Passport & Visas

Cruise

Information Center

Passport and Visas

It is the passenger’s obligation to obtain prior to your departure a valid passport, required visas and public health documents for the applicable ports of call, tours and pre & post cruise hotel packages. Cruise lines will send passengers an information package of all the documentation requirements along with the appropriate visa application forms 90 days prior to departure. In today’s world it may take longer than 90 day to process passports and visa applications, especially if you are visiting a number of countries. A good piece of advise is to start the process as soon as possible, preferably at the time of deposit and not to wait until the last minute. Consult with your travel agent, government agenises and foreign consulates for advice and requirements.

Passports

Passports are required by all nationalities on all cruises. A full passport is the most recognized form of international identification and is accepted as proof of your citizenship in most cases. Most cruise lines will ask passengers to posses a full passport that is valid for 6 months beyond the end of your cruise and that it contains blank pages for visas and port authority stamps.

There is one exception to this: Canadian and US citizens travelling on cruises to Canada, Caribbean and the United States of America, only require a government sealed birth certificate along with another form of government photo Identification.

In most cases you will have to have your passport before you can apply for any visas. Most countries require that your passport accompany your visa application before they will process it.

On most cruises, you will hand in your passport to the purser at time of embarkation and it will be returned to you prior to arrival at the port of disembarkation. This helps the purser to speed up customs and immigration formalities at ports of call.

Visas

Visa requirements vary accordingly to your itinerary and will vary widely from country to country. The cruise line will notify you of the visa requirements that are relevant to your cruise about 90 days prior to departure. You may be required to obtain a number of visas if you are travelling to a number of different countries on your cruise. In some certain circumstances the cruise line may obtain a group visa for all passengers and crew aboard. It is the passenger’s responsibility to obtain and pay for all necessary visas that the cruise line has notified you of. Failure to obtain the necessary visas may result in serious delays at embarkation or even denied boarding at your port of embarkation.

Consult with your travel agent or the countries consulates that you are planning to visit on you cruise as to the exact visa requirements. There are a number of independent visa service agencies throughout the world that will be able also to assist you in the process of obtaining visas.