Jump to content

South Pacific Visas and tours


Allen2

Recommended Posts

We are on three spring B2B cruises in the South Pacific - a South Pacific Cruise, a Transpacific Cruise, and Hawaii to Vancouver.  Am having trouble finding answers to a couple of visa questions, including no help at all from RCL.  We know that Australia and New Zealand (starting in October) both require electronic visas (ETAs), but are having trouble finding out about New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Loyalty Islands, and several French Polynesia stops.  Do the other ports require visas, or does a ship's blanket visa cover us? Or no visa required for US citizens?  Also, any comments about tours on the small islands would be GREATLY appreciated!  And, has anyone purchased non-RCL tours, such as those offered by Cruise Excursions and others?  If so, what kind of results and comments?  Thanks in advance for any help!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When we took our 2018 NZ/Australia cruise, our travel agent, who booked our flights, took care of the visas on line.  There was a plane change in Papeete, but we didn't leave the airport to sight-see, so I am unsure about the rest of your visa concerns.  As for excursions, our TA recommended Viator, which worked out fine for us in Australia.

13 minutes ago, Allen2 said:

We are on three spring B2B cruises in the South Pacific - a South Pacific Cruise, a Transpacific Cruise, and Hawaii to Vancouver.  Am having trouble finding answers to a couple of visa questions, including no help at all from RCL.  We know that Australia and New Zealand (starting in October) both require electronic visas (ETAs), but are having trouble finding out about New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Loyalty Islands, and several French Polynesia stops.  Do the other ports require visas, or does a ship's blanket visa cover us? Or no visa required for US citizens?  Also, any comments about tours on the small islands would be GREATLY appreciated!  And, has anyone purchased non-RCL tours, such as those offered by Cruise Excursions and others?  If so, what kind of results and comments?  Thanks in advance for any help!

On other cruises in the Caribbean or Europe, the visa question has never come up.  But there have been countries where a passport check was required on the ship (Turkey, I believe).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Allen2 said:

We are on three spring B2B cruises in the South Pacific - a South Pacific Cruise, a Transpacific Cruise, and Hawaii to Vancouver.  Am having trouble finding answers to a couple of visa questions, including no help at all from RCL.  We know that Australia and New Zealand (starting in October) both require electronic visas (ETAs), but are having trouble finding out about New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Loyalty Islands, and several French Polynesia stops.  Do the other ports require visas, or does a ship's blanket visa cover us? Or no visa required for US citizens?  Also, any comments about tours on the small islands would be GREATLY appreciated!  And, has anyone purchased non-RCL tours, such as those offered by Cruise Excursions and others?  If so, what kind of results and comments?  Thanks in advance for any help!

Update:  Here is Wikipedia link about Vanuatu.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Vanuatu

According to the article, US passport holders, among others, are exempt from a visa.  I would check an official government source, though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.newcaledonia.travel/en/passport-visa-customs

Again, short stays are OK when you have a valid passport and proof of medical insurance, etc.

Stays of 3 months or less than 3 months

  • Passport that is valid for at least 3 months after the return date
  • The supporting documents about:
    • Your livelihood in New Caledonia (example: bank card for international use, cash, etc.)
    • Your guarantees of return (ticket for returning to your country of origin or residence)
    • Your travel insurance certificate or health insurance (covering any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent health attention and/or emergency hospital treatment) Minimum coverage : 30 000€
    • The purpose of your stay

 

I use travel agents who probably know this stuff off the top of their head....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Allen2 said:

We are on three spring B2B cruises in the South Pacific - a South Pacific Cruise, a Transpacific Cruise, and Hawaii to Vancouver.  Am having trouble finding answers to a couple of visa questions, including no help at all from RCL.  We know that Australia and New Zealand (starting in October) both require electronic visas (ETAs), but are having trouble finding out about New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Loyalty Islands, and several French Polynesia stops.  Do the other ports require visas, or does a ship's blanket visa cover us? Or no visa required for US citizens?  Also, any comments about tours on the small islands would be GREATLY appreciated!  And, has anyone purchased non-RCL tours, such as those offered by Cruise Excursions and others?  If so, what kind of results and comments?  Thanks in advance for any help!

Here is French Poly... no need for visa for US and Canada

5. Specific Information for U.S. and Canadian citizens

For U.S. and Canadian CitizensPassport must be valid for a minimum of three months from the arrival date to French Polynesia. No visa is required for stays of up to 90 days. A foreigner with a residence card for the U.S. is not exempt from the above requirements and should consult the French Consulate’s official visa provider for information. American citizens may also be required to carry short-stay visas in the following cases: holders of diplomatic and official passports on assignment, students enrolled in courses in French Polynesia, journalists on assignment, crew members, as well as those who will have paid activities in French Polynesia (including scientists and artists).

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did that region recently. As a US citizen you do not need any visas for those ports. However, New Caledonia is serious about the medical/evacuation insurance. We had to show proof. In our case, we purchased a short-term travel insurance plan that covered medivac for I think about $65/pp.

Hope that helps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...