VISA'S for Turkey and Egypt???

[BURWASHT]

Do we need visa's? I called Costa and could not get a good answer. We booked ship excursions in both ports, do you pay for visa's at the ports or what??? Please help.

[LHT28]

Depends on your citizenship but for Canadians & Americans if you fly into or out of Turkey yes you need a VISA you can purchase it at the airport/port.

 

If you are just stopping for the day and continuing to another country you will be fine

[Kindlychap]

Do we need visa's? I called Costa and could not get a good answer. We booked ship excursions in both ports, do you pay for visa's at the ports or what??? Please help.

 

I'd never trust the cruise line. Best advice is from the Embassy of the country you are visiting which is located in the country in which you live.

 

Things change with some of the more awkward countries on a regular basis. Yes America - I'm looking at you!

 

Matthew

[Kindlychap]

Depends on your citizenship but for Canadians & Americans if you fly into or out of Turkey yes you need a VISA you can purchase it at the airport/port.

 

If you are just stopping for the day and continuing to another country you will be fine

 

The VisitTurkey site has the following:

 

USA - CITIZENS ONLY

A visa is required for all U.S. citizens entering Turkey. U.S. citizens may obtain their visas upon entry point in Turkey or in advance from one of the Turkish Consulates around the U.S. Please see the Jurisdiction list of the Turkish Consulates for your state. Application for a business visa must be done ahead of time, before entering Turkey.

 

The tourist visa is valid for a year starting from the issue date. There are two different visa types. With a single entry visa, you can enter Turkey only once and stay up to three months. Multiple entry visa, on the other hand allows you to enter and exit the country more than once within one year period specified on your passport and you can stay in Turkey for three months each time.

 

Visas given at entry points are valid only for three months. Therefore, visas must be obtained in advance for visits lasting longer stays and for study, research or employment purposes.

 

The passengers who do not leave the international airports do not need any visas.

This suggests to me that you do require a visa for a cruise entry - best to check, as I said, with the Turkish Embassy.

Remember that in the USA you need to complete immigration even if you intend to say on board the ship and not set foot on American soil....... It would not be unreasonable for other countries to do the same.

Matthew

[LHT28]

Cruise ships have different rules

 

" Cruiseship passengers cruising in and out of Turkey and not exceeding 24 hours at each shore do not require a tourist visa."

 

http://www.turkishembassy.com/II/K/visa_requ.htm

[Keith1010]

If you are from the USA and your ship is not embarking or disembarking in Turkey and if your ship has an overnight there and you plan to sleep on the ship and not stay in a hotel in port then you will not need a visa. In all other cases you would need a visa.

 

A visa is required for Egypt but many times the ship obtains them for the passengers during the course of your cruise. I would call Costa again and speak with someone who can help you and also post this question on the Costa board to see if there are others who sailed to Egypt on Costa and how this was handled.

 

Keith

[cruisemom42]

Per my experience and others I have read here, Americans do NOT need a visa for Turkey if you are just stopping there for a day. As others have said, you will need to obtain a visa if your cruise starts or ends in Turkey. If you are flying in, these are easy to obtain at the airport.

 

In Egypt, our cruise ship obtained the visas for all passengers and put them in our passports (these were collected at some point prior to reaching Egypt and then redistributed). You should check with your ship on this one. As with Turkey, Egyptian visas are readily obtained at the airport by travelers. However, I'm not sure about cruise ports.

[MercedMike]

Per my experience and others I have read here, Americans do NOT need a visa for Turkey if you are just stopping there for a day. As others have said, you will need to obtain a visa if your cruise starts or ends in Turkey. If you are flying in, these are easy to obtain at the airport.

 

In Egypt, our cruise ship obtained the visas for all passengers and put them in our passports (these were collected at some point prior to reaching Egypt and then redistributed). You should check with your ship on this one. As with Turkey, Egyptian visas are readily obtained at the airport by travelers. However, I'm not sure about cruise ports.

 

Our experience agrees with this. In Turkey, nobody ever said one word about a visa, when we were on ship's excursions or when we were with an independent guide.

 

In Egypt we had to turn our passports in to the ship, and they put a stamp in them and returned them to us. This was also for ship's excursions or independent guides.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/med.html

and at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/holyland.html

for Turkey and Egypt.

[Kindlychap]

Cruise ships have different rules

 

" Cruiseship passengers cruising in and out of Turkey and not exceeding 24 hours at each shore do not require a tourist visa."

 

http://www.turkishembassy.com/II/K/visa_requ.htm

 

 

Duly noted. I still maintain that advice from the embassy is sensible, but this is effectively just that.

 

Matthew

[punkmuse]

unless it has changed in the past two years you DO NOT need a visa to go to Turkey if you are on a cruise and just staying the day and you are an American (cant speak for any other countries.)

 

the cruise line will take your passport when you get on and i believe that is used all behind the scenes as your paperwork for the day.

 

my cruise stopped in Kusadasi in 2005 and we didnt need a visa, it was handled no differently than any other port.

[lagnas]

I was on the Brilliance in June and went into Turkey (Kusadasi). If you are American, you do NOT need a visa. It is only if you stayed overnight that you would need a visa.

[Keith1010]

I was on the Brilliance in June and went into Turkey (Kusadasi). If you are American, you do NOT need a visa. It is only if you stayed overnight that you would need a visa.

 

Just to clarify it's only if you stay overnight off the ship that you would need one. If the ship has an overnight and you stay on the ship you do not need one.

 

Keith

[BURWASHT]

We are Canadians that will be in port for only 12 hours(Egypt)and (Turkey). I booked a Costa cruise tour, do we need to get a visa before we go or can we get it on the ship in Alexandria(Customs)? Thank-you for your help!!

[Donna_In_India]

We are Canadians that will be in port for only 12 hours(Egypt)and (Turkey). I booked a Costa cruise tour, do we need to get a visa before we go or can we get it on the ship in Alexandria(Customs)? Thank-you for your help!!

 

Hi - According to the websites for the Embassies of both countries, the visa rules for Canadians are the same as Americans, so for your stay the visas needed will be given on the ship.

 

It's unbelievable that the cruise lines are of no help in answering anyone's questions about visas! These questions are asked over and over - and it seems - mostly by Americans so at the very least the cruise lines should be able to know the rules for Americans.

[4x4bob]

Has anyone ever had a big whoops while on a tour in Turkey and had to leave the tour. Such as an accident or illness that required going to a hospital? I am thinking that would put that person in violation of the Visa rule, i.e. not having one when seperated from the ship.

If this happen just what happened to that person while dealing with the Turkey authorities?

Bob

[cruisemom42]

Has anyone ever had a big whoops while on a tour in Turkey and had to leave the tour. Such as an accident or illness that required going to a hospital? I am thinking that would put that person in violation of the Visa rule, i.e. not having one when seperated from the ship.

If this happen just what happened to that person while dealing with the Turkey authorities?

Bob

 

The visa itself is easily obtained (e.g., can be purchased at the airport upon entry, probably at the port also if needed). I'm sure if circumstances were such that you needed to leave the tour, a guide or someone could direct you where to get the visa stamp.