Silhouette cancels Ashdod and Haifa

[sandrab]

FYI the captain on board Silhouette has just announced that the ship will not be calling at Ashdod or Haifa (the ports for Jerusalem and Bethlehem) this week due to the local unrest. My parents sailed Saturday last and were so looking forward to their visit to these historical places, but texted me tonight with the news and say they trust the captain's decision. They haven't been given an alternative itinerary yet apart from heading to Istanbul - they are currently in Alexandria. Whilst it is of course really disappointing, I am certainly glad the captain is taking no chances and he is putting the safety of his passengers and crew first.

[cruiseerf]

I wonder if this decision was based upon the safety of the passengers OR the safety of the ship? I wouldn't be surprised if the insurance companies classify this "conflict" as a war....and could prove it in court......how many missles fired? How many people dead?

 

Most Ships big and small and rental cars, machinery etc are NOT covered when traveling to WAR zones....Would you park your 400+million dollar ship in an uninsured spot? Me thinks not....

 

Now if it was another reason....and that cruiseline stood to make 3.000.000 from shore excursions....I wonder what the outcome would be?

 

I disagree with this attitude, but more and more, see it as the way of the world.....

 

Safe travels to all! NYC

[Host Walt]

Please note, the topic is the itinerary change of Silhouette, not Middle East political matters.

 

Because Cruise Critic is a forum for discussion of cruising and not a political or world affairs forum, posts that are not related to cruising have been and will continue to be removed.

[Freecall]

Sounds like they have sorted a ceasefire now so hopefully all those heading that way will get to enjoy themselves.

 

:)

[goodoldan]

Geez... I was booked on this cruise and had to cancel a couple of months ago (due to health issues, not worries about conflict there). I feel for those folks on board who aren't getting to see Israel, but I suppose I'm happy that for me it worked out that I got to save those cruise dollars for another day. I went on a 15-day NCL trip last year that cancelled our stop in Alexandria (no stop in Israel was planned) and substituted Istanbul for a couple of days instead. While I guess I would have seen Alexandria this time, a repeat stop in Istanbul (if that's where they're going) would have been another disappointment after missing Israel.

 

I think if I'm ever going to see Israel, I'll just have to get on an airplane and go there. Cruises to that region just seem to be too sketchy these days.

 

Dan

[goodoldan]

Just saw this announcement from Celebrity... Looks like they're going to Istanbul...

------------------------------------------

November 20, 2012

 

Celebrity Cruises continues to closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East. Due to the continued hostilities in Israel, Celebrity Silhouette will no longer call to Jerusalem (Ashdod), on Thursday, November 22, and Haifa, on Saturday, November 24. Instead, the ship will now call to Istanbul, Turkey, at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, November 23, and stay overnight until 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 24.

 

The safety and security of our guests and crew members is always foremost in our minds. We will continue to closely monitor developments in Israel and will contact guests or their travel agents should we make any additional modifications to upcoming itineraries.

[2theship]

I think if I'm ever going to see Israel, I'll just have to get on an airplane and go there. Cruises to that region just seem to be too sketchy these days.

 

Dan

 

Dan, while there are many places I like to visit from a cruise ship, I think that Israel requires an extended stay with a good guide. No matter your religion, there are so many places of significance that require contemplation and time to absorb. Look for a planned group tour that covers areas you'd like to see and gives you a week to ten days to spend there. At least, that's my opinion.

[Orator]

On SIL now. The decision was based on the facts at the time and was correct. Be in Istanbul today and tomorrow.

[goodoldan]

Silhouette docking at Istanbul this morning...

 

[goodoldan]

Dan, while there are many places I like to visit from a cruise ship, I think that Israel requires an extended stay with a good guide. No matter your religion, there are so many places of significance that require contemplation and time to absorb. Look for a planned group tour that covers areas you'd like to see and gives you a week to ten days to spend there. At least, that's my opinion.

 

Agreed! A couple of days there on a cruise ship was a compromise to be sure... it's just such an easy way to travel. My church organizes a tour there each year so maybe that's the ticket.

 

Dan

[buggins0402]

On SIL now. The decision was based on the facts at the time and was correct. Be in Istanbul today and tomorrow.

 

We were on NCL Jade and saw SIL go by us when we were heading back to Rome and she was heading to Egypt. Had tried every which way to do the SIL sailing but couldn't get my work schedule to fit.

 

We did manage to port - ship stayed in Haifa and skipped Ashdod. But, that was probably only because the conflict was only in the first days. We were headed to Haifa when it started and looking at map don't know if captain could have done anything else, except two days at sea or more port time in Egypt at that point. Things definitely escalated while we were in port. Captain must have not slept that night with half his ship's passengers off wandering around Israel for two days on many overnight excursions and with air raid warnings going off in Tel Aviv.

 

But, to tell you the truth - other than very tight security in and around Old City last Friday, we didn't notice much. Since we were DIY it did impact our touring, as we had to get back to Haifa before trains stopped for Sabbat. Had originally planned to taxi to Ashdod from Jerusalem. And, we were in Tel Aviv twice to change from train to bus and noticed nothing unusual.