Ashdod

[bee-ess]

Has anyone heard if Thomson are planning to visit Ashdod for Jerusalem in the upcoming season. Am thinking of booking one in April but don't want to if they cancel the port and replace it with somewhere else.

Edited February 9, 2016 by bee-ess

[dronnygirl]

If Thomson are advertising Ashdod, then they will intend visiting. They will only cancel at the last minute if there is advice from the foreign office. If this is the case, then there's nothing you can do. However, there are some bargain prices for that area.

We visited Ashdod a couple of years ago and it was amazing. Had a very long day trip to Jerusalem and the 2nd day we just took the shuttle bus into Ashdod where there is a lovely beach area with a couple of good bars.

[debby1965]

Hi I rang Thomson's yesterday to ask if there was any plans to change the itinerary , they said nothing has changed & they are in touch with the foreign office all the time . We booked on Sunday & looking forward to visiting Jerusalem . We have booked a tour with http://www.GuidedTourslsrael.com to Jerusalem & the Dead Sea it's $115 which works out at £80 a lot cheaper then the Thomson one , looking for more people to join us , hope to see you

[dronnygirl]

We used Guided Tours Israel and they were excellent. Waiting for us at the dock and straight off. Israel is an amazing country, not at all what we expected, and we would love to go again sometime. Doing Jerusalem and the Dead Sea in one day will be very tiring and I doubt you will get to see all of the sites. We did Jerusalem and Bethlehem, both extremely interesting and still quite a long day. We took some shekels with us and were glad we did as they came in useful for lunch, ice-creams and souvenirs.

[WeeCountyMan]

If you are "into history" and if anybody is offering an excursion to Masada then I would recommend it.

 

After returning home I sought out a DVD of the TV mini series which starred Peter O'Toole and Anthony Quayle.

 

It was largely filmed on the site of the seige as so much is still in place.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada_%28miniseries%29

 

One of the best trips we've ever done.

[debby1965]

Just booked & payed for trip to Jerusalem & Dead Sea counting the day

[lynneh]

We used Guided Tours Israel too and would definitely recommend them!

[Rebjon]

We got back last Wednesday from a Thomson Spirit cruise to Turkey and Israel. All ports on the itinerary were visited with no problems. Alanya and Marmaris were very quiet with lots of worried shopkeepers who can see their livelihoods being destroyed by a lack of package tourists. No problems in Ashdod - it was our second visit and we went to Jerusalem independently on the public bus which meant we saw much more than you can see in a group. Old Jerusalem is fabulous even if you have no real beliefs as the architecture and history is stunning

[debby1965]

Hi Rebjon glad you had a good cruise , we set off on Wednesday & can't wait , glad you got to each port , how was Beirut I've heard it is a very nice city ?

[Rebjon]

Hi Rebjon glad you had a good cruise , we set off on Wednesday & can't wait , glad you got to each port , how was Beirut I've heard it is a very nice city ?

 

Hi Debby

Beirut wasn't on our itinerary but I've gathered from other Thomson posts that the ship hasn't got to Beirut recently for a variety of reasons - some of which sound like excuses not to dock there from Thomson