The Visa Challenge

Many have heard of visas and understand they are associated with passports allowing an individual to enter, leave or stay in a country for a specific period of time. As US citizens, we have enjoyed visa-free travel to most countries surrounding the states. In our travels, the only exception was Cuba where we simply filled out a small form while on the ship. Naively I expected something similar for the world cruise. I knew something was up when Royal Caribbean requested passengers manage their own visas.

Some quick research revealed each country has different visa types with different requirements. Some were simple electronic visas requesting minimal information, while others were more complicated requesting pages of information. In one situation the requested information included grandparents ethnicity. Another required a trip to their embassy in Washington DC. All this was achievable, but their were three issues that could make visas and the trip a nightmare.

The first issue is countries are constantly changing their requirements and procedures. Visa-free travel could become visa required for any of the 60+ countries on the trip. The second issue is timing. Some visas can be acquired before the trip while others would have to be requested on specific dates during the cruise. The third issue is old misinformation. The internet is full of old information and misinformation from 'official looking' non-official sites. I did not want to spend vacation time becoming a visa expert.

Our solution was hiring Generations Visa Service, specialists in international visa management. We each filled out their 19 page document and submitted both along with passport quality photos, copies of passports and a personal check. In turn, they monitor our visa requirements, request visas at the appropriate times and notify us of any new requirements or visas we must submit via a cell phone app.

Some cruisers decided to handle visas themselves. In my opinion, Generations Visa Service's fee was well worth the services rendered. With in weeks our decision was validated as the first visas began arriving and the do-it-yourselfers were still discussing visa procedures on Facebook.