Riviera cruise that was sailing on 9/20/20

[workstocruise]

Was anyone booked on this cruise and if so have you been able to find the same itinerary or a similar one for 2021 or 22? 
DH and I hated having to miss this one. We were so looking forward to the three days in Jerusalem.

[Tranquility Base]

I don't know the pervious itinerary, however Riviera July 2021 has 3 days.

Also Nautica Sept 2021

Edited August 24, 2020 by Tranquility Base

[the more ports the better]

Hi works, we were also booked on the Sept 20 sailing.  I checked all the sailings and nothing is the same.  There is one on Nautica that is similar but nothing starting in Italy, ending in Greece with the stops in Turkey and Israel.

 

We decided that we will pick a sailing with the majority of the ports from that sailing and spend three or four days pre or post cruise in Jerusalem.  Flying from Tel Aviv to anywhere in Europe is reasonable.  
 

At the end of the day, private tour booking was more complicated than I anticipated anyway and we are never comfortable on bus tours.  Most operators wanted us to spend the two nights in Jerusalem as opposed to driving back and forth to the ports.  We were paying $1000 plus a night for our stateroom plus $450 per night for our hotel in Jerusalem for the same nights.

This way we will pay for our hotel then a few hundred dollars for a flight to the departure port and the sailing will be much more relaxing.
 

BTW, we paid almost $1000 deposit for a three day private tour which they assured me was refundable up until 72 hours prior to the starting date.  When I cancelled, the company informed me that the deposit is non refundable.  I looked through all the documents and sure enough, AFTER I SENT THE DEPOSIT, they sent a confirmation with tiny print at the bottom stating that the deposit is non refundable.  They said I am welcome to book another tour and they will credit it.  Frustrating!!!

 

Maybe something comparable will open in 2022 as the sailing was almost sold out early on.

[Aloha 1]

Yes. July 2021, Athens to Istanbul. Two days shorter but most of the same ports.

[Aloha 1]

On 8/23/2020 at 10:47 PM, the more ports the better said:

 

BTW, we paid almost $1000 deposit for a three day private tour which they assured me was refundable up until 72 hours prior to the starting date.  When I cancelled, the company informed me that the deposit is non refundable.  I looked through all the documents and sure enough, AFTER I SENT THE DEPOSIT, they sent a confirmation with tiny print at the bottom stating that the deposit is non refundable.  They said I am welcome to book another tour and they will credit it.  Frustrating!!!

 

Who did you book with so I know who to avoid next year?

 

[Hawaiidan]

On 8/23/2020 at 5:35 PM, workstocruise said:

Was anyone booked on this cruise and if so have you been able to find the same itinerary or a similar one for 2021 or 22? 
DH and I hated having to miss this one. We were so looking forward to the three days in Jerusalem.

YES......  There is an  even better cruise Sept 20 2021  AMS-LIS-Venice   14 and 26 day in the Marina.. already booked..    As I said even better   hits France, Ireland, England, Spain, Portugal, Italy , and Slovenia.     I booked it , several cat's are already wait listed...... see you there

[arima22]

I believe the OP is more interested in the Eastern Med ports, especially 3 days in Israel than the AMS to Venice.

 

WorkstoCruise: Yes we were on the Sept. 20, 20 cruise we rebooked 3 months ago to the Nautica, Sept. 5- 19, 2021, Athens to Rome.  As stated above, the only other Oceania Eastern Med cruise with 3 days in Israel on the Riviera in 2021 is the July cruise but we felt the ports and timing of the Sept Nautica cruise was better.  That Nautica cruise is on "wait list" for all B and above categories.

 

We will be looking at the 2022 schedule when it comes out to see if there is something closer to the original Riviera Sept. 2020 ports of call.  Should have the schedule release in Sept. for the 2022 sailings.

Edited August 27, 2020 by arima22

[workstocruise]

Thanks everyone for your answers.  I did look at the Insignia cruise but wow everything is waitlisted. Guess I will have to keep searching.

[Mura]

We did Israel privately in November 2006,  Fortunately, DH's cousin is a licensed tour guide and she took us around the country for 2 weeks.

 

We were on a cruise a couple of year ago that overnighted in Haifa  It was very clear to me that we'd had a much better vision of the country driving around with Yafa than we could have had on a cruise.  For example, if you are porting in Haifa it's a bit of a trek to Jerusalem.  Yes, you will no doubt overnight there.  But it was so much easier to book our own itinerary.  And we stayed in the Haifa vicinity for three days as I recall.

 

I often say that if you think you won't be able to come  back to an area on your own, a cruise visit is a substitute. I'm thinking primarily of European ports (like Le Havre) where they say you're going to Paris or Berlin, but it's a 4 hour drive to get there. If you don't anticipate being able to do a longer term visit to major cities, then a cruise is a substitute -- especially if you have an overnight.  But how much you will see even in a city like Lisbon with one day is far less than you could see if you were there longer.

 

Mura

 

 

[the more ports the better]

Aloha1........

 

The tour company is holy land vip tours.  We’ll still begrudgingly use them as they have my $1000 deposit.
 

I agree with Mura though, it seems like the travel time is really long from Haifa to anywhere but the Nazareth region.  We are going to tack on 4 or 5 days prior to our next Med cruise to do Israel.

 

We originally booked with Holy Land VIP tours because we want to see Jerusalem, Masada, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea and Nazareth.  Our best friends go to Israel to visit family frequently.  They told us that they think there are convoluted restrictions on tour guides crossing borders with Israeli/Jewish vs Palestine/Muslim.  Holy Land VIP guides advertise that they are permitted in both Israel and Palestine without having to change drivers and guides at the border.

 

Can anyone who has cruised there verify these restrictions?  It makes it difficult to see everything.

 

Either way, that was just one more factor that made me decide that Israel is a pre or post cruise land trip.  There is just too much culture and history to pack into three days with 4 hours of travel to and from the port each day.  Just my opinion though......

 

 

[2552phxcrzr]

15 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

We originally booked with Holy Land VIP tours because we want to see Jerusalem, Masada, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea and Nazareth.  Our best friends go to Israel to visit family frequently.  They told us that they think there are convoluted restrictions on tour guides crossing borders with Israeli/Jewish vs Palestine/Muslim.  Holy Land VIP guides advertise that they are permitted in both Israel and Palestine without having to change drivers and guides at the border.

 

Can anyone who has cruised there verify these restrictions?  It makes it difficult to see everything.

I don’t recall the tour company we went with off-hand, but we did have to switch drivers/guides in 2017 to go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  I vaguely remember some requirement to at least visit a shop, too ... actual shopping not necessary.