one Australian citizen.

 

Thanks.

[capecodder2]

US citizens need a Turkish visa ONLY if your cruise begins or ends in Turkey (Istanbul). For just a port day stop you do not need one. Can't answer for Australian rules. We were just in Kusadasi 2 weeks ago.

[SOFRICHI]

We sailed on the Royal from Barcelona to Athens in late April, 2007, with two Turkish ports of call. I thought it was pretty clear that we needed visas and contacted the Turkish Embassy in DC. They emailed back a website to go to. I did and it, too, said we needed a visa. I tried to get a visa and failed. When we got to Turkey there was a comical series of 'lavish gifts' bestowed by the ship's commodore on the local authorities and all passengers received green shore cards for the Turkish ports. I think this is a cultural thing and a business opportunity provided to all local bureaucrats who can get in line to get their palms crossed. Not to worry. We had no visa and had a wonderful time in Turkey. Favorite country on the whole trip!

[judi666]

We ended a cruise in Istanbul last October on the Ncl Jewel. The ship added the (then) $24.00 visa fee to our shipboard account. Our passports were ready to go when we debarked. Getting the information from NCL was like getting blood from a stone. We never got an definite answer, except as to the availability of getting the visa at the port. As it turned out NCL took care of everything, including our stop at Izmir and the 2 days we were in Egypt. I wouldn't worry too much about this, but be sure and keep up with any changes on the internet.

 

This was the source of about 5 pages of inquiry and worry on our CC group.

Many people paid money (over $100) to professional visa services and felt very angry and used by NCL for not providing the necessary information.

 

Princess seems to be much more together in this department. BTW Istanbul is a fabulous city, I can't wait to go back. Be sure and visit the Grand Bazaar!

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We stopped in Istanbul and Kusadasi last year on our Grand Mediterranean cruise. We did not need visas and were informed that cruise passengers just stopping for the day in a Turkish port are actually visiting on a ship's visa.

[jagshaw]

Folks,

 

Thanks, all, for the quick responses. Good to hear it from people who actually have been there.:)