Passport & Visa Information
PASSPORTS
As with all holidays to foreign countries, you will need to have a valid biometric (e-passport) or machine-readable passport, with sufficient blank pages for entry and exit stamps (applicable to the length and ports of call in your itinerary).
For travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must meet the Schengen area rules. As a general rule, your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be: 1. less than 10 years old on the day you enter (check the ‘date of issue’) 2. valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’). For travel outside of the EU your passport should be valid for 6 months after the date of your return. We will follow UK Government advice (which can be found here) however it is worth noting, that passport requirements when entering by sea, may differ from the entry requirements when arriving by air. If in any doubt of the validity of your passport, please contact our Guest Services Team at least three months prior to travel.
If you do not hold a valid 10-year British passport, please note it can take up to twelve weeks to obtain a new one. If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non-British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel.
If you do not possess the correct documentation, you may be denied boarding, without refund of the cruise fare, subject to any fine or other costs incurred by Ambassador Cruise Line.
EUROPEAN UNION'S NEW EES - ENTRY/EXIT SYSTEM
From 12 October 2025, the European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) will begin. This is a new digital border system that will change requirements for British guests travelling to the Schengen area.
If you are travelling to a country in the Schengen area using a UK passport, you will be required to register your biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photo, when you arrive. You do not need to take any action before you arrive at the border, and there is no cost for EES registration. After it is fully implemented, EES registration will replace the current system of manually stamping passports when visitors arrive in the EU.
However, it has been confirmed that cruise passengers embarking and disembarking their cruise in the UK, will not be required to go through the EES process.
Guests embarking or disembarking their cruise at a port that is not considered the ships’ ‘UK home port’ and instead is a country in the Schengen area, will be required to go through the EES process. We are working with our Port Agents to make the process as smooth as possible however, this is likely to cause delays to your embarking/disembarking procedures and this will be wholly out of Ambassadors’ control, so please plan your timings accordingly.
For more information, please visit: EU Entry/Exit System - GOV.UK
ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORISATION (ETA) FOR NON-BRITISH NATIONALS
Starting from 2 April 2025, all non-UK nationals will be required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in order to travel to the United Kingdom.
If you do not hold a British passport, we strongly recommend visiting Apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) - GOV.UK at your earliest convenience. This will help ensure you meet the necessary requirements and possess the correct documentation for your nationality. Please note that approval may take up to three working days, so we advise applying well in advance of your planned departure date.
VISAS, TESTING AND PASSENGER LOCATOR FORMS (PLFS)
Visa, testing and entry requirements can change at any time, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that you check with a professionally qualified source and comply with such requirements.
The Travel Visa Company is Ambassador Cruise Line’s preferred visa, testing and entry provider. They can offer help and advice on specific requirements for Ambassador Cruise Line’s cruising itineraries as well as independent travel. For your convenience, The Travel Visa company’s online portal provides detailed visa, testing and entry information for Ambassador’s cruises, as well as online and downloadable applications.
For more information please visit https://thetravelvisacompany.co.uk/ambassador-cruise-line/ call on 01270 904 907 or email enquiries@thetravelvisacompany.co.uk.
Disclaimer: It is important that you recheck your passport and visa requirements no later than 2 months prior to your cruise departure. The information provided on this site was correct at the time of publishing and is subject to change. It is your responsibility to travel with the correct travel documentation.
