Cruise and tours in Israel

[forevertravel]

We are considering a cruise from Athens to Istanbul with three days in Israel. Has anyone taken this cruise? Any comments or recommendations? How about the included tours in Israel? Were they good? The itinerary this year is more to my liking than next year's. Next year it goes to Alexandria, Egypt for two days and we are not keen on Egypt right now. Any comments will be welcomed. Thank you.

 

Forevertravel:)

 

Forevertravel has cruised with Regent, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America

[Travelcat2]

The excursions Regent offered (mostly included) in the Middle East were some of the best we have experienced. Just about any of the Israel excursions sounded good -- a few have changed since we were there 15 months ago due to various issues in Israel. BTW, we felt safe every minute we were in the country. IMO you can't go wrong with an itinerary that includes Israel (or Jordan, etc.).

[cruisealert]

We are considering a cruise from Athens to Istanbul with three days in Israel. Has anyone taken this cruise? Any comments or recommendations? How about the included tours in Israel? Were they good? The itinerary this year is more to my liking than next year's. Next year it goes to Alexandria, Egypt for two days and we are not keen on Egypt right now. Any comments will be welcomed. Thank you.

 

Forevertravel:)

 

Forevertravel has cruised with Regent, Royal Caribbean, and Holland America

We were on a similar cruise and it was during uprisings in Athens -- in front of our hotel. Great cruise. Cancelled 2 stops in Egypt and added a day in Israel which was great. Excursions were long but enjoyed all of them, especially trip around Sea of Galilee and another to the Golan Heights. Loved excursion to Dead Sea and Masada. Excursion into Jerusalem and Bethlehem were good. Disliked the commercialism about Jesus and sacred Christianity spots, like birthplace of Jesus -- too crowded. It is a trip we will always remember. I did a cruise critic review. By the way, excursion to Ephesus was fabulous and we loved Istanbul

[findacruise]

We were on the same cruise as TC2 and I echo her comments about the excellent tours. It was our 1st Regent cruise and we were very impressed. My DH's favorite was Massada and the Deaad Sea. We also did Jerusalem and Bethlehem and agree with OP about commercialism but are still glad we went. Never felt unsafe.

 

Joanna

[Eager2Travel]

We did something a little different in Israel. We hired a guide who picked us up at the ship. We spent 2 nights in a hotel in Jerusalem. This way we maximized our time there. On our cruise the ship was docked in Haifa for the 2 nights so the excursions required longer bus rides. Regent also included 1 night at the hotel complimentary so we only had to pay for one night. Regent arranged the extra night for us while we were onboard. It was a wonderful opportunity for a more in-depth experience.

[cruisealert]

We did something a little different in Israel. We hired a guide who picked us up at the ship. We spent 2 nights in a hotel in Jerusalem. This way we maximized our time there. On our cruise the ship was docked in Haifa for the 2 nights so the excursions required longer bus rides. Regent also included 1 night at the hotel complimentary so we only had to pay for one night. Regent arranged the extra night for us while we were onboard. It was a wonderful opportunity for a more in-depth experience.

I wish we had done that. It would have been even better way to see Israel. But we loved it and also felt safe. Regent was first class.

[forevertravel]

Thank you all. You have increased my interest on this cruise. I have looked at tours and the ones in Jerusalem sound so good. I know my husband will love the Massada tour. This trip does not include Egypt for which I'm glad. Although I would love to see the pyramids we don't want to go with all the unrest going on. My TA told me not to worry that tours in Egypt are accompanied by "armed guards". That's not my way to travel. Next year's cruise has two days in Alexandria (there were unrests there last month) but this year's it doesnt. That's one of the reasons we want to go this fall instead of next year. Now I need to talk my husband into it since we are also doing Asia (with Regent, of course) this year. Thank you again.

 

:)

 

Forevertravel has cruised with Regent, Holland America, Orient Lines, and Royal Caribbean.

[Emdee]

We did something a little different in Israel. We hired a guide who picked us up at the ship. We spent 2 nights in a hotel in Jerusalem. This way we maximized our time there. On our cruise the ship was docked in Haifa for the 2 nights so the excursions required longer bus rides. Regent also included 1 night at the hotel complimentary so we only had to pay for one night. Regent arranged the extra night for us while we were onboard. It was a wonderful opportunity for a more in-depth experience.

 

Eager2Travel,

Can you give me some information on this. we will be two nights in Haifa too.

You say you booked the overnight on the ship rather than in advance? Also if you can give me your tour guide contact that will help too.

 

I have booked the Regent excursions but if I can get something better that will be wonderful.

Thanks so much

[Eager2Travel]

Hi, Emdee

 

The reason we waited until we were onboard to book the hotel was that we weren't sure where Regent was going to put us for the complimentary night. We wanted to make sure we didn't have to change hotels. The concierge took care of this for us. Her name was Connie. She was great. She made sure with Destination services which hotel Regent had us at.

 

Our guide's name was Nomi. We got her as a direct referral from someone else who had used her. She was outstanding but often booked way in advance. My understanding of Israeli guides is that they have to fullfull strigent requirements to be certified. I will try to locate her contact info. You could also check in the port section of Cruise Critic for referrals.

 

Our days with her were the highlight of our cruise which had many wonderful stops such as Petra and Valley of the Kings. Both my husband and I especially enjoyed the undivided attention and her warm friendly manner as well as her knowledge of the three religions, Israel's history and current events. She spoke English, Hebrew, Arabic as well as several other languages. It was a splurge but well worth it.

 

I will try and get you more info. If you have more questions ask away.

Ann

[Emdee]

Hi eager2travel/Ann,

So you used your 1 complimentary night at israel mid cruise rather than at the beginning.

 

I just took the credit for the first night since we did our own travel arrangements.

 

Am really looking forward to this trip.

Many thanks

miriam

[Travelcat2]

Hi Emdee: We were on the same cruise as eager2travel. Regent provided all guests the opportunity to have an included overnight in Jerusalem as well as in Luxor. Although our excursions were excellent but I'm sure the private ones were better. Not sure what month you are booked to visit this area but late November/early December made the temperatures very tolerable -- Petra was actually a bit cool. This was an amazing cruise -- one I highly recommend.

[Emdee]

We are booked for May 4th/2013.

There was no talk about an included overnight In Israel. I should check this out.

 

There was one at Luxor at the start of the cruise but we are doing our own air and have been before to Luxor so we took the $200 credit instead.

 

So far I hav booked with the ship.

Petra and Wadi Rum - a marathon excursion but what the heck!

 

Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee

Dead Sea and Masada.

 

Have been to all other ports but there is always something to do so thats fine.

 

Really looking forward to this trip. I think Franck Galzy (sp?) will be on.

[Travelcat2]

We are booked for May 4th/2013.

There was no talk about an included overnight In Israel. I should check this out.

 

There was one at Luxor at the start of the cruise but we are doing our own air and have been before to Luxor so we took the $200 credit instead.

 

So far I hav booked with the ship.

Petra and Wadi Rum - a marathon excursion but what the heck!

 

Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee

Dead Sea and Masada.

 

Have been to all other ports but there is always something to do so thats fine.

 

Really looking forward to this trip. I think Franck Galzy (sp?) will be on.

 

Those excursions sound great! We only did the Petra portion of the "marathon excursion" -- it is quite exhausting (but worth it). Looking back at it, I would have taken a horse back up the hill. It would have been much easier than walking:-)

 

I adore Franck Galzy -- he was on our December cruise. Unfortunately we are sailing on the Mariner this year and he is on the Voyager. We are pleased that Paul Reynolds will be on the Mariner this month.

 

You will definitely love your cruise (once you recover:D)

[Emdee]

The day after Petra is Sharm and we will just go to the beach. The next day is the canal . So two days to relax. Since we have been to all the ports after that we can do some excursions and or rest up. We have spent a lot of time in Greece so have literally done all the excursions there.

[1982CruzStart]

We are booked for May 4th/2013.

There was no talk about an included overnight In Israel. I should check this out.

 

There was one at Luxor at the start of the cruise but we are doing our own air and have been before to Luxor so we took the $200 credit instead.

 

So far I hav booked with the ship.

Petra and Wadi Rum - a marathon excursion but what the heck!

 

Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee

Dead Sea and Masada.

 

Have been to all other ports but there is always something to do so thats fine.

 

 

Really looking forward to this trip. I think Franck Galzy (sp?) will be on.

 

We did the Masada & Dead Sea tour with Regent. Enjoyed the history but when the port was changed to staying in Haifa, the trip was a marathon of endurance as it was about 3pm before we had lunch after leaving the ship at about 8 am. I could have done without the shopping stop that added unnecessary time before our lunch break. Would have been much better after seeing the sites.

 

We were going to do the Petra & Wadi Rum tour until they added an extra day in Jordan to our cruise so we were able to split them into 2 days. They are both fantastic so well worth doing them even in 1 long trip.

[forevertravel]

We are doing a slightly different cruise this September. It starts in Athens with three days in Israel and then ends up in Istanbul. There is no offer of hotel in Tel Aviv. There is a free hotel prior to cruise in Athens. The three days in Israel will be exhausting. Every tour is 10 hours or so. I don't know how long is the drive from port to Jerusalem. We are doing tours in Jerusalem/Bethlehem, Nazareth and Masada. It would be nice to have a day at sea after Israel but not such luck. We'll be at Cyprus and Antalya, Turkey the two days after Israel. We have been to Rhodes, Ephesus and Istanbul but there is always something to see so we won't stay on the ship. It will remind me of St. Petersburg and all the long days. This is our big year for cruising. Asia and also Israel. The same cruise next year includes Alexandria and we don't want to go to Egypt at present. Thanks for the comments.

 

Forevertravel has cruised with Regent, Holland America, Orient Lines, and Royal Caribbean

[Travelcat2]

The days are extremely long -- whether you are in Haifa or Ashdod (there were problems in Ashdod so we docked 3 days in Haifa also). The buses were fine -- it was the passengers that got a bit grouchy. The sunny side of the bus really gets warm by the window so the people want to pull the shade down. Passengers on the other side get furious because they want to see the scenery. I understand both sides of this argument and think there needs to be a compromise. Perhaps offering to switch sides of the bus would work. Knowing this in advance can at least prepare you for this -- in case there is a less than happy passenger on board your bus.

 

One more bus issue was the physically challenged people -- usually seated in front of the bus (they really did hold the front seats for disabled folks which was great ). However, it wasn't so great when they wanted to be the first people off of the bus. Some buses had the middle door -- this helped a lot. Still, trying to get wheelchairs, etc. from under the bus while the front row people were blocking the exits was not a good thing.

 

Despite the above, the excursions were some of the best we have ever done with Regent. Most passengers took a nap on the long drive back to the ship -- it did make the time go faster:o

[findacruise]

We are doing a slightly different cruise this September. It starts in Athens with three days in Israel and then ends up in Istanbul. There is no offer of hotel in Tel Aviv. There is a free hotel prior to cruise in Athens. The three days in Israel will be exhausting. Every tour is 10 hours or so. I don't know how long is the drive from port to Jerusalem. We are doing tours in Jerusalem/Bethlehem, Nazareth and Masada. It would be nice to have a day at sea after Israel but not such luck. We'll be at Cyprus and Antalya, Turkey the two days after Israel. We have been to Rhodes, Ephesus and Istanbul but there is always something to see so we won't stay on the ship. It will remind me of St. Petersburg and all the long days. This is our big year for cruising. Asia and also Israel. The same cruise next year includes Alexandria and we don't want to go to Egypt at present. Thanks for the comments.

 

Forevertravel has cruised with Regent, Holland America, Orient Lines, and Royal Caribbean

 

We are on the upcoming Asia trip together. We should find time to talk, as DH and I did the Regent cruise that went to Israel etc. in Nove/Dec 2011. WE'll be on the Beijing pre-cruise and Angkor Wat post so somewhere in all those days there should be time!

 

Joanna Batchelor

[forevertravel]

Joanne, that sounds lovely. We'll be on the Beijing precruise. We are not doing Angor Wat because we are staying in Beijing for three days.

 

Travelcat2, thank you for information. Yes, some people always get grouchy on the buses or tours. We'll hope for the best.

[Travel2Learn]

Forevertravel, Masada is a good tour. However our guide did a few sneaky things. First, he charged for the complimentary bottled water on the bus. The second thing was more more annoying. We stopped at a large store that sells famous Dead Sea products. He pointed out the direction for the restrooms inside the store and said the prices in this store were the best. He neglected to point out the free video on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The theater is located between the store and the other walk to the buses. So we did not see it, or saw it when it was time to return to the bus. We were purposely directed to the entrance to the store that was at the opposite end. I would have preferred watching the video to wasting so much time in the store. There was enough time to shop, see the video and use the restrooms. My third comment is about the speech on the bus to get our sympathy and increase his tips. The guide may have provided good information, but his blatant ways of padding his pocket were annoying.

 

I did not stay overnight in a hotel because of previous experiences in hotels in Israel. A food allergy and less than honest representations of food ingredients made it dangerous. I was consistently lied to about the dairy products and meats. These were 5 star hotels.