IWantToLiveOverTheSea

I agree that Seville is worth making the effort to see, but that Cadiz is also nice if you prefer not having to travel so far for Seville. We walked from port of Cadiz to the train station and took a train to Cadiz. I don't remember how long it took, but probably almost as long as a coach ride or tour bus would. There's also bus service from Cadiz to Seville, which takes around the same time, I think. And when I went, though it was probably almost 10 years ago, the bus station was located close to the train station, so you could mix and match, which is what we did. We got an early start, walked about 10 minutes mostly just along the waterfront, bought tickets, and took either the bus or train, and then the other back to Cadiz. So that's one option to consider IF you're somewhat independent and adventuresome. Cadiz was nice, especially since we were able to go back out after early dinner, with the ship not leaving until 10 or 11. It was summer and I walked to the beach area, seeing holiday makers enjoying the last rays of a sunset. It was memorable -- nothing totally unusual, but memorable. We haven't been able to do things at night on most cruises, so I really enjoyed our late stay in Cadiz.

We were in Cadiz for a pretty full day/evening, and took the train to Seville and the bus back. It took a little planning, but felt it was worth it. We only spent maybe 3 or 4 hours in Seville itself, but that was OK. It took about 10 maybe 15 minutes to walk to the train station, and same back from bus station. They're located very close to each other, or at least when we went, they were. This was maybe 5-6 years ago, however. I even had a little bit of time to go out into Cadiz in the evening after a kind of early dinner, and I really enjoyed it. I walked around the beach area, and some of the city, which of course, was very active even at 9 PM. But I don't think we left until 10 that evening, so I was able to see and do a lot in my one day/evening in Cadiz. I believe I also took a bus around the outskirts of the city, which was fun -- nothing special, but just fun, and saw a little more than I would have seen by walking only. But while walking, I remember hearing music, walked toward it, and saw there was band practice going on ourdoors around 9 PM. Ah, Spain! In general, though, I think if you start early, and don't plan on seeing more than a few things in Seville, you can have a great time, even with limited time in Cadiz. Or Cadiz itself if nice, though I liked Seville better. I notice that Oceania has some of their smaller ships going down the river to Seville and docking not too far from the main sights in Seville. That sounds really nice, but I know most cruise ships are too big to be able to do that. I've never done the Seville on your own excursion in which you're dropped there, but it sounds like the timing may not be any better or worse than the train (RENFE, I believe) or bus. However, if you're adventuresome, you could google the train and bus systems. I'm thinking it took around the same time for both, but don't remember the amount of time for each. The train was a little nicer and easier than the bus, but not substantially so. I believe I just chose to take a train and bus combination due to timing rather than anything else. Or perhaps I just wanted to go somewhere that was closer to one station or the other.

You've probably gotten it straightend out by now, but for future readers: Look for email address at bottom of evisa site and contact them. I did that and they responded next morning, looked up/told me status. I started over, going in early morning or late night in case that helped. (It did.) But you can get a visa at the airport if necessary. It only added about 15 minutes when we discovered I had goofed on one date and they wanted us to re-do one visa. They took spouse over to a special counter and helped him correct it. Charged less than the original amount we paid; let him pay cash.

Just a minor comment: If I want those dinner reservation cards & whatnot hanging in full view, I stick them in the side of the mirror. They stay put.

Never mind; posted my comment after quoting wrong post!

My spouse used 2 of the hooks on Sirena (veranda room); I prefer no stuff cluttering up the wall so I put my stuff just to the right of the hooks in the big triangular space at bottom of clothes closet in that area where the TV used to be. (TV's now on wall.) I thought Sirena in May was beautiful, and the itinerary was incredible - 5 countries, only day and a half at sea, 1 day docked but on ship due to Israel's covid testing (no longer required), and made every port on my 14 day cruise. I loved Red Ginger. I didn't get the sea bass, though - not my favorite despite the fact that it is for many people. Surprisingly, Tuscan was a little "off" -- but this was first week in May, and she had only done a few cruises after being in Italy for Covid. So I forgave her. Overall, Sirena was fabulous. And the small bathrooms don't bother me. It's an older ship; not much you can do about it. I think they added some shelves on the wall in there, but if so, I didn't use them. Enjoy your time away from cooking, cleaning, making your bed, going to work, seeing the same thing every day. Wish I could go back on the sea RIGHT NOW!

Loved the new book in May, and athe luggage tags too!

I saw the paper map with pins on Sirena (smaller ship) in May. But if they had an electronic version as pictured above, I didn't see it, though it may have been there. If not, and you want to see where a ship is real time, where she is headed, and when she is expected to reach the next port, it's best to go on Marine Traffic (marinetraffic.com). You can query the name of the ship and then go to the Live Map. I think cruisemapper also shows this information, but it's less specific.

Loved Lisbon. The elevadors are great! We also enjoyed a 3 hour tour (I think) with Bike My Side. It's 2 people on a beautiful motorcycle with sidecar. Daniel took us past a couple places you mention and past a few places I had wanted to go to, but was glad I didn't need to (up, down, whew!) It was both informative and fun. Daniel could certainly let you off at the monastery if you want to see more, or take you to the port or hotel. I have pictures here: Iberian Sojourn Cruise - Aug. 2014 Photo Gallery by Ruth Rosenthal at pbase.com

Our regular T Mobile plan works great in Europe - service is quite good, costs very reasonable, texts free, etc.

If you are on Facebook, look for one of the "fan" or "travelers" groups for Viking. Someone recently really didn't like the extension. My opinion was that he or she really didn't understand what Cappadoccia is - for example, that it's basically a cave land, with hotels built into and around caves. The person felt the hotel was poor (forget the name, but not the one mentioned above), with no service, no AC, old and musty, etc. And the person didn't like getting up at 3:30 to catch the flight. But as I know from researching Cappadoccia extensively a few years ago, there are limited cushy hotels there, and somewhat limited flights, and two airlines that go to 2 different airports, and several different places in the area known as Cappadoccia. I was planning my own 3 or 3 day adventure post cruise, but of course then it never happened due to Covid and cruise cancellation. But I guess what's important in deciding if you really want to do this extension is to realize that this is NOT Singapore or Cairo or New York City. But it IS quite a unique place. My plan was to fly on Turkish to Nevsehir (spelling?), stay at Zara Cave Hotel, and concentrate my sightseeing in Goreme. That would result in mostly using foot power and taxis. I wanted to get up early and see the balloons, but didn't want to do a balloon ride. (I've done a couple in Albuquerque and loved them, but don't think I want to take a chance on safety issues in Turkey so far from home. And from what I've seen, they use huge baskets, and put a lot of people in them. So while I'm sure it's an incredible experience, I decided to pass on it.) But I think as long as a person realizes that even though Viking usually plans and pulls off quite good extensions (and almost always uses top notch hotels), the standards each person expects may not be met every place on the earth that a person wants to travel to. And if a cruise line has to provide fabulous, American-style hotels and transportation to 50 people at a time, it just may not turn out well. And it's likely not possible to add enough caveats to the description of each extension or excursion to cover everything that may be encountered, especially now, as Covid lingers and flights get messed up. Just my opinion, as I wasn't on the extension. But I hope this helps.

I didn't go to Chania on Viking, but Oceania had a similar walking tour, and there was a shuttle from the port to Chania city market. I just took the shuttle to the market, wandered around in the charming area around there, and made my way to the waterfront. It was not hard. But I had a map from maps.me which I had loaded at home on my phone in case I didn't have wifi in my wanderings. But if you basically go from the shuttle point (pretty much across from the being-renovated market building) toward the main street, there is a large map in a plexiglass board there. I went a little to the right and walked down to the waterfront, but you can go just to the right if you want shopping. But it was a Sunday (early May) and the shops were closed. I have pictures of my day here: www.pbase.com/roothy123 but you'll have to scroll to find the "gallery" on Chania. While on my exploration walk, I ran into the Oceania tour group doing the walking tour! They were passing the old city walls with me! I'll post more later, but if you go to Chania, you could easily spend a lovely day or half day there. I'd suggest walking out onto the breakwater to see the city, the old harbor of Chania, and the mountains with snow on it! I haven't been to Knossos, so can't compare it to Chania's delights.

Does anyone have information on how to get from Fusina port to Venice (without luggage - just to explore independently)? I've heard there is a ferry service that drops passengers at Zattere vaporetto stop, and I found the website which gives a schedule. But does anyone know the particulars about Fusina, other than it's a commercial port? Where can you get on the boat from Fusina to Zattere, i.e. is it within walking distance of the where cruise ships might be assigned to dock? Are people allowed to walk in the port? Do cruise lines normally allow passengers to come and go off the ship when there's an overnight in Fusina port? Is the ferry ride really just 20 minutes, and what is the cost? And for ships embarking passengers in Fusina, are the passengers taken to Stazione Maritimma with their luggage, or how might that work? I'm asking these questions for someone on either an Oceania or Viking Ocean ship. I believe Viking used Fusina a little while earlier this year, but has also used Chioggia at least once or twice.

Turkey's evisa site is pretty clear; see the FAQs section. But if you not a U.S. citizen, you may not need a visa at all. I've read posts that imply that some countries have reciprocity. In any case, we were told by our cruise line that we would need one to visit 3 Turkish ports, embarking in Istanbul. That wasn't what Turkiye's evisa site says for cruising only, but we WERE flying in early (on our own) so we needed visas. The Turkish authorities DID check the visas at the airport. There was a mistake on one date on my husband's and he had to somewhere, do another one, and fork out another $20. I had trouble using the evisa site because it got to the point when I authorized my payment and froze up. But I found that if I went in at a different time, the site worked well. Maybe by now it works better, but note that they warn you not to enter info/pay twice. Also note there's an email address if you have trouble. I emailed the day after their system froze on me and they looked up my info and told me the payment had not gone through. But if it works well, the process only takes about 15 minutes and if all is well, you can print it out almost immediately.

you're right. I never, ever book insides on Viking, just that other line! Ooops...

We usually book inside rooms. You'll be fine!

So just out of curiosity: Has anyone seen a summary of what various cruise lines are currently requiring when it comes to vaccines and testing?

Regent always comes out too expensive to me. It depends upon whether you're going to take advantage of all those things that are included in Regent pricing. I won't, so I won't be looking at Regent any time soon.

And as Clay says, once onboard, you can check menus, so that's a plus. Manfredi's seldom changes. But at least last summer, Chef's Table changed every 3 days. So you may prefer a particular menu. Just don't be swayed too much by descriptions. I don't like Asian that much, but one of the menus was wonderful. And I don't like spices much, and was afraid I wouldn't like the "Route des Indes" menu. But it was great.

It's not typical, but right now there are so many people cruising that I'm not totally surprised you experienced this. And I'm guessing you're not in a suite or one of the room categories that gets to book dining earlier than others, and perhaps are allowed more than 1 reservation in each venue. But assuming you received the "not available at this time" message before you specified anything (table for 2, particular restaurant, date, or whatever), I guess I'd assume that either there's a bug in the program or that all reservations are truly filled up at this time. Who knows, maybe they opened up early, or they actually open up the previous day, right after midnight, which would be booking date, just right after midnight! (That's what another line does, although their system is triggered by EST not PT.) But yes, you are guaranteed reservations. I'd keep checking periodically online, and once you board, check with someone on board about getting reservations. And then if you get reservations but they're later or earlier than you want, or on days you don't want, I'd keep checking to see if you can tweak things. It's been my experience that Manfredi's books up really, really fast, and that Chef's Table much less fast. Tables for 2 for both are very popular, especially for Manfredi's. Most popular times to eat appear to be around 7 or 7:30 for most North American passengers.

In case anyone wants info on Trapani, I was there in mid May and loved it. I didn't go outside the city, but found much to love in the city itself. From the ship I walked the short distance to the small port terminal to go out onto the main street near where we docked. I went to see the Misteri in Chiesa del Purgatorio. There was one couple there from my ship and two locals in the church. Then I walked down to the Torre del Ligny, by the fish market and fish boats, then went back towards the middle of the city to see the Orological Clock and old Fish Market structure. Trapani is sandwiched between a lot of water. I walked down the water on the other side of the city from where the ship docked and looked at the buildings along the curve of the walk. (See picture). I took a lot of pictures and really enjoyed my day. Coming into the dock location (which was quite a maneuver - wow - tight quarters!) I saw a few salt plans. I also saw a fort and lighthouse close up from the ship. So I had a nice day of independent exploration. I probably could have added a quick Erice trip to my day if I had planned it. But in the end I just took it a little easy and was totally satisfied with what I saw and did.

List updated July 29th 2022 with info from the past page. Please copy and paste the list, and add updates or corrections directly to it. Oceania Shuttles List ================================================================== Free shuttle buses are offered when: The ship is docked a long walk from the main thoroughfare Taxis and or public transportation are not easily accessible from the port. . The port is industrial and not pedestrian-friendly. The decision on whether free buses will be offered will be based on the port used and will be made closer to or during the sailing Once on board, a list of ports that will offer a complimentary shuttle into town will be provided / shown in daily Currents Adelaide Aus................Tram right at port goes to centre city, no shuttle ...Dec 2019 Agios Nikolaos ............Don't need a shuttle as dock near town centre ......update 2020 Airlie Beach (Aust.) .....Tender, then $5AUD pp each way shuttle Akaroa NZ ................... Tender of centre of town. ...... Dec 2019 Alanya (Turkey) ............Taxis take you to the top of the hill . ... update 2020 Albany West Aus ..........Shuttle to town centre ...........Dec 2019 Alesund ........................ Dock at town so no shuttle Alexandria .................... Shuttle to city square Alicante Sp ....................free shuttle .............update 2022 Amalfi .......................... No need for shuttle Antigua...........................dock in town ..no shuttle Antofagasta ................. Free shuttle to town Antwerp ....................... Dock in town - no shuttle needed ... Aug 2017 Aqaba ........................... Shuttle Arrecife (Canary Is.)......free shuttle .............................per Currents 2014 Ashdod Israel .............. Shuttle to Sea Mall ... April/June 2022 Athens (Port of Pireus)...Shuttle to outside port area in Pireus - need tour to Athens (2022) Bangkok ....................... Free shuttle to town Bar Harbour ................. Dock at town so no shuttle Barcelona .................... Free shuttle to town (worldTrade Centre) Basseterre, St. Kitts ..... Dock at town so no shuttle Belfast .......................... Free shuttle to town (near City Hall) Bermuda (Hamilton)....... dock in town ..no shuttle Bilbao ............................Free shuttle to town Bordeaux (city) ............ Dock at town so no shuttle Bordeaux (Le Verdon) .... shore excursion required Brisbane (Aus) ............. Free shuttle to town Bozcaada, Turkey........... tender port, and small city. No shuttle needed .... April 2022 Broome (Australia)........ Free shuttle to town Bruges (Zeebruge) ......... free shuttle to port gates ... August 2017 Burnie Tas Aus...............Shuttle to Makers Workshop (meet guides/taxis) and to town......update 2020 Buenes Aires ................. Free shuttle to town / Plaza Hotel .......... update 2020 Cadiz ........................... Dock at town so no shuttle. Need transport to Seville Cairns Aus ................... Dock at town so no shuttle Callao (Lima) ............... Free shuttle to town Canary Islands .............Shuttle to terminal then walk ................ update 2020 Capetown..................NO shuttle - walk or cab. (E berth, Terminal, Duncan Rd Jan 2019 Casablanca .............. Free shuttle to town Castries, St Lucia ...... Dock at town so no shuttle Chania (Hania), Crete (Greece) - shuttle to city center Civitavecchia(for Rome).. Free shuttle to Civitavecchia Cobh..................... Dock at town so no shuttle Colombo, .............. Free from ship to Port Gate 1. (local taxis available there) Jan 2019 Concarneau .............. Dock at town so no shuttle Copenhagen .............. Free shuttle to town – however reports of it being difficult see post 301 Coquimbo ................ Free shuttle to town Corfu ......................... Free shuttle to town Corner Brook ............ Dock at town so no shuttle Crete..........................Shuttle ................update 2020 Dar es Salaam...........Free shuttle from pier to Hyatt Regency in City Center. Long walk from ship to exit gate. There are several gates which may be confusing. Very busy working port (Jan 2019) Darwin Aus ............... Free shuttle to town Dubai .........................Free shuttle from the port to the Dubai Mall Dublin ...................... Free shuttle to town (kildare St/Merrion Square) ... Aug 2017 Dubrovnick .............. Free shuttle to town Dunedin NZ .............. Free shuttle to town East London, SA ........... Free shuttle from pier to the Hemingsway Mall (Jan 2019) Edinburgh (Leith) .......No shuttle - Closest port to town but still a distance to city centre Eden Aus ................... Tender then shuttle but only short walk Ephesus ..........Quite a drive from Kusadasi - best done by a tour ...........update 2020 Esmeraldas ............. shuttle to Playa de las Palmas (docked / itinerary said tender) Mar 2019 Exmouth (Aus) ........... Free shuttle to town Flam Norway............... No shuttle needed - dock in town July 2018 Fremantle/Perth ........unsure, nearby ferry dock, train station very close to dock..... update Dec 2019 Geirange ................... No shuttle needed - Dock at town Geraldton West Aus ...Shuttle .................Update Dec 2019 Gisbourne NZ ............ Free shuttle to town but short walk Gothenburg ................ Shuttle to City Hall Greenock ................ ..No shuttle needed - Dock at town (15-20 minute walk to train to Glasgow) Haifa .........................shuttle to port entrance only (April 2022) Halifax ................. ....No shuttle needed - Dock at town Halifax pier 31 shuttle to Pier 22 pavillion April 2019 Hamburg ................. Shuttle provided by Port to City Hall ....Aug 2017Harvest Caye........... ferry to mainland *not* operating for independents when there Mar 2019 Havana, Cuba ............ Dock in city. walk off on main street.... April 2017. Helsinki ................... Free shuttle to town/ Shuttle from Westport to terminal near Market Square Hobart (aus) ............ Dock at town so no shuttle ... Sep 2017 Holyhead ................ Free shuttle to town (really to end of dock) ... Aug 2017 Invergordon ............. Dock at town so no shuttle .... August 2017 Kirkwall (Shetlands Is) .......Shuttle to visitors centre Castle St .... update 2017 Koper ...................... Dock at town so no shuttle Kotor ....................... Dock at town so no shuttle Kristiansand ............ Walking distance to town ...(South coast Norway) August 2017 Kristiansund.............No shuttle - dock in town (West coast of Norway) July 2018 Kusadasi (for Ephesus) - no shuttle, shopping available nearby in city. April 22 La Coruna ............... Dock at town so no shuttle Langkawi.................Free shuttle from pier to Cenang Duty free Mall Jan 2019 La Rochelle ............. Free shuttle to town Le Havre (for Paris) .... Free shuttle to town (Le Havre) .... August 2017 Le Verdon ................. Free shuttle to town (Soulacsur Mer) Lerwick .................... Dock at town so no shuttle Lima - .......................Free shuttle to Marriott at Larcomar (Miraflores neighborhood) Mar 2019 Lisbon .................... Free shuttle to town (or dock in town) Liverpool ............... Dock at town so no shuttle ... August 2017 Livorno ................... Free shuttle to town Londonderry Nth Ire .....Shuttle to visitors centre in town..........update 2019 Male, Maldives.........tender port.... guides waiting + pick up tours there. Walk in town Jan 2019 Mahe, Seychelles........no shuttle . Jan 2019 Malaga ....................Shuttle ..............update 2022 Manta Ecuador ...... shuttle to main square (longish walk); will drop you at port gate Mar 2109 Maputo, ...................Free shuttle from pier to City Center (feima market) Jan 2019 Marseille ............... Free shuttle to town (fort Saint John) Melbourne Vic Aus ...Tram 109 is 5-10 min walk from port, buy ticket at convenience store, no shuttle. Trams within City Centre free, no shuttle ...... update Dec 2019Miami .................... Free shuttle to Bayside Marketplace (*not* as an embarkation day) Mar 2019 Mitilini.....................This is tender port near town centre....... update 2020 Monte Carlo ............. Dock at town so no shuttle Murmansk ................ Need to book a tour either O or private for visa Muscat ..................... Free shuttle to the Souk Mykonos.....................No shuttle needed, dock in town ...update 2020 Napier NZ.....................shuttle to ISite info centre on Marine Parade .... update Dec 2019 Nassau, Bahamas ..........dock in town New York .................. no shuttle (Manhattan cruise terminal) Mar 2019 Newcastle .................. Free shuttle to nearest metro station (limited timing) Nosy be, Madagascar...Free shuttle (tender port) from pier to Town Center Market Jan 2019 Oporto ........................ Free shuttle to town Oslo ............................. Dock in town so no shuttle .... Aug 2017 Paphos, Cyprus ......... ?no shuttle. About 10 minutes walk to shops etc April 2022 Palma de Mallorca........ Free shuttle to town (cathedral) Paris - see Le Havre Patmos..............Dock in town - no shuttle needed .... update 2020 Perth see Fremantle Phillip Is Vic Aus.........long tender ride in, shuttle to beach /boardwalk, limited car hire/taxis....Dec 2019 Phuket, Thailand........no shuttle Jan 2019 Picton NZ .................... Dock at town so no shuttle Pireus (Port for Athens)...Shuttle to outside port in Pireus, need tour to Athens (2022) Pisco ......................... Free shuttle to town Port Arthur Tas Aus ..... Tender in to PA Penal Settlement - (no real town so a guess) no shuttle needed updated 2022 Port Elizabeth, South Africa....Free shuttle from pier to the Boardwalk jan 2019 Port Klang................... Shuttle to Bukit Tinggi Mall. Break from 11:45 - 1:30. Jan 19 Portofini ................... No need for shuttlePuerto Limon........... no shuttle, tours by the local taxis & shops on the pier, walk to town Mar 2019 Portland ................... Free shuttle to town Praislin, Seychelles....no shuttle Praislin, .............. .......no shuttle . Jan 2019 Roatan ...................... no shuttle, Oceania docks in Coxen Hole, many port shops etc Mar 2019 Roatan can also dock at Mahogany Bay resort port Rhodes ....................... Dock in town. no shuttle - longish walk to port gates. .April 2022 Richards Bay............... Free shuttle from pier to Boardwalk Mall. (Jan 2019) Rio .............. Free shuttle to town Rome ........................(see Civitavecchia) Safaga,Egypt .............. a shuttle to downtown Saint John NB ........... Dock at town so no shuttle Salalah, Oman ............ shuttle to the Souk Salaverry............. shuttle to Trujillo/or shuttle to port gate - private tours. Tours in Trujillo Mar 2019 San Sebastion de la Gomera ...........None needed ........ update 2020 Santa Cruz De Teneriffe ........Shuttle to terminal ....................update 2019 Santo Tomas, ...... - no shuttle, tours in the terminal, walk into town Mar 2019 Santos ......................... Free shuttle to town - about 6 yrs ago no shuttle to San Paulus Skagan Denmark............free shuttle to town July 2018 Singapore.......................no shuttle Jan 2019 Sorrento ...................... Free shuttle to town Split ............................. Dock at town so no shuttle Stavanger ....................dock in town July 2018 St Barts ..................... tender to town..no shuttle St. Lucia ................... Castries: Dock at town so no shuttle. Pointe Seraphine: .....walking distance (500 metres) or harbour water taxi to main area town. St Malo ...................... Dock at town so no shuttle St Jean De Luz .......... Dock at town so no shuttle St Petersburg .............. Need to book a tour - either O or private for visa Sydney N.S. ................. Dock at town so no shuttle Sydney Cove/ Circular Quay Aus ...... Free shuttle to Darling Harbour centre ..... 2018 Sydney White Bay dock Aus ...turnaround day . no shuttles, taxis available ..... Dec 2019 Tallinn ........................ Free shuttle to gates of old lower town (main road outside city wall) Tauranga /Rororua.....disembarkation ?? shuttle ..............Dec 2019 Trapani, Sicily .......... no shuttle; docked very near downtown June 2022 Valencia ..................... Free shuttle to town Valletta ..................... Dock below town. Take an elevator up for €1-€2 . Free to go back. update April 2022 Venice ....................... Free shuttle to town (2022 status: Ships now dock in alternate ports; Oceania may or may not provide transportation to Venice) Warnemunde............ walk to town or train (short walk from port) to Rostock July 2018 Wellington NZ............free shuttle to several places city centre ...... Dec 2019 Zakynthos, Greece ....tender port, no shuttle, smallish island. Walk to small town 2022 Zanzibar................... Free shuttle from pier to Kelele Square (Jan 2019) Zeebruge (for Bruges).... Shuttle to port gates ... Aug 2017

Just cut & pasted and corrected my typo on Ashdod entry!

I think I reported those in a previous post here last year based on our August 2021 cruise. Perhaps a search will show the post.

We were scheduled to be in Haifa first two days and Ashdod the third. I had booked with Guided Tours Israel on first and third days to go to Jerusalem and Masada/Dead Sea, although I forget which days were which. On the middle day my spouse was going to relax and I had planned to go to Akko and Bahia Gardens on my own. The first day in Haifa we docked by 6 am & we all got up early to go to the terminal to get pcr tests. Then everyone waited on the ship until test results were reported and Israeli authorities cleared the ship. That was a bit after 5 pm. Before that, we all got text or email messages -- in Israeli characters -- which scared us all, as we were so afraid one of us or some of us would test positive. An announcement was made over the PA that it was just informing us that our tests had been received by the testing lab. Ah, adventures!) Bahia Gardens had closed at 5, and I figured there wasn't enough time to go to Akko, so essentially that was a sea day - just different views and no gentle rocking. The Oceania, Viking and NCL ships that had visited weeks before ran into the same issue, and I learned about it a bit before our cruise actually started and alerted GTS. They stayed on top of it, and before we arrived in Israel, gave us options for re-arranged touring. We were able to go with them to Jerusalem/Bethlehem, but to see Masada and float in the Dead Sea, we needed to take an Oceania excursion. (No big deal, just more expensive.) Both trips involved a lot of time on coaches, but at that point I was just grateful we could see and do the major things we wanted. Our ship moved to a different location in Haifa port that night, possibly to let another ship dock and do the same testing routine that night or the next day. It was pretty interesting to watch the ship turn around and relocate at night in a busy port like Haifa. Then the second night we left late to head to Ashdod. About a week after we were in Israel, Israel dropped the all-ship PCR testing. I guess I have bad timing, but things were (and are) still pretty unsettled due to Covid and cruising re-start, so you roll with the punches.