What is a Visa?

[MaryKatesMom]

I don't mean the credit card either!

I was reading an article in Conde Naste Traveler about a Thia couple denied boarding a cruise in the USA that made a stop in Canada and, although they had Passports, they did not have the correct Visa.

I thought all you would need would be a Passport.

The article was interesting because it came down to whether the Cruiseline was reponsible for not letting them know they would need a Visa. Turns out individuals are responsible for having the correct identification even if the Cruiseline gives out mis-information. In this case, the stop in Canada was not a refueling stop as mentioned and the regulations had changed between booking and sailing. The cruiseline was being generous giving them a 75% credit toward their next cruise but wasn't going to refund them the airfare or cost of staying in Seattle for 10 days.

It did make me want to investigate what the heck I would need though!

 

[JoiseyMom]

http://travel.state.gov/visa/visa_1750.html

Hope this answers your questions

 

[ldalvarado]

If it was just a stop, why didn't they just stay on the boat. I don't get the Seattle thing?

 

[misslissa]

If it was just a stop, why didn't they just stay on the boat. I don't get the Seattle thing?

I THINK that even if one "stop" requires a visa, the government has required that you have that particular visa when you board.

Sometimes visas can take months to get! Or, it can be an easy process that takes an hour. It has to be approved by the consulate of the country you are visiting.

 

[ldalvarado]

they can't have been the only ones without a visa. something doesn't seem right.

 

[misslissa]

they can't have been the only ones without a visa. something doesn't seem right.

it is because they weren't US citizens...

for instance... if you are going to brazil from canada with a canadian passport, you need a visa. if you are going from the uk with a uk passport, you don't!

 

[MaryKatesMom]

If it was just a stop, why didn't they just stay on the boat. I don't get the Seattle thing?

Something to do with custom's. It was orginally billed as a re-fueling stop and therefore no visa required.

 

[Wendor]

Short version of "What is a Visa" was explained to me once upon a time this way:

A passport shows what country you are from (a citizen of)

A visa is permission from the country you are going to visit saying that you may enter their country (usually for a specified amount of time or less)

So you need visas to get into other countries, but just your passport to get into your own.

Now many countries have agreements waiving visa requirements for vacation travel. For example US citizens don't need visas for any of the countries on DCL's Western Caribbean itinerary (Mexico, Cayman Islands, Bahamas), but citizens of other countries might need visas for one or more of those. So you don't always need a visa, but it's always a good idea to check first - as other posters mentioned, depending on the country getting a visa can be quick and free...or can take months or cost extra.

(Yes, it's radically oversimplified but its a good starting point)

So technically you don't need a passport to leave the US, but since you do need one to get back in it's probably a good thing they check for one before you leave. Same with the visa requirement in the story, the cruise line checks up front to make sure you have everything you need for each country so that they don't have to throw you overboard before making port somewhere.

 

[Wendor]

If it was just a stop, why didn't they just stay on the boat. I don't get the Seattle thing?

Because even if you stay on the boat your are still *IN* the country where the boat is docked. So that means that if the cruise line had let them on the ship, they wouldn't have been able to show that all passengers on board were allowed "into" Canada, and therefore the ship would have been denied permission to dock.

One of the things they are doing when the cruise director announces "local officials will come on board around 7am and will clear the ship by 7:45" is that those local officials are checking DCL's records of the citizenship and visa status (if necessary) for all passengers. If those records aren't correct the local officials can refuse the ship permission to stay in dock and the captain would have to immediately set sail.