maryann ns Posted June 18, 2009 #1 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I am hearing conflicting stories about Visa requirements. The travel agent for someone going on our cruise said that she should get her own visa as she was not going on an Azamara excursion. I thought that the cruise ship obtains visas for all passengers, at least for US and Canadian citizens. What experience do people have with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fblack Posted June 18, 2009 #2 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I am going on a cruise that includes Egypt in a few months too. I will not be getting my own Visa. I have been told that cruise passengers are considered in transit and get a Quick Trip Visa. The ship will take care of the paperwork. And one day we are also planning to take a private tour. "Foreigners arriving in Egypt on board of ships are granted a permission to visit the port of arrival for 24 hours and catch their ship at the same port. They can also be granted a permission to enter the country for a visit not exceeding a period of 3 days before catching their ship at the port of arrival or at any other port. " http://www.touregypt.net/visa.htm and Visa is required by all except the following: "(f) cruise ship passengers entering Egypt, at any port, for a maximum of three days." http://www.expedia.co.uk/destinations/Africa/Egypt/PassportAndVisa.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambs2 Posted June 18, 2009 #3 Share Posted June 18, 2009 We were on the NCL Jade in Feb 09 with an overnight in Alexandria. The ship collected all our passports several days earlier and on the day before we reached Egypt they had a room set up for us to get our passports back and they had all been stamped with an Egyptian Quick Trip Visa to cover the two days. We were on a private tour for two days and just carried our passports with us. They were only checked when we exited and reboarded the ship. There was no additional cost for the Visa stamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann ns Posted June 18, 2009 Author #4 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thank you so much for the quick answers. What you say is my understanding. I will tell my fellow passenger. I still have to weigh the advantages of a private tour against the chance that we could miss the boat which would not be a good thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smeyer418 Posted June 18, 2009 #5 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thank you so much for the quick answers. What you say is my understanding. I will tell my fellow passenger. I still have to weigh the advantages of a private tour against the chance that we could miss the boat which would not be a good thing! note all the responses are from US Citizens or Nationals....make sure there is no difference for Canadians... in Egypt almost all the cruise companies use the same tour companies that do private tours. As long as it is a reputable private company they don't want you on their hands either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann ns Posted June 18, 2009 Author #6 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thanks for the reply. I think the visa requirements are the same for Canadians. If I decide to do a private tour, I will discuss this with the tour company well in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted June 19, 2009 #7 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Thank you so much for the quick answers. What you say is my understanding. I will tell my fellow passenger. I still have to weigh the advantages of a private tour against the chance that we could miss the boat which would not be a good thing! Think through the security that will be provided as well. Not sure where you are planning to go or the roads to be taken but on some of the major tours that involve great distance many times there are security personnel on each bus and they go in caravans. Anyway, there are pluses and minuses. If you go the private tour way be sure they are highly recommended, and yes, do consider the ramifications if they are late getting back to the ship. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambs2 Posted June 19, 2009 #8 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Our private tour company assigned us an armed security guard who was with the ten of us on our bus and everywhere we went on our two day tour in Cairo in Feb 09. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted June 19, 2009 #9 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Our private tour company assigned us an armed security guard who was with the ten of us on our bus and everywhere we went on our two day tour in Cairo in Feb 09. Many do and many are required to do this. But like anything else, the key is to ask in advance so that you know what they do for you in the way of security and that you get recommendations ahead of time. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann ns Posted June 19, 2009 Author #10 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Thanks for this info. This is definitely something I will keep in mind if I go with a private tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynwood92 Posted February 15, 2010 #11 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I am hearing conflicting stories about Visa requirements. The travel agent for someone going on our cruise said that she should get her own visa as she was not going on an Azamara excursion. I thought that the cruise ship obtains visas for all passengers, at least for US and Canadian citizens. What experience do people have with this? Not sure of US and Canadian citizens but as a Irish citizen this is my experience. Last year we flew to Sharm El Sheik and stayed for a week as we were not leaving the 'Sinai Region' we DID NOT require a Visa. This year we are doing a Weeks Cruising on the Thompson Celebration and then back to Sharm for another week (loved it there). I rang the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin and was informed that we DO REQUIRE A VISA for this trip and we are leaving Egypt. Going to Petra and Cairo and probably one more day trip. What we required was a MULTIPLE VISA as we were leaving and coming back, leaving and coing back to ship (naturally). First time cruising really looking forward to it. 3 weeks and 3 days more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenKush Posted February 15, 2010 #12 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I am a Canadian and we did "The Holy Land" cruise on Azamara in Sept 08. It didnt matter if you were taking an Azamara tour or not...because you are docking in Egypt, your passport will be collected and a visa will be issued by the Egyptian government. You do not need to do anything. If you are going to Cairo before Alexandria, the trip to the pyramids is about 90 minutes-2 hours from the port and was escorted by armed guards. This is one country that I would definitely recommend a reputable guided tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jocap Posted February 15, 2010 #13 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Not sure of US and Canadian citizens but as a Irish citizen this is my experience. Last year we flew to Sharm El Sheik and stayed for a week as we were not leaving the 'Sinai Region' we DID NOT require a Visa. This year we are doing a Weeks Cruising on the Thompson Celebration and then back to Sharm for another week (loved it there). I rang the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin and was informed that we DO REQUIRE A VISA for this trip and we are leaving Egypt. Going to Petra and Cairo and probably one more day trip. What we required was a MULTIPLE VISA as we were leaving and coming back, leaving and coing back to ship (naturally). First time cruising really looking forward to it. 3 weeks and 3 days more. Hi, Lynwood- we came back from Celebration on Thurs, after stay and cruise. At the airport, we were told by immigration that we did NOT require any visa either for Sharm (if not leaving Sinai) OR for the cruise. Thomsons were very good about telling us the requirements, all the way. We had to leave our passports at reception for Aqaba, where a Jordanian immigration man stamped them, then collect them when told to. We had to show passports each time we left the ship in Egypt, then they were collected at the end for our last stamp, getting them back when leaving the ship. Thomsons were very careful about explaining the visa situation for STAY pax., again saying that you didn't need one for Sinai, but if you wanted to travel off the peninsular, Thomsons would get the visa for you for £13. They were so good at helping all the time, both in the hotel and on board. Enjoy!- we're still recovering from an overload of entertainment!!! We reckon the large lines have a lot to learn......Our 1st Thomson, but not our last. jocap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optifire Posted February 16, 2010 #14 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I am booked on Celebrity Equinox for Oct and we have a group private tour booked with Ramses tours for an overnight stay in Cairo. I was concerned about it being overnight and wanted to know the requirements needed from me that Celebrity would need for my group. I called Celebrity and they told me to call the department of Ground Flight Operations as that is who takes care of people on and off the ship. (18002566649). I called and Jennifer told me that Celebrity will take care of giving us the Visas on board the vessel but they do need from me the names and cabins of everyone on the tour. I need to bring that along to the ship and give it to Guest Relations, this way they will know when the people do not return that night where they are. So if you are going to be off the ship overnight on a tour, just be sure to let the guest relations desk know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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