Silversea Silver Cloud Cruise Review - Persian Gulf Cruise
A SILVER BULLET - The following topic is important but is somewhat detailed because I want to be fair and state the facts as clearly as possible. Skip to the next topic if you like. I mentioned that visas may be a problem on exotic itineraries. We did not expect any problems since all of the ports on our cruise, with the possible exception of Bandar Abbas in Iran, are known to offer free or inexpensive visas on arrival.
However, in early January, exactly sixty days prior to our departure for Dubai and half-way into the cancellation penalty period, we received a written notice from Silversea that "United States and Canadian passport holders must have an individual visa for Qatar prior to boarding. Guests without a visa for Qatar will be denied boarding." Silversea provided the name of a visa service in Washington DC to obtain the required visa, which cost almost $200 per person including express shipping but not priority service. The visa took three weeks to obtain. For us this visa cost came to about $50 per person per hour that we were ashore in Qatar.
For some passengers this unexpected additional cost may be unimportant compared to the absence of their passports and inability to travel abroad for several weeks. We had previously booked back-to-back Caribbean cruises in January, which we had canceled. We had to obtain the required visa as soon as Silversea notified us in January because we had also previously booked a non-refundable trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories during February.
We were surprised when we ultimately boarded the Silver Cloud in Dubai, we found a written notice from Silversea stating that "With regard to our call at Doha, Qatar, all guests (all nationalities) going ashore in this port must have a valid visa. If you have not already arranged this in advance, we can obtain this on your behalf. The cost is $50 USD, which may be charged to your shipboard account. If you do not wish to go ashore on this day, but choose to remain onboard, then no visa will be required." You can imagine how angry this revelation made cruise passengers who had followed Silversea's original instructions. I think Silversea may have lost future customers because of their handling of this visa issue. It certainly made their central office look disorganized. I was angry when I outlined the above events to the ship's immigration officer shortly after boarding. We were later invited to dine with him, where we learned that the poor fellow had only joined the cruise line a month before and was not responsible for the visa misinformation. I had expressed my frustration to the very person who was not responsible.
A BOMBSHELL - Exactly seven days prior to our departure for Dubai we received another written notice from Silversea stating, "United Arab Emirates Immigration authorities may not allow passengers with an Israeli stamp or visa in their passports to enter the country, go ashore, or debark the vessel. Silversea will not be held responsible nor will Silversea make a refund or be otherwise liable to any guest for such denial of entry.." That denial of liability would be logical if Silversea had notified passengers of this possibility well in advance. After all, they planned this itinerary more than a year in advance. Notifying passengers only days prior to cruise departure and then denying any refunds speaks for itself. We were fortunate that our passports had not been stamped in Israel or the Palestinian Territories when we traveled there the month before our cruise. In the end, one has sympathy for cruise lines that are at the mercy of government authorities, but this sympathy evaporates if the cruise lines do not perform due diligence in notifying their passengers in a timely fashion. I assume that similar problems will not recur now that the Silver Cloud has a new immigration officer.
Part 2 of Silversea Silver Cloud Cruise Review - By E.F. Schlenk
However, in early January, exactly sixty days prior to our departure for Dubai and half-way into the cancellation penalty period, we received a written notice from Silversea that "United States and Canadian passport holders must have an individual visa for Qatar prior to boarding. Guests without a visa for Qatar will be denied boarding." Silversea provided the name of a visa service in Washington DC to obtain the required visa, which cost almost $200 per person including express shipping but not priority service. The visa took three weeks to obtain. For us this visa cost came to about $50 per person per hour that we were ashore in Qatar.
For some passengers this unexpected additional cost may be unimportant compared to the absence of their passports and inability to travel abroad for several weeks. We had previously booked back-to-back Caribbean cruises in January, which we had canceled. We had to obtain the required visa as soon as Silversea notified us in January because we had also previously booked a non-refundable trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories during February.
We were surprised when we ultimately boarded the Silver Cloud in Dubai, we found a written notice from Silversea stating that "With regard to our call at Doha, Qatar, all guests (all nationalities) going ashore in this port must have a valid visa. If you have not already arranged this in advance, we can obtain this on your behalf. The cost is $50 USD, which may be charged to your shipboard account. If you do not wish to go ashore on this day, but choose to remain onboard, then no visa will be required." You can imagine how angry this revelation made cruise passengers who had followed Silversea's original instructions. I think Silversea may have lost future customers because of their handling of this visa issue. It certainly made their central office look disorganized. I was angry when I outlined the above events to the ship's immigration officer shortly after boarding. We were later invited to dine with him, where we learned that the poor fellow had only joined the cruise line a month before and was not responsible for the visa misinformation. I had expressed my frustration to the very person who was not responsible.
A BOMBSHELL - Exactly seven days prior to our departure for Dubai we received another written notice from Silversea stating, "United Arab Emirates Immigration authorities may not allow passengers with an Israeli stamp or visa in their passports to enter the country, go ashore, or debark the vessel. Silversea will not be held responsible nor will Silversea make a refund or be otherwise liable to any guest for such denial of entry.." That denial of liability would be logical if Silversea had notified passengers of this possibility well in advance. After all, they planned this itinerary more than a year in advance. Notifying passengers only days prior to cruise departure and then denying any refunds speaks for itself. We were fortunate that our passports had not been stamped in Israel or the Palestinian Territories when we traveled there the month before our cruise. In the end, one has sympathy for cruise lines that are at the mercy of government authorities, but this sympathy evaporates if the cruise lines do not perform due diligence in notifying their passengers in a timely fashion. I assume that similar problems will not recur now that the Silver Cloud has a new immigration officer.
Part 2 of Silversea Silver Cloud Cruise Review - By E.F. Schlenk
