Review - Celebration: Pharaohs & the Promised Land

[tummysmummy]

Well folks - had a good time on the Celebration. Here is my review as promised!

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation - quicker and smoother than in previous experience, although our boarding cards were not ready and had to collect them later on from reception.

 

Cabin - roomier than expected. Kept clean and spotless by our cabin steward Idris. Went for an inside cabin this time - not sure if I'd do that again though as was strange not having any natural daylight. Couldn't tell what time of day it was!

 

Food - we like to eat informally so were in the Lido every night. Quality was good and service excellent. I felt there were too many theme nights though - 4 in all. There wasn't really anything alternative on offer these nights, so on a couple of nights when there was nothing we fancied we had to wait till the late night buffet to get something. This was disappointing compared to the Spirit where I felt there was more variety to choose from.

 

Entertainment - there was a very full programme of activities and entertainment. Apart from the shows, which I'll get to in a minute, the kind of activities on offer through the week were:

 

Band - Ocean Vibe - playing in Liberties and on deck in the afternoons - they were excellent

Sharpe Notes piano and vocals duo in Horizons and sometimes on deck

Classical music in Explorer's Lounge

The usual gameshows, quizzes, karaoke, late night disco etc in Liberties (didn't win a carrier bag though!!)

Daily trivia quiz on deck

Demonstrations on towel animals, cocktail making, ice carving etc

Shuffleboard, quoits etc

Guest lecturer on ancient history - did talks on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and Cleopatra - excellent

Dance classes in latin, ballroom, line dancing and zumba

Seminars on weight loss, exercises for your body shape, teeth whitening etc

Daily puzzle sheet available from reception

 

The shows I felt were a bit hit and miss. I thought a couple of the singers had quite poor voices. The first night's show was an Elvis tribute, which I was really looking forward to but it was disappointing - and the poor applause from audience showed others felt the same! Motown the next night wasn't great either. Overall I thought the shows improved as the week went on.

 

Shows are:-

Wednesday - Elvis Mania

Thursday - Motown

Friday - Concerto Retro

Sunday - West End Whiz

Monday - Meditarranean Melodies

Tuesday - Hollywood

 

The show on Saturday was the guest act - comedian Rudi West, who was very funny and well worth seeing. He also did a late night show on the last night.

 

Other entertainments were of course the Gala Evening (on the Friday night - day at sea), the crew talent show on Monday night and the sail away party on first night. The sail away party went off like a damp squib due to being extremely chilly out on deck, but the entertainment crew did their best!!

 

They also did the Buffet Magnifique midway through the week, which I'm really glad they are still doing as it is an amazing spectacle - not to be missed!!

 

Weather - very mixed all week. Had nearly every extreme - torrential rain on first day, scorching sun, strong winds, and even thought we saw a flicker of sleet or hail at one point!! :eek: The sea was quite rough on several nights and I had bad seasickness! :( At one point I was standing in the shop and the ship suddenly lurched to the side and everybody fell across the shop! So if you are sailing in the next couple of weeks I'd recommend definitely taking a light waterproof jacket and some warm clothes, especially for out on deck at night, and don't forget the Sturgeon! :D

 

Ports of Call/Excursions:-

 

Alanya -

You only get a half day here as the ship doesn't arrive into port until midday. Don't miss the sailing in though - be up on deck if you can as the scenery is beautiful. Unfortunately the heavens burst open not long after and there was torrential rain all afternoon. We had planned to go ashore and explore but ended up staying aboard ship. The water was literally gushing out of pipes on the promenade deck - just about needed one of the lifeboats to sail up it!! :rolleyes: All 3 excursions on offer looked good, but to be honest it looks very easy to explore on your own. The harbour area is very pretty and the shopping area apparently nearby. The castle and walls sit high on the mountainside overlooking the harbour so the views from the ship are lovely. The red tower also sits right on the harbour side. I was out on deck reading just before the rain started, when I heard a call to prayer echoing out down the mountainside - along with the beautiful scenery it sent shivers up the spine. Would definitely like to see the place properly at another time.

 

Alexandria-

We went on the Greek & Roman Alexandria excursion. The tour guide was very informative and enjoyed it for the most part. When you arrive at the museum it is actually part of the Library of Alexandria, and a tour of the library is included where we were taken by a guide from the library itself. I was actually bored at this point as it involved standing looking at a computer screen while the guide demonstrated to us how to use the library website and giving us lots of facts about how many gigabytes of information is stored on it etc! Yawn! :rolleyes: This was the only part of the tour I didn't enjoy as it actually had nothing to do with Greek & Roman Alexandria!

Regarding the situation in Alexandria, there was a large protest going on outside the library and the demonstrators were very noisy and a bit rowdy but we didn't feel threatened at all. Cruise News advised that passengers were not being allowed out of the port alone, but that taxis might be available. For this reason I'd advise taking one of the ship's tours just incase you can't go it alone.

 

Port Said/Cairo-

The Pyramids & Cairo Museum excursion was cancelled due to political unrest in central Cairo. Those due to go on this trip were offered Pyramids & Tombs as an alternative but it looked like a lot of people stayed aboard ship instead. We weren't going on on the trips anyway this time as we did Pyramids & Tombs before and didn't want to have 2 long days in a row. I'd thoroughly recommend this excursion, especially for history lovers as you get to see so much. If you don't go on an excursion, there isn't anything to see in Port Said itself, although I have to say the port looked nicer than I remembered it from last time! There are souvenier stalls next to the port building if you fancy a wee stroll off the ship.

 

Ashdod/Jerusalem -

Immigration 'Face Control' was much quicker and smoother than I have experienced previously. For those who are not aware, Israeli immigration insist on meeting everyone aboard the ship individually, whether you are going ashore or not, as soon as you arrive in Ashdod. We were told that everyone had to be ready for 6am onwards, even those not going on trips.

We did the Jerusalem Through Time excursion and had an amazing time. Well worth the money as you get to see soooooooo much, and much more than on the Jerusalem & Bethlehem trip which I have done before. So Kruzseeka - I would definitely recommend Jerusalem Through Time to you. Although there are more sites to visit, it actually didn't feel as rushed and there was more time in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and at Gethsemanae, as well as a vist to Mount Zion where you see the room of the Last Supper, King David's Tomb and Dormition Abbey where you see the spot where Mary fell asleep. The tour of the Old City included 3 of the quarters - Armenian, Christian and Jewish - and the guide took us though the streets where she pointed out things you probably would miss doing it alone. There was about 20mins of free time at the Western Wall for those that wanted to go inside the enclosure for prayer/reflection. It concluded with the Via Dolarosa and Stations of the Cross, the last of which are the the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The guide was extremely informative and gave talked about the Christian, Jewish and Muslim history of the city, as well as talking about the British Mandate period and explaining the formation of state of Israel in 1948, the Six-Day War and the modern troubles.

As I said, I previously did the Jerusalem & Bethlehem trip which I did not enjoy half as much, as there really is little to see in Bethlehem - in my opinion the extra time is much better spent in Jerusalem itself.

Jerusalem Through Time also includes the Time Elevator, which is a short film where you sit in moving seats as you fall down through the city's history in a simulated ride. You also get splashed with water! For those who might be put off this excursion due to this part, don't be as it is a very small part of the day - it's only 30mins and you get the option to sit in stable seats.

 

Haifa -

From here we did the Acre & Crusader's Kingdom excursion. The city of Haifa is built on the side of Mount Carmel, with the industrial part at the bottom and the residential area at the top. Our tour started with a drive up to the top part of the city with a couple of stops at viewpoints where there are stunning views over the Bay of Haifa and the Ba'hai Gardens. We also had a look inside the Carmelite Abbey. Then we went on the Acre which is just around the bay, where there is much of the old Crusader city still preserved. Our guide showed us round the citadel, which included going through the recently excavated crusader tunnels (warning: the passages are narrow and low - you need to bend down for some of the way). The citadel was used as an HQ and main prison for the British Military during the Mandate period, and it was this part of the history I was particularly interested in - unfortunately the excursion did not include a tour of the Prison Museum, which I thought was a shame. The walk though the remains of the Crusader city also takes you along the harbour area and through the Turkish bazaar. The weather was awful as there were high winds and showers of rain off and on - I was freezing!!

If you don't go on a trip, the port area itself isn't very pretty and nothing to see, although you can see a glimpse of the Ba'hai Gardens (which are lit up at night - beautiful!). I would recommend venturing up to the top part of the city to see the views over the bay. I think there are also cable cars up there. From the viewpoint at the Carmelite Abbey you can also see the ship used in the film Exodus, for those interested in film history!

On a side note, immigration was much stricter here than in Ashdod, surprisingly. Everybody's bag is searched thoroughly as you leave the ship, which actually angered me as they were through my camera bag taking everything out and actually removing parts of my camera and looking inside!! My husband kept reminding me that they are just doing their job, but I still find it very disrespectful the way they go about it.

 

Overall Experience-

A good cruise, although I wish the weather had been better. Just have the blues now about going back to work on Monday - need to start planning my next holiday!! :D

 

If I have missed anything or anyone has questions, just ask!

[Cymro1953]

Thanks for the great review tummysmummy and much more concise than my rambling Red Sea Magic one :D

Glad you had a lovely time despite the weather and the Israeli excursions sound great.

 

Berwyn

[kruzseeka]

Brilliant, tummysmummy! :D Exactly what I needed to know! That had been the trip I was favouring - but waiting for your review before making up my mind. I've just read your Jerusalem over-view to my DH and we're both confident that it will be the trip which will suit us best. Thanks so much, I really appreciate your in-depth comparisons. :)

 

Sorry the weather wasn't what you'd hoped for or that the shows were a bit hit and miss. It will be interesting to see how they 'bed in' during the next couple of weeks. (Also any further developments on Vlad-gate! - not that I think we'll get to know much.) But I'll report back! ;)

[Beckyfaye-2008]

Tummysmummy

 

Thoroughly enjoyed reading your review, we did this cruise last year on Spirit, would have done it again thisyear, as we enjoyed it so much, especially Israel. However we won an 18 night Med Cruise on IOS, so went on that instead, however I think my wife enjoyed the Egypt/Israel cruise more.

Will keep your review in mind, especially the Jerusalem part, when we next book, as we also did the Bethlehem/Jerusalem one last time also.

[db4111]

excellent review going on the celebration 30 may for 2 weeks very interesting review on jerusalem.is it a long trip to the pyramids from port said?id be grateful for an answer also i was considering bethlehem and jerusalem trip combined is there much to see in bethlehem? :)

[Beckyfaye-2008]

excellent review going on the celebration 30 may for 2 weeks very interesting review on jerusalem.is it a long trip to the pyramids from port said?id be grateful for an answer also i was considering bethlehem and jerusalem trip combined is there much to see in bethlehem? :)

 

db411

 

The main part of the Bethlehem trip is to go down into the cave where Jesus was born, and see the actual spot. However there are normally long queues for this, and not all trips because of time restraint, get to go down, We were lucky.

Yes it is a long coach trip from Port Said to the Pyramids, and in my view very well worth it. Its a once in a lifetime see. I thought the coach trip, was one of the highlights especially in Cairo, bit like being on the dodgem cars at the fair.

If you click on my Flik'r photo site, I have photos of these trips and the ship. although we went On Thomson Spirit , it is virtually identical to celebration.

[tummysmummy]

I believe the journey time from Port Said to Cairo is officially 3.5hrs, but it actually took us closer to 5hrs on the way back due to traffic! We didn't get back to the ship until near 10pm! :eek: It is definitely worth it though to see the pyramids if you haven't seen them before, as it is a sight everybody should see once in their lives!

 

The only thing you actually see in Bethlehem is the Church of the Nativity, which houses the grotto wherein is the spot Jesus is supposed to have been born. But as per the post above, there is a queue to get in and you may not have time - we were only able to have a look around the church. The rest of the time in Bethlehem is spent having lunch at a hotel and then a stop at a souvenier shop, before going on to the church - the bus stopped in a multi-storey car park and it was a short walk uphill to get to the church. Because of the lack of sights you actually see, I did feel that better use was made of time on the other trip, but I guess it depends on what you want to see and if you prefer a more relaxing afternoon then Bethlehem would be a better option.

[EJNutz]

Tummysmummy thanks for your review. I very much want to do this cruise and will be on my list in the near future.

 

If you haven't already done so would you mind submitting a copy of your review to our Review section at http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/reviews/#

 

Thanks very much.