Does your Chinese girlfriend need a passport/visa to go on a cruise around Asia?

[Wilfred Motosue]

Have anyone taken a cruise around Asia with their Chinese girlfriend? I wanted to find out if my Chinese fiancee can hop on a cruise that will go to Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, Japan , Hong Kong.
Have anyone taken their girlfriend from China onto one of these cruises and if so, did they need a passport or visa to stop at each country's port?

Thanks for your information and advice.

Thanks
Wilfred

[Pineau]

So far, Fiona has only needed her ID card when we travel in China.

When we went to Thailand she needed a passport. She also has a special passport that allows her to go to Hong Kong and Macao.

[maxx]

Wilfred  yes your fiancee is going to need a passport.Like Gerry said she will need a visa for Hong Kong,Macao,Japan,I'm not to sure what the travel requirements are for the other countries you have listed.

I'm assuming that you want to get on a cruise Ship in Hong Kong.If that is the case.I would contact the cruise company.And see what they have to say.They can give you a better answear then we probably could.Some tour companies in China.Do supply visa's to their customers.So it would defiantly be worth the call.

I have a friend who lives in China.She has ben to Japan Australia,And New Zealand.The tour company had her fill out some paperwork.And they got her the visa's that she needed.

if you do decide to do this.Let us know.I would be real interested in this kind of cruise.

[Pineau]

Right, the travel agency knows better than we. If they are a serious business they will take care of everything as far as visas and passports.

The agency we used got her Thailand VISA overnight.

[David E]

I have not been on such a cruise, but I took my wife to Thailand and Singapore. Both places required her to get a visa before travelling. It was an easy job to do, visas came through in 1 week.

I dont think you need visas for a cruise...but she wont be able to leave the ship if she does not have the relevant visas.

[Wilfred Motosue]

Thanks guys!
The cruise starts off from Singapore. My fiancee says she has a Hong Kong Passport so that is good.

David, you said that your WIFE or was she still a Chinese national when she got her visa in a week? How and where did she get hers?

Thanks for the suggestion Pineau about asking a travel agency. I asked my fiancee to find a travel agency in Changsha  and see if we could pay them to get all the proper visa/passports.

I am waiting for the Consulates in Beijing to answer my email to them asking about whether she will need a visa/passport to stop at their country for a day.

Maxx, the Pricess Cruise co. did not do this .  I would need to get them myself. I agree that a lot of Chinese might go on a cruise if things like getting visa were done by the Cruise company. Make sense to me. The Asian cruise goes this Oct. 26 to all the cities I mentioned , it's for 16 days, does not include flight of course, at a Total price of $1223 per person, double occupancy, interior cabin. The boat is the Diamond Princess.

Thanks.
Wilfred

[David E]

Yes, at the time we visited Singapore and Thailand Ming was a Chinese National. She got her Travel Agent to organise her visas...it was easy, no problems

[Wilfred Motosue]

David,
Did you and Ming go on a tour with her travel agent so that is why the agent got her  visa? So if you and her didn't buy a tour , the agent would not have gotten her a visa?
wilfred

[David E]

Yes Wilfred

We booked our trip with a Travel Agent in Chengdu and they got her visas for her as part of the deal.

But it is not difficult to do the job yourself, just need to fill in a form and sent it off to the local Consulate of those Countries you plan to visit.

Places like Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand are not so "picky" as to who gets a Tourist visa, it is a simple process........unlike Aus, USA or Canada !!

David

[Jason B]

Good luck with your trip and cruise Wilfred, but do not forget that you will need a visa yourself for some of the places you will be going to visit, Vietnam especially.  It would be sad to read about your wonderful cruise and you were not allowed off the ship due not having a visa.  But the travel agency may be able to help you with this but I am unsure of procedures required if you book the cruise from China for your visas.   Just a thought.

[Wilfred Motosue]

Pricess Cruise said that we only need Vietnam visa but they will do it onboard so no problem there. 

So far I talked to Singapore Embassy/Consulate and Thailand Embassy/consulate. They asked if my girlfriend has a job. I told them yes but that my girlfriend will quit her  job to go on this cruise and then they said that they will ask for my fiancee's (Apple) bank book. I then told them that I don't know how much my girlfriend has in her account but how much does she need? Thailand said more than 50,000 RMB. A Visa company that my fiancee was going to hire said that my fiancee need to keep her job and it would be good to have 100,000RMB in her account. Singapore didn't give me a figure (well at least I didn't hear it). One thing they said was that the more the better. I also asked if it was okay if I gave her some money and they both said it's okay!!  Thailand said they wanted to see the receipt showing that we already paid for the cruise.  Now I am calling Japan and Korea to see if their requirements are the same. Everyone says , including the Visa agent that my fiancee talked to, that Japan and Korea are very hard. No problem , I told my fiancee, cause if we don't get their visa approval, then we can just stay on the boat when we dock. It's only 1 day at each place. The reason I still would want to go on this cruise is that I think that it's a good  cheap price and it will still be worth it and be fun.
I wired some funds to my finacee's account today.  What I sent her  should be enough to pass those countries but don't know what Japan and Korea might want to see in her account. I will find out soon.
I'll let you know what Japan and Korea says. 
wilfred

[Willy The Londoner]

Dont Forget Wilfred that you are going direct. The Official travel companies will be a much better option as you will be on an official tour.

I would think that the Embassies can only give you advice as a pair visiting privately. 

Willy