Silhouette Holy Land Review

[Gonzo70]

Winery:

 

Candy Factory:

 

Rose Factory:

[Gonzo70]

Pedicure Anyone?

 

Lunch with a view; we enjoyed some gyros and saganaki:

 

 

 

Famous Windmills:

 

View of the Silhouette:

[Gonzo70]

 

 

 

 

Police gearing up for a protest outside Syntagma Square:

 

Jen collects Starbucks mugs from places we visit and was thrilled to find one in Athens:

[Gonzo70]

Civitavecchia is a beautiful area and a nice place to stay pre-cruise if one wants to relax versus take in the sights of Rome. I highly recommend the hotel where we stayed: http://www.tenutadellargento.com/

 

The hotel is a working ranch with large rooms (for Europe), a great restaurant, wonderful views of the mountains, sea and port as well as outstanding service.

 

Outdoor pool with view of mountains:

 

View of port at sunset from the hotel's outdoor patio; we were enjoying a carafe of Italian wine during the sunset the night before our cruise:

 

We missed our cat terrible while gone, but befriended the hotel's cat, "Meow":

 

The hotel is an active ranch and has cattle (hence very fresh beef at their restaurant), bulls, horses and cowboys as well cowgirls). Depending on the time of year they offer activities such as horseback riding.

[CruisingEsq]

Thanks for the review and the pix-- can't wait for the TA!

[Presto2]

Thanks for all of the fab photos and info. We were on one of the Silhouettes first cruises on the 10th Aug and had a great time. So much so that we have now booked for the 10th Aug next year and the Adriatic.

 

Just looking at your photos makes us realise that we have made the right decision :D:D

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for your review and pics Gonzo. Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Michael's Club bartender - What beer would you like?

 

Self - Arrogant Bastard

 

Michael's Club bartender - Well I only asked.

 

Phil

[The Big Booper]

Thanks for the review and photos. We are on the 12 nighter from Beautiful Downtown Bayonne Dec 12th. I'm curious how the new grass will hold up in the North Atlantic.

 

What is the Porch you talked about?

 

Sipra played on the Solstice in June 2010. Or is that a house name for any party band working the S ships?

[MrsKruse]

What a wonderful review! Brings back lovely memories of our Holy Land Cruise that we took this spring :D We also used Guided Tours Israel and thought they were top notch.

 

We're going on the Eclipse in March - hoping that they have a nice hard cider menu like you had at Michael's on the Silhouette!

[momzcruzing]

I'm loving your review and looking forward to more pictures.

 

We did the Holy Land last year and had 2 days in Israel, with Micky as our guide only one of the two days. I agree that she was the best guide that I have ever had1 We were so sad to have a very disinterested guide the second day. She set the bar VERY high!

[Gonzo70]

Thanks for the review and photos. We are on the 12 nighter from Beautiful Downtown Bayonne Dec 12th. I'm curious how the new grass will hold up in the North Atlantic.

 

What is the Porch you talked about?

 

Sipra played on the Solstice in June 2010. Or is that a house name for any party band working the S ships?

 

The Porch is a new restaurant open daily for breakfast and lunch located adjacent to the lawn area. It features panini sandwiches (both for breakfast and lunch) and has a few sides to choose from (i.e. at breakfast there was a fruit salad, muesli and one or two other options). There is a $5 cover charge to eat here. I found the sandwich bar at the buffet to have a greater selection and to be of equal quality to the food served at The Porch. The day we ate there we were the only passengers dining and the few times I walked by I never saw more than one table occupied. I was chatting with one of the officers about the specialty restaurants and mentioned that The Porch was the only of the six pay venues we did not enjoy and he said there has been a lot of negative feedback on The Porch, that it has been rarely in use and that Celebrity was already considering changes (though he did not offer any specifics). I would like to see this area turned into a nice breakfast/brunch venue with a wide variety of creative brunch items. It is a great space for such a venue and if the menu is right, it could be a big hit. I would happily pay $10 cover charge for a truly creative and high quality brunch with table service.

 

I think Sipra is the actual name of the particular band that was on Silhouette and that the other party bands have their own name, but I am not certain about this.

 

Hopefully the new grass they are planting will fare well in New Jersey.

[Gonzo70]

We visited a kibbutz in Israel:

 

I was happy the kibbutz grocery store had inexpensive Israeli beer, Goldstar, not bad, but I don't think Michael's needs to add this one to the beer list anytime soon.

 

We had the chance to stop at the Jordan River:

 

 

Masada was really cool; we took the tram up but actually hiked down the Snake Path:

[Gonzo70]

The trip to the Dead Sea was so much fun; I was surprised at how large the Dead Sea was and how beautiful the surrounding scenery is. Be sure to do a "float" experience; it is amazing and the water is so warm!

 

Mud bath in the Dead Sea:

 

The Dead Sea is the lowest elevation in the World, as spelled out by the Dead Sea Bar:

 

This couple really went at it:

[Gonzo70]

View of the Jewish Cemetery from the Mount of Olives:

 

Russian Church:

 

The wall dividing Israel from Palestine:

 

The entrance to the Church of the Nativity is very small to avoid animals from entering:

 

Inside the Church:

 

Underground prayer area within the Church:

[Gonzo70]

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (sight where Christ is believed to have been crucified and buried). This is the slab on which he was said to have been buried:

 

Lots of nice non-tourist trap shops in Jerusalem; this was our favorite. We purchased a dreidel that turns into a menorah made by a local artist:

 

The Western Wall (sometimes erroneously called the Wailing Wall):

 

Close up of the men's area of the Wall:

 

There was a very large security presence in Israel, but I always felt safe; it was surprising how young many of the soldiers were. In Israel all men must serve for three years and all women for two years:

 

Jen posing with Michal (Micky), our outstanding tour guide from Guided Tours Israel:

 

I cannot recommend highly enough to book your Israel tours with Guided Tours Israel and to request Micky as your guide!!!

[aqua]

Gonzo, Thank you for the review. We are headed for the Holy Land on the Constellation in a few days. We have booked 4 days with GTI in Israel. My husband would like to walk to the top of Masada instead of taking the cable car. Is that reasonable to try? My daughters plan to swim in the Dead Sea, but it does not sound appealing to me. Can you please tell me why you liked it so much? Are people taking mud baths themselves, or was that a spa experience? Thanks very much!

[Gonzo70]

Gonzo, Thank you for the review. We are headed for the Holy Land on the Constellation in a few days. We have booked 4 days with GTI in Israel. My husband would like to walk to the top of Masada instead of taking the cable car. Is that reasonable to try? My daughters plan to swim in the Dead Sea, but it does not sound appealing to me. Can you please tell me why you liked it so much? Are people taking mud baths themselves, or was that a spa experience? Thanks very much!

 

If your husband is in good physical shape and you are on a private tour it is definitely feasible to walk to the top of Masada. The terrain is quite uneven, so it is a bit challenging if one is not agile and in good shape. It is a rather lengthy hike up compared to the tram, so if you have other people on your tour hiking up may not be an option. The tram takes a couple of minutes whereas my hike down (at a fast pace) took nearly half an hour. Going up may very take 40 to 60 minutes depending on one's pace. If others are on the tour, by the time he hikes up, the tour of Masada may be nearly over and it may be hard for him to find the group (Masada is very large).

 

What made the Dead Sea so fun was a few things, the history of the location, being in the lowest spot on Earth, the water being so nice and warm - very refreshing after sweltering atop Masada, the natural beauty surrounding you, and the uniqueness of the water being so salty that you naturally float without any effort. The mud is not a paid spa treatment, but something people were just doing on your own. The mud is supposedly packed with all sorts of nutrients and it is a huge business extracting these minerals from the Sea and selling them.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

[Cruising Forever!]

Thank you SO much for this excellent review! :D

[aqua]

Thanks so much Gonzo. I am glad to hear that the water is refreshing! Maybe I will reconsider. Thanks for the info about Masada, too!

[The Big Booper]

The Israel tour looks great. Unfortunately since I broke my ankle a few months ago I don't know if I will ever be able to do something strenuous like that in the future at all.

 

Question, is it possible for people who can walk but can't do big time hiking to take advantage of these port stops via tours.

 

Thanks in advance

[cathy82]

Hi Erick,

You did a great job reviewing our cruise. I concur with everything you said. We really enjoyed meeting you and Jen. It is hard to believe we are now back at work and reality. Take care nad we hope to see you again on a future cruise.

[cathy82]

The Israel tour looks great. Unfortunately since I broke my ankle a few months ago I don't know if I will ever be able to do something strenuous like that in the future at all.

 

Question, is it possible for people who can walk but can't do big time hiking to take advantage of these port stops via tours.

 

Thanks in advance

All of these venues are quite accessible. I even saw a Celebrity Silhouette wheelchair on top of Massada.

[gelo7]

Wow, what an awesome review.

[OCA REP]

I'm loving your review and looking forward to more pictures.

 

We did the Holy Land last year and had 2 days in Israel, with Micky as our guide only one of the two days. I agree that she was the best guide that I have ever had1 We were so sad to have a very disinterested guide the second day. She set the bar VERY high!

 

I am enjoying the review too. We did a similar trip on Equinox last year and also had Micky on our second day in Israel. I so wish she had been our guide the first day as we had a gentleman, his name escapes me, who too came across as very disinterested!

[reggielew]

Hi!

 

We were on the Silhouette on the September 3rd cruise and used Guided Tours Israel for 4 days in Isreal. There were 6 of us travelling together so we had private tours with Zvika as our guide for all 4 days. He was fantastic and made Isreal really "come alive" for us. Other people we spoke with also thought that their guides provided by Guided Tours Israel were also "the best," so it seems that they provided excellent guides to everyone we spoke with.

 

We were unsure whether or not we wanted to go into the Dead Sea, but it was a definite highlight of our trip--don't miss it! It is truly an unforgettable experience. Just make sure that you have water shoes!!!

 

Reggie