Clothing and Dress	Dining Room Seating	Embarkation	Guestrooms
Guest Identification Card	Passenger Policies	Passports & Visas	Shipboard Account
Shore Excursions

Passports and Visas

Brazil - Passport and visa required. Contact the Brazilian Embassy at 3009 Whitehaven St. N.W., Washington, D.C., 20008; telephone 202-238-2828, e-mail consular@brasilemb.org.; Internet: http://www.brasilemb.org.

China, People's Republic of - Passport and visa required. Contact Embassy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) at 2300 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington. D.C. 20008, or call tel. (1-202) 328-2500 through 2502. See http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/. There are also Chinese Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

Egypt - Passport and visa required. Contact: http://www.mfa.gov.eg or Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, 3521 International Court, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, (202) 895-5400 or the Egyptian consulates also in: New York, NY; Chicago, IL 60611; Houston, TX; San Francisco, CA.

Mexico - Proof of citizenship and a photo ID are required to enter Mexico. A tourist card is also required. To obtain the tourist card, you must pay a $20 fee and show proof of citizenship and sufficient funds.

Panama - Passport or proof of U.S. citizenship and photo ID, tourist card or visa, proof of sufficient funds, and onward/return ticket required.

Russia - Passport and visa required. Tourist visa, valid for 30 days, requires 1 application form, 1 photo, confirmation and voucher from travel agency and/or hotel in Russia, cover letter from travel agency, and processing fee.

Turkey - Passport and visa required. Visas can be obtained at Turkish border crossing points for tourist/business visits of up to 3 months or through a Turkish consular office in the U.S. Contact the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey at 2525 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008, telephone: (202) 612-6700, or the Turkish consulates general in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, or New York. Information may also be found at Internet address http://www.turkey.org.

Embarkation Time

Embarkation times are printed on the front of your Cruise Ticket. We recommend that you do not arrive at the cruise terminal prior to the indicated embarkation time. You must board the ship no less than one hour before departure, and the gangway will be pulled approximately thirty minutes before sailing. Prior to boarding, you will pass through a security checkpoint. Next, you will be required to complete ship check-in formalities.

IMPORTANT: On initial boarding of your ship, you will need to present your travel documents, including your Cruise Ticket portion of your Cruise Contract, a completed Immigration questionnaire, and your passport. At check-in they may require the collection of passports for cruises that travel from country to country to prepare for immigration formalities. You will receive a passport receipt, and will be advised on board when the passports will be redistributed.

Guest Identification Card

Upon completion of check-in, you will receive a guest identification card equipped with a bar code. This card serves as your identification for security purposes when embarking and disembarking the ship and for making purchases on board. It is also a room key on some ships. Please have your card and photo identification ready and available whenever getting on or off the ship, as you will need to scan your card at the optical monitors located at the gangway.

Guestrooms

When embarkation commences, the previous sailing guests will have just disembarked and the cruise line we will still be in the process of preparing the vessel for your cruise. The cruise line will advise you when your stateroom will be ready. Your luggage will arrive in your stateroom later, via your cabin steward.

Clothing & Dress

The right clothing can make a big difference in the enjoyment of your cruise. First and foremost, dress for comfort. Daily life aboard ship and in ports of call is laid-back and casual. Wear whatever makes you feel most comfortable - sportswear, shorts, sun dresses, slacks, and so on. Warmer climates call for clothing made of lightweight, breathable fabrics. For cooler climates we suggest casual clothes that can be layered easily and possibly a raincoat and waterproof hat or umbrella and gloves. Bring a swimsuit as all ships have pools and whirlpools. You may wish to bring more than one outfit for the water, if you'll be spending much time in and around it. Cruise lines ask that you wear shoes and a cover-up over a bathing suit when walking through the interior of the ship.

If you'd like to jog on deck or work out in the fitness center, bring workout gear. Footwear should include comfortable walking shoes for visits ashore and sandals or rubber-soled shoes for strolling on deck.

Evening dress falls into three distinct categories. Each night a daily program will be delivered to your stateroom announcing the suggested dress for the following evening. Comfortable, relaxed clothing is fine for evenings designated as "casual"; however, T-shirts, jeans, swimsuits, tank tops and shorts are not allowed in the dining room, buffet areas, restaurants or public areas during the evening hours. During informal nights, dresses or pantsuits for women and jackets (tie optional) for men are standard. On festive formal evenings, women usually wear cocktail dresses or gowns and men usually wear business suits or tuxedos. There are approximately two formal nights per week. (Gentlemen: Although business suits or tuxedos are suggested attire for formal evenings, they are certainly not required. You are welcome to wear a jacket and tie on formal nights.) Formal wear for ladies and gentlemen can be pre-ordered for your use for the duration of your cruise. In order to complement your fellow guests, cruise lines ask that you observe the suggested dress code throughout the entire evening.

Shipboard Account

Cruise lines use a cashless society designed to make your life on board as simple as possible. When you board the ship, your account has already been activated and you may make purchases by simply showing your guest identification card and signing a receipt. On embarkation day, you will need to register your credit or debit card (Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®) in order to use your onboard account for shipboard purchases. At the end of your cruise, you will receive a final statement, and your card will be charged only for the actual amount of your purchases. Please inform your credit or debit card issuer in advance that your card will be used; this will help prevent delays in obtaining pre-authorization on board. Some banks may keep the pre-authorization in place for up to 30 days. If you do not want to use a credit or debit card, the ship will collect a cash deposit from you at time of boarding in the same pre-authorization amount. Any excess deposit will be refunded to you at the end of the cruise. Traveler’s checks may be cashed at the front office to make your deposit. Personal checks are not accepted on board.

Dining Room Seating

Requests will be accepted by the maître d'hotel on sailing day. Gate 1 Travel will accept requests for dining time preference, but cannot be guarantee confirmation prior to embarkation.

Shore Excursions

May only be purchased aboard ship.

Passenger Policies

All passenger policies are determined by the cruise line. Gate 1 Travel takes no responsibility for the passenger policies of your cruise line nor for ship substitutions, itinerary changes, or any other amendments imposed by the cruise line.