med holy land cruise

[craftymarie]

hi all. we are thinking of doing a med, holy land cruise late jan 2014. i like the itinerary, but am unsure of travelling on msc ship. have done 3 rcl and 1 thompson cruise. loved rcl. but they dont do this itinerary any more. do you think it would be worth doing. we are a couple in our late forties, no kids. tia. Marie

[earn]

We are love RCL, but did our first MSC cruise on Poesia this Easter. We really liked it and plan to do another next year. I think you just need to embrace the difference. If you like land based European holidays you will enjoy MSC.

[Pennbank]

hi all. we are thinking of doing a med, holy land cruise late jan 2014. i like the itinerary, but am unsure of travelling on msc ship. have done 3 rcl and 1 thompson cruise. loved rcl. but they dont do this itinerary any more. do you think it would be worth doing. we are a couple in our late forties, no kids. tia. Marie

 

Hi

I went on MSC Magnifica January last year and did Venice to Haifa, had a very enjoyable time. We did have a bit or rough weather, in fact lost a day in Haifa but still managed Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Go on board with an open mind. The ships are lavishly bright and lots of smoking areas, Expect all food to be Italian. Everything is extra so taking the drinks packages would be a good idea. at £20 or the more expensive £37 which includes bottled bier and Coffees. Buying the drinks packages in advance wipes out the 15% service charge they add when purchasing drinks at the bars. Also they do make a lot of announcements and check baggage. They have customers joining and leaving at most ports which is slightly different to UK Cruising.

I would do another MSC cruise when the chance arises.

[Mousehound]

I usually cruise Celebrity with my partner but have more vacation time than him & therefore have cruised alone on many occasions. The real problem with that is that usually cruise lines charge you double for a cabin when travelling alone.

I was offered a bargain cruise on MSC a few years ago with no single supplement. I booked it with an open mind & must say I was pleasantly surprised. I really had a great time. You just have to realise it is a European line & embrace the differences.

Since then I have been back on other MSC cruises on four occasions & had a great time. One of the cruises was with my partner & he loved it.

I even have two more booked. One in November & one in March next year.

Give them a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.:)

[Capricruiser]

Both Italian lines, Costa and MSC do 12 day cruises through the East Med to the Holy Land. The excursions offered for Israel are basically the same since they're managed by Israeli tour operators. Most cruise lines nowadays are using the northern port of Haifa in lieu of Ashdod because of the rocket threat from Gaza. This is a shame because Ashdod is only an hour or so from Jerusalem while it takes up to three hours to get there from Haifa.

[craftymarie]

Hi

I went on MSC Magnifica January last year and did Venice to Haifa, had a very enjoyable time. We did have a bit or rough weather, in fact lost a day in Haifa but still managed Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

Go on board with an open mind. The ships are lavishly bright and lots of smoking areas, Expect all food to be Italian. Everything is extra so taking the drinks packages would be a good idea. at £20 or the more expensive £37 which includes bottled bier and Coffees. Buying the drinks packages in advance wipes out the 15% service charge they add when purchasing drinks at the bars. Also they do make a lot of announcements and check baggage. They have customers joining and leaving at most ports which is slightly different to UK Cruising.

I would do another MSC cruise when the chance arises.[/

 

 

Hi. after reading all your replies i am very very tempted to book this cruise as both egypt and israel are places i really want to see, so.......

just a couple of questions.

what was weather like. ie what kind of clothes should we bring for the jan 29th 2014 cruise that i am looking at?

are there any non alcohol packages for adults as neither of us drink alcohol?

can you prepay gratuities before cruising like on rcl?

tia Marie