Shanghai Disney Cruise

[neg58]

Originally Posted by WVURunner

Wow, I went several times in 2007 and in 2008 and I had to jump through hoops to get my visas. They were several hundred dollars and I had to show my itinerary each time along with my letter.

Chinese visas are now $140. You can get them from the Chinese consulates in San Francisco, NYC, Chicago, LA, Houston and DC. You must use a courier or go in person. You must list where you are staying. It is the same price for single entry, 6 months or multi entry for 1 year.

China is particular about certain occupations and may deny entry to journalists, religious, or anything political. I doubt very much if they'd issue a group visa since they never have for any of the groups I've known who have gone, including children's education group tours (everyone had to get an individual visa).

I think the cruises they have mostly stay in China, cruising down a river, not going to several countries.

Nancy

[lilpooh108]

With Disney Sea and Tokyo Disneyland, DCL would be better off tapping into the fan base that is already in Japan. They certainly cannot count on Americans flying across the Pacific just to do an Asia cruise.

Personally, I'd rather take a cruise starting from Japan (assuming DCL ever goes to Asia) that makes 1 stop to Shanghai Disney than one that would cruise from Shanghai as an originating port. The air service to Japan is well established by United, AA, Delta, etc. No visas necessary either (depending on whether China has a cruise exception or transit exception to its visa policy ~ I personally don't know). Additionally, you have to realize that the culture/attitudes of people taking a cruise which originates from Shanghai would be very different than those people taking a cruise originating from Japan.

[Rogillio]

Originally Posted by neg58

Chinese visas are now $140. You can get them from the Chinese consulates in San Francisco, NYC, Chicago, LA, Houston and DC. You must use a courier or go in person. You must list where you are staying. It is the same price for single entry, 6 months or multi entry for 1 year.

China is particular about certain occupations and may deny entry to journalists, religious, or anything political. I doubt very much if they'd issue a group visa since they never have for any of the groups I've known who have gone, including children's education group tours (everyone had to get an individual visa).

I think the cruises they have mostly stay in China, cruising down a river, not going to several countries.

Nancy

DCL could guarantee 2000 + tourists and vouch or them leaving....I would think they'd grant a group visa. We did NOT need one for Russia when visiting with DCL but you need one if traveling on your own.

[maria-fan-22]

Originally Posted by lilpooh108

No visas necessary either (depending on whether China has a cruise exception or transit exception to its visa policy ~ I personally don't know).

With the Visa issue, China requires ALL travelers entering china to have a visa no matter the length of the stay or how they get there.

[Rogillio]

Originally Posted by lilpooh108

With Disney Sea and Tokyo Disneyland, DCL would be better off tapping into the fan base that is already in Japan. They certainly cannot count on Americans flying across the Pacific just to do an Asia cruise.

Personally, I'd rather take a cruise starting from Japan (assuming DCL ever goes to Asia) that makes 1 stop to Shanghai Disney than one that would cruise from Shanghai as an originating port. The air service to Japan is well established by United, AA, Delta, etc. No visas necessary either (depending on whether China has a cruise exception or transit exception to its visa policy ~ I personally don't know). Additionally, you have to realize that the culture/attitudes of people taking a cruise which originates from Shanghai would be very different than those people taking a cruise originating from Japan.

I thought there would be mostly European cruisers on our DCL Baltic cruise but it was mostly Americans.

I would love to sail out of Japan!

[holula]

A cruise that stops at all three Disney parks in Asia would be a win for me! Well, I could skip HK. I would rather have the cruise START in Toyko though, the park in HK you can do in a day. Tokyo has two parks therefore would want two days...

[maria-fan-22]

Originally Posted by holula

A cruise that stops at all three Disney parks in Asia would be a win for me! Well, I could skip HK. I would rather have the cruise START in Toyko though, the park in HK you can do in a day. Tokyo has two parks therefore would want two days...

That's true. I had forgotten about having two Tokyo Parks, FOr some reason Hong Kong just seemed like a good place to start. But the itineraries I came up with can be re-arranged to start/end in Tokyo… The sea days should all be the same…

[SnowWhite2]

On our NYE Fantasy cruise, Captain Tom talked about a cruise in Asia during the Castaway Reception as a possibility. No prompting on the cruisers part, he offered the info. He also talked about Hawaii and how well that worked and he also mentioned Bermuda briefly.

[super mike b]

Originally Posted by SnowWhite2

On our NYE Fantasy cruise, Captain Tom talked about a cruise in Asia during the Castaway Reception as a possibility. No prompting on the cruisers part, he offered the info. He also talked about Hawaii and how well that worked and he also mentioned Bermuda briefly.

We would do all of the above! (And the repo's too!)

[jdb in AZ]

Originally Posted by SnowWhite2

On our NYE Fantasy cruise, Captain Tom talked about a cruise in Asia during the Castaway Reception as a possibility. No prompting on the cruisers part, he offered the info. He also talked about Hawaii and how well that worked and he also mentioned Bermuda briefly.

Did he mention any time frame, as in next year, or maybe in 5 years?

[SnowWhite2]

I didn't get the impression that Asia was close to launching. Bermuda was just a passing comment. I would bet good money on Hawaii again soon and more often.

[SuperDry]

Originally Posted by maria-fan-22

With the Visa issue, China requires ALL travelers entering china to have a visa no matter the length of the stay or how they get there.

Not true. They have an exception for air travelers on a connecting flight through Beijing or Shanghai (only those two cities) to a third country that allows for a stay up to 72 hours (was 48 hours prior to 2013). No fee and nothing in advance is necessary - they process everything upon arrival at the airport. You must depart from the same airport you arrive at and do so within the strict 72-hour limit, but other than that, it's very easy. They could easily do the same for cruises that stopped at Shanghai if they wanted to without jeopardizing their overall visa scheme.

You must list where you are staying. It is the same price for single entry, 6 months or multi entry for 1 year.

That's right. Fortunately, within just the last year or so, they've adopted a policy where they "usually" grant a 1-year, multiple-entry visa to US citizens going for purposes of tourism. Although you must list your intended itinerary including dates and where you plan to stay, once you get your visa issued, you're on your own: If they grant you the usual 1-year, multi-entry visa, you can come and go as many times during that 1-year period and travel and stay wherever you like (except for Tibet, which requires an additional permit) as long as no single stay is more than 60 days. You can add additional trips, change your original trip, or even cancel the original trip that you submitted with the visa application and do something completely different - they don't care and nobody checks what you do against your visa application. Your hotel will register your stay each night with the local police, so you don't need to worry about them losing track of you :-)

[Rogillio]

Originally Posted by SnowWhite2

On our NYE Fantasy cruise, Captain Tom talked about a cruise in Asia during the Castaway Reception as a possibility. No prompting on the cruisers part, he offered the info. He also talked about Hawaii and how well that worked and he also mentioned Bermuda briefly.

Awesome! This is the first I've seen that an Asian cruise was even being considered by DCL. I hope they announce 2 years out to give plenty of time to save for it.

[princesskayla]

Sign me up! I would do that cruise in a heartbeat. I want to visit the Asian parks so bad but I am very intimidated by the thought of it. I really want to go "around the world - Disney style" - aka visit all the Disney parks in one mega trip. I am glad that I read this thread about China visa requirements. I will have to look into that before I seriously make plans to visit all the parks.

[NancyIL]

Originally Posted by Rogillio

DCL could guarantee 2000 + tourists and vouch or them leaving....I would think they'd grant a group visa. We did NOT need one for Russia when visiting with DCL but you need one if traveling on your own.

Just to clarify - cruise ship passengers can't get off the ship in St. Petersburg unless they are part of a ship-sponsored tour OR a private tour. If cruise ship passengers want to wander around St. Petersburg on their own - they need their own visas.