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
The European Union’s new EES - Entry/Exit System is expected to be implemented in Schengen areas (29 countries, except Cyprus and Ireland) in late 2025.
When a vessel enters their first port in the Schengen area, and is arriving from a non-Schengen country, all non-EU passengers will have to be seen by the local immigration authorities, individually ashore in the terminal. All guests must present their passport and will be required to have a photograph taken, along with their fingerprints electronically scanned. This process will only be required upon the vessels’ first entry into the Schengen area, not subsequent entries throughout the itinerary.
We are working with our Port Agents to make the process as smooth as possible, but whilst we are aware that some immigration authorities are already making efforts to improve their control procedures, we are expecting that some port terminals may not be sufficiently prepared. This is likely to cause significant delays however, this will be wholly out of our control.
Please click here for more information about this new system.
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.
