Travel troubleshooter Gill Charlton steps in on your behalf

Cruise sails into trouble over visas

Q Earlier last year we decided to book a cabin on the Emerald Princess for its Southampton-to-Sydney cruise departing on September 28. One of the stops on the itinerary is the port of Cochin, in southern India, where we will dock for about eight hours.

When we booked the cruise, no mention was made of the need for visas. We assumed the ship would obtain a group visa. Our agent, Cruise 1st, has now said that we need full tourist visas for India and recommends the Travel Visa Company, which wants to charge us £195 each.

When I telephoned the

Indian High Commission in London, I was told that we would not need a visa if we stayed on board. However, Cruise 1st and Princess Cruises both insist that we must have tourist visas to enter Indian waters. This seems vastly unfair. It will add £390 to the cost of the cruise for the two of us.

Someone is making a lot of money if 3,500 passengers pay £195 each for an Indian visa. Is there a better, cheaper way? SHEILA AND TOM WHITTAKER

A The information given to you by the Indian High Commission (IHC) is wrong. Even if you stay on board ship, you must be in possession of a valid tourist visa to enter India. Last summer the government introduced £40 e-visas for travellers entering by air, but the scheme is not open to cruise passengers.

Princess Cruises says that its parent company, Carnival, continues to raise the issue with the relevant industry bodies, but does not expect a speedy resolution. This means you will need to obtain a traditional tourist visa using the IHC’s postal application service administered by VFS Global. The visa costs £109.44, including a small handling fee, saving you £85 per person.

The application form can be downloaded through VFS Global’s website (invfsglobal.co.uk). The site’s FAQs give a good summary of what you need to do. However, the application process is a minefield – have a techsavvy friend on standby.

You will also have to obtain the information from Cruise 1st to answer the questions about who is sponsoring you. It has a legal duty to supply this (it can’t insist that you use its expensive visa agent). Always write NA (not applicable) in answer to any irrelevant questions, otherwise the form won’t load. Once you have submitted the form online, you can try to pay online, though sometimes the system is down.

If you use the postal application service, you don’t need to book an appointment at a visa centre – something that has confused quite a few readers. However, you must have chosen UK-London as the “mission” and you must send your application only to the Hounslow address.

The form must be accompanied by your passport, two photographs, a signed printout of the declaration, the visa fee as a postal order (though paying online is best if you manage to find the portal), the document checklist printout, and a secure SAE for the passport’s return.

If you get really stuck, telephone the help desk on 020 3793 8629, though I’ve found staff on the 95p-aminute 0905 575 70045 line more helpful.

India is not the only country demanding visa fees from cruise passengers. China also insists on individual visas, which now cost £175 using its postal service.

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India is not the only country demanding visa fees