TaliaBT

6 hours ago, pamrose228 said:

I will be on the Explorer of the seas for overnight in Ashdod and one whole day in Haifa. Want to see Jeruselum yYad Vadshem Masada iNd dead seas. Any reasonsabke tour guides. Oh yeah Shabbas starts at the end of my second day at jersulum

 

tia

Define reasonable. 

Private tour + transportation in Israel is min 600$US per day.

You should do Jerusalem on Thursday and Masada and the Dead Sea on Friday.

Yad Vashem is opened Thursday until 20:00.

Try a guide called Moti. He is a DE in TripAdvisor:

www.travel- israel.info

Look for Rent a Guide. They have daily tours

Does GTI do group tours or only private tours?

GTI are doing both, but their main business are the small groups tour.

The are offering the basic most popular tours out of both port and you can count them, as said in Hebrew, "with the fingers of one hand only", but in these, they are good.

When it comes to private tour, I would recommend you booking directly with a guide. That way you'll choose the guide and you'll be able to tailor, together with he/she the itinerary in the best way for you. It leaves you a full control on almost all aspect of the tour, in the limit of time and mileage.

Very easy to find and contact private guide using the Israel forum on TripAdvisor.

There are guide who post there reguraly and you can contact them.using a PM.

Enjoy your visit in Israel.

The OP said that there is a shuttle to the city. He could get a taxi there for a lot cheaper. Like I wrote the official rate is about $32

I don't.know were you get you information.

The official price Ashdod-Tel Aviv is 68USD.

When taken from the port, it is a bit more.

The problem.is that only authorised taxis can take you all the way to.inside the port...

All the hassle of taking a shuttle to the city, finding a taxi and negotiating the price, and then do the same in Jaffa, and still have the issue of getting into the port... just doesn't worth it!

Hi Ruth,

We will be in Ashdod in October and the ship,leaves at 1400. There is a shuttle into Ashdod city. We would like to see Jaffa and wonder if it is feasible to DIY via a taxi or do you have other suggestions? Would we be better with a tour??We will have been to Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Masada and the Dead Sea. Thanks in advance for your help

Not Ruth, nevertheless. ..

Your best option is a Taxi.

In the terminal there is a taxi dispatch with an official price list. Your price is to Tel Aviv.

Mind you it is one way and it will cost you around 80USD.

You'd better negotiate with the driver for the price waiting for you and take you back. It should be around 25USD for an hour of waiting.

Enjoy your visit.:cool::'):cool::cool::cool::cool:

The sea is not rough. In general Mediterranean storms are nothing compare to the oceans storms. Mid October is not even winter...

You are right that all local suppliers, following the demand, offer only one day tours to Jerusalem, while on the second day most people go on the Masada and the Dead Sea tour.

If you are looking for a 2 days tour to Jerusalem only, possibly with an overnight, your best option will be to hire a guide and go privately.

Take into consideration around 1,100-1,200USD for the guiding and transportation only.

I suggest you to contact directly a local guide, work with him/her on the itinerary, then come to your cruise roll call board and try to find partners.

Most guides in Israel are using minivan on 6 seats so if you find partners it will end up with you paying less than you would have paid if booked the ship excursions.

We will be docked in Ashdod end of October for the day and would like advise on tours. We have been to Jerusalem before so are thinking either Masada and the Dead Sea or Jaffa. Or other suggestions welcome.

Masada and the Dead Sea is a great option if you didn't visit there.

Jaffa is also a great option too but totally different .

While for the Masada option you'll need to join a tour, Jaffa is one of those options that you can do independently, taking a taxi from the port, or even use the cruise shuttle service to Ashdod and take the bus, cheaper but yet I would have recommended the first option more.

My flight leaves TLV airport at 5:10 am on a Wednesday. Does anyone have a suggestion on a convenient place to sleep for a few hours before arriving at the airport around 2:30am?

I can not check in or get past security until 3 hrs prior to my flight.

Thank you in advance for any insight.

There is no hotel in the airport.

But, from.any place around TLV it will take you 30min to get to the airport at night time.

Hi,

 

We are planning our first trip to Israel, for early next October (2018). DH has dreamed of this trip for a very long time :)

 

Our travel agent suggests using Travex for an arranged tour for several days in the middle of our stay. He says they are better than some of the other tour companies specifically for Israel. Is that your understanding, or do you have other recommendations? This would be for a private tour for a few days.

 

Thanks!

 

GC

I suggest you to use the Israel Forum in TripAdvisor and contact a local Israeli tour guide. It will be surely cheaper and better.

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere , but I wasn't sure where to post, and have no response on another thread.

 

It would appear Norwegian have pulled of Middle East - Europe this year, and a Royal are pulling out next April.

 

Am I looking in the wrong place, or is there a reason for this ? I dare say security concerns through the region would be the key issue..

 

I enjoy repositioning cruises, and it would appear this one is barely an option, aside from Celebrity with one lone stop in Petra.

 

Look forward to some learned advice from the community.

Also Regent Oceania

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere , but I wasn't sure where to post, and have no response on another thread.

 

It would appear Norwegian have pulled of Middle East - Europe this year, and a Royal are pulling out next April.

 

Am I looking in the wrong place, or is there a reason for this ? I dare say security concerns through the region would be the key issue..

 

I enjoy repositioning cruises, and it would appear this one is barely an option, aside from Celebrity with one lone stop in Petra.

 

Look forward to some learned advice from the community.

Also Oceania and Regent.

Petra Guest House and Movenpic are 2 of the finest hotels in Wadi Musa located right at the visitors center.

I like the Petra Guest House that has a amazing bar in.and old Nabatian cave!!

I think they both rated 5 stars.

The answer is very simple.

You need a visa arranged in advance.

Like any other visas issued abroad your visa is either stuck to you passport or stamps.

If you won't arrange yourself a visa you won't be able to get off the ship. That simple.

There is no problem in staying onboard. This is a common thing. Lots of time you have on the ships passengers with nationalities that need visa (a lot usually from the crew) and they just stay onboard.

Whether it worth arranging a second passport or not, that is a personal decision.

I want to note that it is not always the same.

 

While often the immigration is done face to face prior to arrival we have seen it done this way and also we have seen it done at the port.

 

Also I have seen it when shortly after you arrive you are off the ship and other times where you waited an hour or more.

 

A lot of this depends on events at the time of your arrival.

 

Keith

The OP is coming on Celebrity Silhouette or Constellation. These are over 1,500 passengers ships. This process is always done when big ships are involved, unless the ship is coming from the south from the Gulf.

In this case both ships are coming from Europe so you can expect what I wrote.

You can get off the ship at the moment the ship get the clearance. Some companies are trying to prevent the independents passengers to get off before the ship's excursions leave, however they cannot do that, and no one can stop a passenger who want to get off the ship once the ship is cleared!

When immigration is done on ship the clearance process of the ship is very quick.

We'll be visiting Israel with Celebrity next month - two nights docked at Ashdod and one at Haifa. What's the process for passing through immigration, customs and security before meeting our small-group tour guide?

We'll be coming back to the ship each night.

The immigration process will take place on your ship prior to your arrival. Israeli officials will embark your ship in Europe and along the sea day before Ashdod you will be called for the "face control interview".

Not like other port, in israel you are required to carry your passport with you along all your staying in Israel. Therefor the ship will return to you your passport before the interview and you'll get also a "landing card" which you'll have to carry in your passport. This is actually your visa to Israel. Israel is not stamping passport anymore (so if you'll want to visit places that does not like us, there will be no trace of your visit to Israel in your passport!!).

at the end of day 3, in Haifa, the ship will collect back your passport.

The only process you will have to go through when getting off the ship in both ports will be the security check.

it is a short, very efficient process, that takes minutes only.

In both ports your guide and transportation will wait for you at the exit of the passengers terminal.

You can get back to the ship anytime you want and also get off. While staying overnight in Ashdod you can leave the ship or return even in the middle of the night... However, take into consideration that in Ashdod the terminal is in the port and you can't walk to the exit of the port. Your tour will return you back to the terminal, but if you want to do it independently you will have to use either the ship shuttle or an authorised taxi.

Our ship will be overnight in Ashdod. Is it possible to get off the ship on the second day early (like 6am) and would there be a taxi there at that time of day waiting?

 

don

You can leave your ship any time of the day, including in the middle of the night.

There is a 24hrs security people buy the gangway so there is no problem with that.

Your only issue is to arrange a taxi pickup.

I don't think you will get taxi before 7:00, but since it is the second day you can close with a taxi driver on the first day to come and pick you up at any time you want on the second day.

We're scheduled to visit Masada in a few weeks. But the trip' from Ashdod is a bit long. For people who have done it... Is it worth it?

The trip to Masada is indeed a long trip (around 2 hours) how ever, no doubts, it worth it!

Masada is one of the most important, famous and visited site in Israel!

Don't miss it!

Fantastic! Do you recommend purchasing train tickets in advance?

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

You cannot purchase train tickets in advance in Israel.

In the station you can purchase using credit card or NIS in cash.

We are a group of six cruising to Haifa on Oct 30; then Ashdod Oct 31 & Nov 1. We'd like a private tour company or private guide who can accommodate six people for all three days. (Tried GTI, but they were full.)

 

Can you recommend a guide?

Try contacting Travel Israel Info on http://www.travel-israel.info.

You are coming on busy time. On your date the Regent Explorer is in Israel too doing embarkation and most of the guides will be unavailable so I wouldn't wait too long!

I used Sandy Kuttler for a full week in Israel last year, and he was excellent. He's a licensed tour guide, and was born in Teaneck, NJ so his English is excellent. His website is http://www.israelwithsandy.com and his email is sandy_k@sarid.org.il.

Sandy is also a very good guide.

:mad:

 

We are on the Celebrity Silhouette October 22 cruise and will be stopping in Haifa and Ashdod. Looking for tour recommendations visiting the Jewish sites from both ports. We will be in Haifa for 1 day and 2 days in Ashdod. We have never been to Israel before and are looking for good ideas. We are not looking for a very strenuous tours if possible. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you

Though visiting the "Jewish State" most cruise companies are offering mainly Christian tours. It is simply base on demand...

There are very few passengers that are looking for Jewish tours. Most Jews coming on the cruise ship are arranging themselves private tour, or have relative here.

Since this is your first visit, I suggest you to follow the same and arrange a private tour. It is not cheap but it will allow you to tailor the itinerary according to your needs and agenda and to maximize your time in Israel in the best way.

You can contact guides directly and that will save you a bit of the cost but expect at list $600USD per day. If you find partners using your cruise roll call forum here, you can of course cut the cost even more.

Try contacting Tal - talmgd@gmail.com – she was mentioned here and got good review.

Another one is Moti – moti@travel-israel.info – who also got good reviews here.

Using the Israel Forum on Trip Advisor is also a very good resource to find a good guide.

Enjoy your visit to Israel

Well that's us book with G.T.I for Jerusalem & Dead Sea can't wait to go now counting the days [emoji2]

debby1965

you have seemed to either missed my comment regarding the changes in your cruise itinerary or decided to ignore it...

I hope you have booked with G.T.I this tour for the 14/4, because this is the date in which your ship is going to be in Ashdod...

and frankly, I have great respect for G.T.I that offers high standard shore excursions in Israel, however, in this case, for 104GBP including great lunch in the Olive Tree hotel in Jerusalem and the beach admission, Thomson's option is way better.

In any way enjoy your visit!

Around 50Euros one way.

Tel Aviv and Jaffa are the same one city...

And Dead Sea on first Visit. Thanks

Plenty of options. Tel Aviv Jaffa, overnight in the north. But more than that Jerusalem, with all the respect to the shore excursions offered by the cruise companies, they don't even scratch the surface of this 4000 years of history city!