Israel and upcoming cruise

[kitkat343]

I saw the next two Rhapsody cruises have been cancelled; has the Rhapsody arrival that was previously scheduled for Haifa today been officially rerouted somewhere?  Someone on the NCL board was saying they are still planning to dock today in Haifa just to let passengers off.

[Jetstreamer]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

I saw the next two Rhapsody cruises have been cancelled; has the Rhapsody arrival that was previously scheduled for Haifa today been officially rerouted somewhere?  Someone on the NCL board was saying they are still planning to dock today in Haifa just to let passengers off.

 

According to Cruisemapper, Rhapsody is currently docked in Haifa. 

[Tlbecker1]

21 hours ago, fenton04 said:

Not your post instead the incredibly bad decision to place passengers in a very fluid and violative position.  If you read my previous post we cancelled our transatlantic last April due to a disembarkation switch from Cyprus to Haifa.  To get to Tel Aviv international airport you have to travel nest to the West Bank.  The West Bank!

We were on this cruise and we had the best time.  The people in Israel were friendly and we were happy that we took the cruise.  We took the train from Haifa to Tel Aviv and toured Bethlehem & Jerusalem.

[DAISYDAY600]

someone onboard said it was back in port to allow locals off all international passenger disembarked at Santorini...the ship is refueling taking on provisions and then sitting off the coast until further notice.

[Saab4444]

1 hour ago, DAISYDAY600 said:

someone onboard said it was back in port to allow locals off all international passenger disembarked at Santorini...the ship is refueling taking on provisions and then sitting off the coast until further notice.

Rhapsody now goes to Limassol with international guests but not to Santorini which would be a very bad place for all logistics and disembarkation.

[kitkat343]

36 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

Rhapsody now goes to Limassol with international guests but not to Santorini which would be a very bad place for all logistics and disembarkation.

Thank you for this.  Santorini is spectacular but would be very challenging for disembarkment.  Wishing everyone the best as they venture home.

 

[bucfan2]

On 10/7/2023 at 8:42 AM, smokeybandit said:

Definitely not a good situation over there right now

No, it sure isn't. Fortunately, Israel will do what it needs to do, and they couldn't care less what anyone else thinks. 

[Ourusualbeach]

13 hours ago, RD64 said:

Because apparently everybody on every cruise on every cruise line booked these cruises just so they could go to Israel - and are now trying to cancel with full refunds - you can be guaranteed that all the cruise lines will be changing their Passage Contract to ensure that all passengers will be aware of - and agreeing to - the fact that no itinerary or port is guaranteed.

Highly doubt it.  This is not the first time that sailings have been heavily modified for things beyond Royals control.

 

It's already in the contract, they haven't felt the need to modify it or as you suggested in a later post "sign waivers" so I highly doubt there will be any changes due to this unfortunate situation

[Badatz2]

1 hour ago, Saab4444 said:

Rhapsody now goes to Limassol with international guests but not to Santorini which would be a very bad place for all logistics and disembarkation.

I am sorry but I do not understand your post..  The Rhapsody is now reported to be in Haifa.  When is it going to Limassol and to where afterward?   With passengers from Haifa, Israeli or international?  And what will they do there?  

Are you saying that it will sail empty from Haifa to Limassol and pick up passengers there?  What about the international passengers who are already in Israel

 

I would appreciate your clarification

 

[Saab4444]

10 minutes ago, Badatz2 said:

I am sorry but I do not understand your post..  The Rhapsody is now reported to be in Haifa.  When is it going to Limassol and to where afterward?   With passengers from Haifa, Israeli or international?  And what will they do there?  

Are you saying that it will sail empty from Haifa to Limassol and pick up passengers there?  What about the international passengers who are already in Israel

 

I would appreciate your clarification

 

She left Haifa five hours ago after local passengers debarked and is now en route to Limassol with remaining international guests who will leave there. She will remain in that area until further notice.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Saab4444

[Badatz2]

9 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

She left Haifa five hours ago after local passengers debarked and is now en route to Limassol with remaining international guests who will leave there. She will remain in that area until further notice.

Thank you.  I look forward for her return

[patriotsgirl]

We too, are departing from Athens on November 14 for the Cities of Antiquities cruise. It was nice to see a fellow passenger inquiring about what happens with Israel. Probably most of us are taking this cruise for the Israeli excursions. This is my big birthday gift. My wish was to visit Israel and this cruise was perfect. We’ve decided to take the cruise anyway unless there’s a world war of course.  Too early to tell what will happen.

[smokeybandit]

I would think as long as the declaration of war is in effect, RC won't go back there.

[kwokpot]

16 minutes ago, patriotsgirl said:

We too, are departing from Athens on November 14 for the Cities of Antiquities cruise. It was nice to see a fellow passenger inquiring about what happens with Israel. Probably most of us are taking this cruise for the Israeli excursions. This is my big birthday gift. My wish was to visit Israel and this cruise was perfect. We’ve decided to take the cruise anyway unless there’s a world war of course.  Too early to tell what will happen.

You're not going to Israel next month. 

[Jetdriver787]

RCL’s Mediterranean cruising season is now in its last few weeks before all of the relevant ships head West across the Atlantic to Winter home ports in Florida. Notwithstanding the whole tragedy of the situation, it is unlikely that insurers would  provide any realistic coverage for cruises to Israel or Egypt in the near term. 
 

I would expect to see cancellations of Rhapsody’s remaining cruises until it positions to Barcelona at the end of the month for its Transatlantic. Any cruises with planned stops in those two countries will almost certainly be re-routed.
 

Yesterday Two Israeli citizens were killed by an Egyptian police officer in Alexandria. Within hours there is also likely to be a major refugee crisis on the Gaza/Egyptian border. 
 

 

[Happylady75]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:32 PM, PhilRSchultz said:

We depart on Viking’s Cities of Antiquity & The Holy Land itinerary in a little over a month (Athens, Delos, Rhodes, Cyprus, Israel (3 nights), Heraklion Crete, Naples, & Rome and have been trying to figure out what Viking may substitute for Israel should those ports be canceled.  If anyone has any information, I would appreciate it. I’ve seen other cruise lines add the likes of Bodrum, Santorini, and Chania.  I’ve also seen Limassol added to other cruise lines, but guessing since we’re already scheduled for Limassol and Heraklion, that I can assume it wouldn’t be Chania or another day on Cyprus.  I doubt, but wonder if Ephesus might be in play or perhaps Malta/Sicily?  If anyone has an itinerary similar to mine and get news on what their replacement destinations are, please pass that along and thank you in advance

We are on the same cruise in Dec. We were supposed to stop at Mykonos but it was changed to Santorini weeks ago. I wonder what they plan on doing. I wonder if they add Turkey instead.

[PhilRSchultz]

1 minute ago, Happylady75 said:

We are on the same cruise in Dec. We were supposed to stop at Mykonos but it was changed to Santorini weeks ago. I wonder what they plan on doing. I wonder if they add Turkey instead.

I think it’s a matter of whether Viking keeps all their port dates other than Israel.  If so, then my cruise, which departs Athens and ends in Rome, would have left Cyprus bound for Israel with Crete to follow.  I would assume, they would want to geographically fill the (3) Israel nights with something closer to the Cyprus/Crete ports which would have me betting that they’ll add Santorini and Ephesus (Bodrum).  No idea for the third night (perhaps Troy?  perhaps a 2nd port in Crete other than Heraklion which we’re already visiting?). We’re all just guessing at this point, but I think these are reasonable guesses.  I would assume Sicily is out due to geography and due to where the Israel portion of our itineraries occurs

[exm]

Don't expect any cruises visiting Israel for at least 6 months. This is not a conflict; Israel declared war.

[RD64]

21 minutes ago, exm said:

Don't expect any cruises visiting Israel for at least 6 months. This is not a conflict; Israel declared war.

I would say even longer - six months will take us into the beginning of the 2024 Med season. My opinion is that as soon as RCL deals with the current cruises, they will start working on the 2024 season. I am sure that they dont want to be caught in the same situation where they have to alter itineraries at a short notice, angering passengers 

[gmerick]

On 10/8/2023 at 8:35 AM, fenton04 said:

To get to Tel Aviv international airport you have to travel nest to the West Bank.  The West Bank!

No.

To get to Tel Aviv, you also have to travel next to the Mediterranean.

Edited October 9, 2023 by gmerick

[fenton04]

6 minutes ago, gmerick said:

No.

To get to Tel Aviv, you also have to travel next to the Mediterranean.

I neglected to mention that.  Thanks for all you do for the cruise critic boards.

[Happylady75]

3 hours ago, PhilRSchultz said:

I think it’s a matter of whether Viking keeps all their port dates other than Israel.  If so, then my cruise, which departs Athens and ends in Rome, would have left Cyprus bound for Israel with Crete to follow.  I would assume, they would want to geographically fill the (3) Israel nights with something closer to the Cyprus/Crete ports which would have me betting that they’ll add Santorini and Ephesus (Bodrum).  No idea for the third night (perhaps Troy?  perhaps a 2nd port in Crete other than Heraklion which we’re already visiting?). We’re all just guessing at this point, but I think these are reasonable guesses.  I would assume Sicily is out due to geography and due to where the Israel portion of our itineraries occurs

Our cruise is from Rome to Athens. We already have Santorini, so that’s not an option for us. It’ll be interesting how they deal with it. 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

22 hours ago, RD64 said:

Because apparently everybody on every cruise on every cruise line booked these cruises just so they could go to Israel - and are now trying to cancel with full refunds - you can be guaranteed that all the cruise lines will be changing their Passage Contract to ensure that all passengers will be aware of - and agreeing to - the fact that no itinerary or port is guaranteed.

The Cruise Contract for RCI currently says the cruise line can change the ports/itinerary. I'd think the other crise line contracts say the same. No refunds offered either. I'd think they only way a cruiser could cancel and get any $ back is if they had cancel for any reason insurance. As said in a previous post you agree to the terms of the Cruise Contract when you're checking in so, even if you didn't read it, you're bound by what it says. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by suzyluvs2cruise

[DAISYDAY600]

Advice from Gov in uk is not to travel to Israel so no insurance will cover you if you do travel now unless this changes.

[smokeybandit]

4 hours ago, DAISYDAY600 said:

Advice from Gov in uk is not to travel to Israel so no insurance will cover you if you do travel now unless this changes.

Travel insurance doesn't tend to cover war-related issues, either.