Passport Stamp/Visa Question
 

OK, newbie here...

I have a business trip planned to China in late April 2008.

I then go on vacation (cruise) in late May 2008 to Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, & Italy. In that order...

I have heard that there are issues with entry to certain countries when a stamp/visa is present in the passport from a previous country visited. Do I have anything to worry about with the above countries?

Also, can anyone recommend a China visa service here on the west coast USA? Any tips?

PS: lots of pages left in my passport that expires June 2009.

Nothing to worry about there. While certain Arab countries (e.g. Lebanon, Syria) will forbid entry to those with Israeli stamps on their passports, Egypt is not one of those countries. Furthermore, stamps from certain mainly-Muslim countries will trigger additional questioning at Israeli points of entry (though they aren't an automatic bar to entry), but Turkey is not one of those countries.

You'll be fine.

In any case you'll probably be on a group visa especially if you are only spending a day in port and sailing on overnight

You should not have any problems with your intended itinerary. Egypt no longer has a problem allowing entry for PP holders with Israeli stamps. The only visa you'll need in advance is China. I get my China visas overseas, but I have had a good experience with travisa for many African visas.

Happy travels:)

Correct- no probs entering Egypt and most other ME except v. few.
If you want you can request Israel entry not to stamp your passport if you wish.
Re China closest embassy or your travel agent will do it - usually 3 days.

At the Israel immigration you should ask for a stamp on a special paper page, which can be removed from the passport after leaving the country.

It doesn't hurt to ask. I always have. IME about half the time they'll honor the request. One time when they did not, I was unable to get a visa for Oman, which necessitated a second PP for me.

Thanks for all the replies!