Turkey Visa Query - Shore Pass?

[Mapalad]

Dear all,

 

My fiance and I will be in a Holland America cruise from Venice to Barcelona. It will pass by Istanbul and Ephesus.

 

I was informed by my travel agent here in the Philippines that I do not need to get a visa for Turkey and thatwe will be given a "shorepass" so we can go around Turkey.

 

Can anyone shed light on this matter? My fiance and I are both from the Philippines.

 

Thank you in advance. :)

[steamboats]

In December we got a white card called "landing pass" where you could fill in your personal data. They told us to keep this card and return it when we board the ship. I never filled it in and no one asked for it. But they asked for the card when we reboarded.

 

steamboats

[mjmalino]

This will be my first cruise to Turkey, so take my comment with a grain of salt. However, from the research that I have done, Turkey does not require a visa from anyone, regardless of country, when entering the country by cruise ship.

[DrCindy]

Hmmm, when I booked my NCL cruise a couple weeks ago through NCL, I was told we HAD to get visa. Now I will have to research that a little bit more...

[roadster08]

If you are a US citizen, staying overnight in Turkey before or after your cruise requires a visa. If Turkey is a stop on your cruise, the cruise line will take care of your visa paperwork. They collect everyone's passports before they arrive in Turkey and they return them after the boat leaves Turkey.

 

I don't remember getting a card or being asked for a card while in Istanbul. Everyone there was very nice, polite, and very hospitable.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[CathyCruises]

Just to reiterate, US citizens ( and I have no idea about others) do NOT need a visa if Turkey is just a stop on a cruise--we stayed overnight on the ship in Istanbul and did not need one. You don't need one if you are stopping in Kusadasi, either--only if you are beginning or ending your cruise in Turkey. However, the cruise line handed out boarding cards that you were supposed to carry with you on and off the ship, that you basically just put your name, cabin number and country of origin on. No one ever asked us for them and we were off and on multiple times. However, we were instructed to put them in a box by the gangway after our last trip off the ship.

 

To the poster on NCL--if your cruise leaves from Istanbul, and you are flying in there to board, you may need a visa. If it's just a port stop, you don't.

 

The cruise line (Celebrity) DID collect our passports on board before arriving in Greece and handed them back after we left Turkey.

 

Cathy

[Mapalad]

Hi everyone!

 

Thank you for all your replies. I would like to reiterate though that I am not from the US. I am from the Philippines. I would appreciate if any non-US citizens can shed light on the matter.

 

Thank you all! And advance happy Easter!

[moyaroo]

Hi everyone!

 

Thank you for all your replies. I would like to reiterate though that I am not from the US. I am from the Philippines. I would appreciate if any non-US citizens can shed light on the matter.

 

Thank you all! And advance happy Easter!

 

From what one can glean from the Turkish web site the cruise option doesn't exist! But I know from experience that it does. I am a US citizen but the requirements posted for US and Phillipine citizens is the same. Never the less the best answer can only come from A. the Turkish Embassy and B the Cruise line, because they are liable for bad information and are responsible for everyone on board to have correct documents.

[CoralReef]

There is a visa office at the port. I would rely on your TA and cruiseline's info for now, knowing that you can quickly get a visa at the port if one is required.

 

However, I don't believe it will be required. There were quite a few non-US citizens on our cruise, and they just got off with the rest of us, using the boarding card arranged by the cruiseline. I don't know about the Philippines specifically, but if the Canadians and Japanese and English on our cruise had no problem, I don't see why you would.

[steamboats]

Mapalad,

 

I´m not an US citizen but can´t help you anyway because as German I don´t need a visa for Turkey. I don´t even need a passport but my ID card will be o.k..

 

steamboats