Is it safe to do this "Cities of Antiquity and the Holy Land" itinerary?

[OnTheJourney]

Considering this cruise for '21 as I mentioned in a previous thread. I'm a bit concerned having just read in the "Viking Sun in Ashdod" thread about the recent rocket attacks and bombs flying in Ashdod. The itinerary goes to Haifa and Jerusalem - not directly to Ashdod - but still, not that terribly far away from each other. Is it safe to do this trip? I have always wanted to visit the Holy Land, and this cruise looks like a nice way to do it, but now uncertain that it's the best choice of itineraries. 

Edited December 10, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[Peregrina651]

Airplanes full of tourist arrive in Israel everyday.

 

 

55 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

The itinerary goes to Haifa and Jerusalem - not directly to Ashdod - but still, not that terribly far away from each other.

 

Jerusalem is inland; Ashdod is the port where the ship will dock.

 

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

Although it is many years ago, I have been in both Haifa and Ashdod many times on both passenger and cargo ships. At times, we were in every couple of weeks.

 

Having also travelled to most regions of the world, the security arrangements in both ports are second to none.

 

Since you are considering 2021, I note that my previous cruise line had an extensive security department that visited ports on a regular basis, with frequency dictated by risk factors. In the event of potential trouble, ports are cancelled. While I am not aware of Viking's shore structure, I would be surprised if they didn't have a similar in-house or contracted service.

 

On our upcoming cruise, we have changed 4 ports due to potential security issues.

 

Yes, an attack could happen at any time, but having visited the area many times, I suggest the fairly low risk is worth the reward.

[OnTheJourney]

9 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

 

Yes, an attack could happen at any time, but having visited the area many times, I suggest the fairly low risk is worth the reward.

 

Thanks Heidi. Great and helpful info, as always!  The world, in general, is not a very safe place nowadays anyway, so it's just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time unfortunately. I really do like the itinerary on that trip. Considering it as a way to use the vouchers. 

Edited December 10, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Airplanes full of tourist arrive in Israel everyday.

 

 

 

Jerusalem is inland; Ashdod is the port where the ship will dock.

https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/israel-the-west-bank-and-the-gaza-strip   Not entirely comforting.....

 

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

Thanks Heidi. Great and helpful info, as always!  The world, in general, is not a very safe place nowadays anyway, so it's just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time unfortunately. I really do like the itinerary on that trip. Considering it as a way to use the vouchers. 

The one negative on our upcoming cruise is the minimal ports in the Meddy and on clearing Suez we immediately steam West. When they posted the 2021 WC itinerary with an excellent Meddy itinerary, we were most envious. It has been too many years since I visited Israel, hoping to return in the not too distant future.

 

Hope you sign up and enjoy a relaxed cruise.

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks Andy...so you're doing the '21 WC?  

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

Thanks Andy...so you're doing the '21 WC?  

Negative, we are on the 2nd half of the 2019/20 WC. We depart in 3 weeks. On seeing the itinerary for the 2021, we were most envious, as our previous WC skipped Israel & Egypt completely.

[Haworth]

We did the cruise in 2017, this time of year, if we had to list out top 3 cruises ever it would be in the list, great itinerary, fabulous weather, lots to see and do.

 

we would do it again at the drop of a hat, incidents can happen anywhere, anytime, after all we were both on the Sky.

 

Seriously, do it, you won’t regret the choice.

[RJMAROB]

I would agree with the comments regarding this cruise. We took this cruise in March of this year on the Jupiter and it was great. We did not dock in Haifa due to weather and stayed in Ashdod which caused a longer bus ride on the last excursion to Masada however it did not impact the day. There was heightened activity in the West Bank including an increased military presence during our stopover although we did not experience any disruption.  We have taken 5 Viking Ocean cruises and this was one of the best.

[Cape Hernlopen]

I have been on a cruise to the Middle East and just returned from a three week land tour in Israel and Jordan.  We always felt safe and welcomed by the local population.  I was concerned to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem but visited it and had no concerns.  You are probably safer in Israel and Jordan then it most U. S. metropolitan areas.  Many police and helpful residents.

Joel Barry

[rbslos18]

I visit Israel annually and have lived there for a year. It is one of the safest countries to visit. The cities and places tourists visit are very safe and have excellent security. Israeli security is probably the Gold Standard.

Enjoy the cruise! 
RB

Edited December 12, 2019 by rbslos18

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks to all for such encouraging comments!  For those of you who did this trip, did you do the 2-day "Overland" excursion (Ashdod to Haifa)?  Sounds very nice and covers a good many sites. 

[OnTheJourney]

21 hours ago, Haworth said:

We did the cruise in 2017, this time of year, if we had to list out top 3 cruises ever it would be in the list, great itinerary, fabulous weather, lots to see and do.

 

we would do it again at the drop of a hat, incidents can happen anywhere, anytime, after all we were both on the Sky.

 

Seriously, do it, you won’t regret the choice.

 

Hi Haworth....good point about being on the Sky!!  Indeed...never know, no matter where one travels. I seem to recall you mentioning you were on this trip in a previous thread I started about this cruise. It really sounds like a great way to do the compensation cruise. 

[cocopico]

We did this cruise in March/April of 2019 and had a great time.  We never made it to Ashdod -- high winds caused the captain to stay in Haifa for an extra night -- but I have every confidence that Viking takes security very seriously and would not dock in a dangerous port.  Setting that aside, though, Israel has one of the best security operations in the world and I wouldn't hesitate to visit.  I posted a review of our trip here:

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

Coco...thanks. I'll check it out!  Which excursions did you do? Going to be a tough choice the way it looks. Did you do the 2-day overland? 

Edited December 16, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[dogs4fun]

We recently returned from our second trip to Israel - we were not on a cruise. We felt perfectly safe at all times and we traveled extensively throughout Israel. I even ventured out alone to visit Yad Vashem - took the light rail and felt perfectly safe. I agree with previous posts that security in Israel is top notch. Enjoy your visit.

[MadMarine]

On 12/10/2019 at 9:26 AM, Heidi13 said:

The one negative on our upcoming cruise is the minimal ports in the Meddy and on clearing Suez we immediately steam West. When they posted the 2021 WC itinerary with an excellent Meddy itinerary, we were most envious. It has been too many years since I visited Israel, hoping to return in the not too distant future.

 

Hope you sign up and enjoy a relaxed cruise.

Hey, Heidi,

One of the reasons we are doing the ‘21 WC.  I have a related question on the Suez portion of our trip.  We have a choice of doing a Luxor and Cairo overland or each port separately and doing the canal transit.  I’m kinda enamored with the transit, but could be swayed either way.  Your perspective would be welcome!  
Thanks, Mad

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, MadMarine said:

Hey, Heidi,

One of the reasons we are doing the ‘21 WC.  I have a related question on the Suez portion of our trip.  We have a choice of doing a Luxor and Cairo overland or each port separately and doing the canal transit.  I’m kinda enamored with the transit, but could be swayed either way.  Your perspective would be welcome!  
Thanks, Mad

We opted to complete the 4-day overland, primarily as it is a more comprehensive tour than the tours from the port.

 

Many years ago, I spent 3 months cruising the East Meddy, being in Alexandria every 2 weeks. As a cadet, we were voluntold  that we had to participate in the tours to Cairo/Giza every fortnight. While the roads are better, it is still a long drive - probably 2.5 to 3 hrs each way. In Luxor, it is also a 3 hr drive each way. Way too much time sitting in a bus, for a few hours at the attractions.

 

For Canal transits, I have been through Panama well over 20 times and even now, am out from the initial approaches all through the canal. Suez, I have been through twice - both at night. My best description of Suez is the ditch through the desert. While it would be nice to see it in daylight, there is no guarantee. Our last WC was meant to complete a daylight transit, but our convoy was delayed and we started weighing anchor about 1 hr before sunset.

 

Therefore, we prefer the more comprehensive tours and relaxed schedule of the overland tours and are OK missing the Canal.

[OnTheJourney]

On 12/17/2019 at 8:46 AM, dogs4fun said:

We recently returned from our second trip to Israel - we were not on a cruise. We felt perfectly safe at all times and we traveled extensively throughout Israel. I even ventured out alone to visit Yad Vashem - took the light rail and felt perfectly safe. I agree with previous posts that security in Israel is top notch. Enjoy your visit.

 

More encouraging news....we're definitely going to book this one when it becomes available for Fall '21. 

Edited December 20, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[MadMarine]

8 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

We opted to complete the 4-day overland, primarily as it is a more comprehensive tour than the tours from the port.

 

Many years ago, I spent 3 months cruising the East Meddy, being in Alexandria every 2 weeks. As a cadet, we were voluntold  that we had to participate in the tours to Cairo/Giza every fortnight. While the roads are better, it is still a long drive - probably 2.5 to 3 hrs each way. In Luxor, it is also a 3 hr drive each way. Way too much time sitting in a bus, for a few hours at the attractions.

 

For Canal transits, I have been through Panama well over 20 times and even now, am out from the initial approaches all through the canal. Suez, I have been through twice - both at night. My best description of Suez is the ditch through the desert. While it would be nice to see it in daylight, there is no guarantee. Our last WC was meant to complete a daylight transit, but our convoy was delayed and we started weighing anchor about 1 hr before sunset.

 

Therefore, we prefer the more comprehensive tours and relaxed schedule of the overland tours and are OK missing the Canal.

Thanks, Andy for your suggestion.  Not having done the Suez transit I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I’m not a great fan of long bus trips either.  Need to take another look.

Mad

[Karen NY]

We just did this trip in November. This was the first Viking cruise that encountered the rocket issue and could not dock in Ashdod. I have to say that Viking was amazing regarding rearranging the schedule. We were in Haifa for 2.5 days because of the trip we had had to make to Haifa as we were almost docked in Ashdod. All of the tours were rearranged, and Viking was even able to offer 2 included tours when we arrived in Haifa. I don't know how they were able to arrange things so quickly. While in Israel we felt safe. He went to Jerusalem and Bethlehem and we were watched by the Palestinian Authority while we were there. We did have an issue when we were leaving Jerusalem, but the Palestinian Authority escorted the bus to the check point.  We also went up north and had no issues. It was a great trip with amazing sights. Don't let this deter you. Viking was very contentions and the Israelis are serious about safety.

[jrf123]

On 12/9/2019 at 8:41 PM, Heidi13 said:

Although it is many years ago, I have been in both Haifa and Ashdod many times on both passenger and cargo ships. At times, we were in every couple of weeks.

 

Having also travelled to most regions of the world, the security arrangements in both ports are second to none.

 

Since you are considering 2021, I note that my previous cruise line had an extensive security department that visited ports on a regular basis, with frequency dictated by risk factors. In the event of potential trouble, ports are cancelled. While I am not aware of Viking's shore structure, I would be surprised if they didn't have a similar in-house or contracted service.

 

On our upcoming cruise, we have changed 4 ports due to potential security issues.

 

Yes, an attack could happen at any time, but having visited the area many times, I suggest the fairly low risk is worth the reward.

I lived in Israel for 17 years back in the 70s and 80s, and it never ceases to amaze me how so many people worldwide think it's a dangerous place to visit. I feel safer in Israel than I do in most other places. Our last visit was during the "stabbing intifada," and there was a stabbing incident down the street from where we were staying. Multiple people jumped in to rescue the victim and subdue the assailant. That evening we went out for falafel, sitting at an outdoor cafe, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that if anyone tried anything, the restaurant servers would be out from behind the counter with weapons in nothing flat, and others would jump in to help too. There's none of that "uninvolved bystander" nonsense we have here in the US. As for rockets, the Iron Dome technology has already saved a lot of lives, and for the most part the rockets are intercepted unless they're headed for an empty field. While Ashdod is a reachable target from Gaza, I'm sure Viking takes the proper precautions. So go, and have a wonderful time! It's one of the most interesting countries you'll ever visit. 

 

Heidi13, it looks like we're on the same cruise out of LA in a week. We look forward to meeting you and comparing notes on Israel!

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, jrf123 said:

Heidi13, it looks like we're on the same cruise out of LA in a week. We look forward to meeting you and comparing notes on Israel!

Affirmative, we arrive San Pedro on Jan 2nd, spending a couple of days before the cruise.

[jrf123]

17 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Affirmative, we arrive San Pedro on Jan 2nd, spending a couple of days before the cruise.

 

We live in San Diego and are driving up on Saturday to meet the ship. Will you be at the Meet and Mingle?