Thread: Visa requirements for Brazil

My family and I are booked on Rotterdam for a 25 day cruise starting in Venice on October 22 and ending in Rio. One of the ports befor Brazil is Dakar, Senegal. I will need a visa and have looked it up online (cost about $100) also on line is conflicting info from Consulate of Brazil for the necessity of yellow fever immunization. I have called around and it can get costly for the 3 of us. Has anyone got some experience with this? If we do not leave the ship inDakar will we still need the immunizations? How does it get checked whether or not you have had the shot. Any help is much appreciated.

We just had to cancel a 26 day Prinsendam cruise for 2008 that included the Amazon River. Our yellow fever shots are up Jan 20, 2008. Since I had a very bad reaction to a Typhoid Shot that I got in June which also caused me to have a minor stroke, I have been advised by our family doctor not to get the shot -- people over 60 have a greater risk of having a reaction to it which can cause the organs to shut down.

On our Ryndam cruise this November, we are required to take along our Yellow Immunization/Vaccination cards as Nicaragua (never had to have a yellow fever shot for that country before) and Ecuador require this shot. If we don't show these cards, we will be denied boarding the ship in San Diego. This is a HAL ruling for the shot for Nicaragua.

Yes, you will need Visa's for Brazil.

The Yellow Fever shots are expensive - in PA around $170 each person.

You also have to allow at least 6 - 8 weeks before your cruise to turn in your passports to get the Visa's.

Originally Posted by macdons

My family and I are booked on Rotterdam for a 25 day cruise starting in Venice on October 22 and ending in Rio. One of the ports befor Brazil is Dakar, Senegal. I will need a visa and have looked it up online (cost about $100) also on line is conflicting info from Consulate of Brazil for the necessity of yellow fever immunization. I have called around and it can get costly for the 3 of us. Has anyone got some experience with this? If we do not leave the ship inDakar will we still need the immunizations? How does it get checked whether or not you have had the shot. Any help is much appreciated.

Hi macdons, I'm looking at the Brazillian Tourist Visa webpage, Consulate General of Brazil - Tourist Visas
Visa Requirements
and the yellow fever info. does not seem conflicting to me. You would have to consult your family physician, or local Health Dept. concerning the cost of the yellow fever immunizations. Immunizations are very expensive.

As far as Dakar, Senegal is concerned, US citizens do not need a visa to enter Senegal. You must however possess a valid US Passport. You would only need a yellow fever vaccination if you have been to an infected area within the previous 5 days, so it follows, since you will need the yellow fever shot for Brazil(you are in Senegal before entering Brazil), you'd be covered. See link below.
Senegal Entry Requirements for USA citizens

You'll need to call your travel agent or the Consulate for Senegal, to find out if you're still req'd to have the immunization even if you do not leave the ship. How do they check for current immunuzations? You have to get an International Immunization Certificate from the Dr. or health dept. giving you the yellow fever shot. Let them know you need it to travel to Senegal.

Diplomatic Representation in US:
Ambassador: Amadou Lamine BA
Chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540, 0541
Fax: (202) 332-6315

We visited Brazil last year and to avoid the required yellow fever shot our Travel Medicine Doctor gave us an 'age exemption' certificate. We're seniors and he advised against having the risky shot. He added plenty of official looking stamps. For what it's worth, no questions were asked when we crossed into Brazil from Argentina to see the falls.

(The cruise portion of our extensive South American holiday was the Chile to Argentina cruise on Infinity, Celebrity Line. The shots were not needed for the cruise portion but for the land portion at the end when we were on our own in Argentina and Brazil)

VISA REQUIREMENTS ....

This has me puzzeled? In the past when we have taken a cruise to a port that requires a visa, it was covered by a "blanket visa" for the ship? Is it different now? Seriously, I'd really like to know.

Originally Posted by LuLu

VISA REQUIREMENTS ....

This has me puzzeled? In the past when we have taken a cruise to a port that requires a visa, it was covered by a "blanket visa" for the ship? Is it different now? Seriously, I'd really like to know.

Good question LuLu, I don't know how it works in Brazil. We had a Princess cruise to the Baltics & Scandinavia booked & subsequently cancelled. If you purchased a shore excursion from Princess for St Petersburg, Russia, a visa is not req'd to enter Russia(blanket visa). However, if you purchased a shore excursion independently, you are then req'd to obtain a visa to enter Russia.