Best side of ship for cruise to Israel?

[puppymama1]

We are booked on the October 27 Azamara Israel intensive cruise in cabin 7085, because it was one of the few cabins available at the time we booked it...but now there are other cabins available and we would like to move closer to midship... is one side of the ship better for the cruise from Greece to Israel or the time spent in port in Israel?  Fingers crossed that this cruise will actually happen!  Thanks!

[John Bull]

Greece to Israel, starboard side will be south-west & get the best of the afternoon / evening sun.

But if  like most cruises this is a round-trip (Greece to Greece) then it all balances-out.

Facing the land in Haifa is a super view, Ashod port area is unimpressive  - but ships don't always berth same-way-round.

IMHO, nothing to sweat about 🙂

 

BTW, public unrest in Israel is always a bit iffy. It may calm down before your cruise, it may not, or it may calm down & flare up again whilst you are en-route. 

Azamara will not jeopardise your safety, Israel might be substituted - or more likely, if there's port space available, for your Ashdod day(s) the ship will remain in Haifa.  Arab/Israeli relationships are way way way better in the north than around Jerusalem / Gaza, and altho it makes for a longer day Jerusalem from Haifa is perfectly OK and been done many times by cruise ships.

 

JB 🙂

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by John Bull

[puppymama1]

Thank you John Bull... I was hoping you would be able to answer me... I had seen one of your previous posts about Ashdod days being the most cancelled port and I was hoping Jerusalem was doable from Haifa... though if it's not safe to dock there, I wonder if we would want to tour there!  😂

[John Bull]

On 5/17/2021 at 5:14 PM, puppymama1 said:

Thank you John Bull... I was hoping you would be able to answer me... I had seen one of your previous posts about Ashdod days being the most cancelled port and I was hoping Jerusalem was doable from Haifa... though if it's not safe to dock there, I wonder if we would want to tour there!  😂

 

Ashdod is frequently cancelled when rockets are flying around because its in easy range of Gaza - about 20 miles, and it was hit in the last 24 hours. (But I'm fairly certain no cruise ships have ever been hit).

I think Jerusalem has been less susceptible than Ashdod because it's more than double the distance from Gaza, and rockets which fall short might fall on Bethlehem - which is Palestinian-controlled.

Edited to add. Perhaps more important, Hamas would not want to hit either Palestinians or Jerusalem's holy mosques & other sensitive places. 

 

But if Jerusalem is considered too dangerous and you do end up with all your Israeli days in Haifa , there's plenty from there to interest you. We did a one-day shared private tour to Cana (water into wine) plus River Jordan baptisms plus a kibbutz plus the Sea of Galilee. Another day we took the train to Acre (only about 30 minutes IIRC) for the crusader fortress and surrounding old-town with its maze of tunnels and alleyways. Tel Aviv is also easy from Haifa. 

 

You probably already know that Israel is one of the most Covid-safe places in the world 🙂  

 

JB 🙂

Edited May 18, 2021 by John Bull

[pris993]

I have cruised in and out of Israel several times does not matter.  

[puppymama1]

On 5/18/2021 at 2:50 PM, John Bull said:

 

Ashdod is frequently cancelled when rockets are flying around because its in easy range of Gaza - about 20 miles, and it was hit in the last 24 hours. (But I'm fairly certain no cruise ships have ever been hit).

I think Jerusalem has been less susceptible than Ashdod because it's more than double the distance from Gaza, and rockets which fall short might fall on Bethlehem - which is Palestinian-controlled.

Edited to add. Perhaps more important, Hamas would not want to hit either Palestinians or Jerusalem's holy mosques & other sensitive places. 

 

But if Jerusalem is considered too dangerous and you do end up with all your Israeli days in Haifa , there's plenty from there to interest you. We did a one-day shared private tour to Cana (water into wine) plus River Jordan baptisms plus a kibbutz plus the Sea of Galilee. Another day we took the train to Acre (only about 30 minutes IIRC) for the crusader fortress and surrounding old-town with its maze of tunnels and alleyways. Tel Aviv is also easy from Haifa. 

 

You probably already know that Israel is one of the most Covid-safe places in the world 🙂  

 

JB 🙂

 

[puppymama1]

Our 2021 Israel cruise was canceled by Azamara, and we rebooked it for October 2023… hopefully it will happen then!  I saw a post on FB of someone who renewed their wedding vows at Cana and that sounds incredible to me… who did you use for your private tour to Cana?  Or what guides would anyone recommend?  I was only planning on doing ship excursions but it doesn’t look like any excursion goes to Cana, so I might change my mind about that!  Thanks!

[John Bull]

8 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

Our 2021 Israel cruise was canceled by Azamara, and we rebooked it for October 2023… hopefully it will happen then!  I saw a post on FB of someone who renewed their wedding vows at Cana and that sounds incredible to me… who did you use for your private tour to Cana?  Or what guides would anyone recommend?  I was only planning on doing ship excursions but it doesn’t look like any excursion goes to Cana, so I might change my mind about that!  Thanks!

 

We joined a van that was touting for business just outside the port - there were several operators offering different tours, much like in the Caribbean. Cana was just one of several brief stops in a pretty wide-ranging tour & was conveniently on the route to the River Jordan & Sea of Galilee. Sorry,  don't recall the name -in fact we probably only ever knew the name of the driver/guide.

But that was about 10 years ago.

When we returned in 2019, arrangements at the port were very different - we walked out of the port to the train station (5 - 10 min walk) for a visit to Akko / Acre, and altho we weren't looking for a tour I'm sure that if there were any we'd have seen them.

 

So unless anyone else chips in, I guess it's back to Google / TripAdvisor etc.

 

JB 🙂

[cruisinsusin]

On 7/9/2022 at 9:32 PM, puppymama1 said:

… who did you use for your private tour to Cana?  Or what guides would anyone recommend? 

We used Moti Bar-Tuv  of Travel-Israel on our last cruise that had 4 days in Israel based from Haifa  (It was planned to be 2 days in Asdhdod and 2 in Haifa but Ashdod was canceled at the last minute-11pm the night before arrival- because of shelling). He was able to rearrange our touring plans overnight and we still saw everything that was on our wish list - including a lunch stop in Cana. We so much enjoyed the tours that we have booked with him again for later this year

https://travel-israel.info/home

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

We used Guided Tours Israel.  Israel turned our 3 day stop into 2 due to Covid testing in May, but GTI regrouped and we went to Jerusalem with them on one of the days.  At least for their lowest priced tour (up to 18 people) you can't customize your tour, but we were happy with what we saw and did. Guide and arrangements were quite good. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

And just for anyone interested (John Bull?): There appears to be a boat that goes to Akko from the port.  It wasn't running the day we were there, however.  But they do have a website..... 

 

[John Bull]

On 7/24/2022 at 9:48 PM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

And just for anyone interested (John Bull?): There appears to be a boat that goes to Akko from the port.  It wasn't running the day we were there, however.  But they do have a website..... 

 

 

NOW you tell me 😄

 

Haifa rail station was very handy to the port, the train was cheap, comfortable, frequent and quick.🙂

But Akko station was quite a hike from the citadel.😟

 

JB 🙂

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Yes, I had my whol day plotted out for seeing Akko, looking at dock location, train station, etc.  But that fell apart when we lost a day there.  But I was kind of wondering if I'd be able or willing to walk down to where I wanted to be in Akko, which did seem like a long way.  And I'm not crazy about taking cabs, though I don't really know why I'm that way.  But I was planning to see if the boat ran, and if so, use it, at least for the "to" portion.  And then perhaps go back using the train.  I am a lighthouse lover, and wanted to at least see the lighthouse in Akko, which is way down there where the boat lets off passengers. But at least I got to see Jerusalem one day and Masada the next, my choice and my spouse's choice  But Akko, plus the Gardens in Haifa got missed.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Saw this from Mount of Olives on my tour with Guided Tours Israel.

 

[John Bull]

11 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

...................... at least I got to see Jerusalem one day and Masada the next, my choice and my spouse's choice  But Akko, plus the Gardens in Haifa got missed.

 

If the original itinerary was a day in Haifa and two in Ashdod, it's a shame to miss Haifa.

 

But if the second day in Ashdod was at the expense of Haifa  - just IMHO of course - that's a better itinerary, cos Jerusalem is bucket-list and we rated Masada as spectacular, especially swimming in the Dead Sea and the panoramic view of it from the fortress.

And the tour in my earlier post that we chose from Haifa was excellent too.

 

Coincidentally our second time in Haifa (two days) was a very late switch at the expense of Ashdod, from where we'd planned a two-day road trip. The plunging gardens on Day one (taxi to the top, only to find they were closed due to overnight rain so we walked back down adjoining streets instead of thro the gardens) and Akko by train on Day two - nowhere near as interesting as we'd imagined.

But then we're not light-house freaks 😄😉

 

All part of the trials & tribulations of cruisin'

 

JB 🙂

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

 

If the original itinerary was a day in Haifa and two in Ashdod, it's a shame to miss Haifa.

 

But if the second day in Ashdod was at the expense of Haifa  - just IMHO of course - that's a better itinerary, cos Jerusalem is bucket-list and we rated Masada as spectacular, especially swimming in the Dead Sea and the panoramic view of it from the fortress.

And the tour in my earlier post that we chose from Haifa was excellent too.

 

Coincidentally our second time in Haifa (two days) was a very late switch at the expense of Ashdod, from where we'd planned a two-day road trip. The plunging gardens on Day one (taxi to the top, only to find they were closed due to overnight rain so we walked back down adjoining streets instead of thro the gardens) and Akko by train on Day two - nowhere near as interesting as we'd imagined.

But then we're not light-house freaks 😄😉

 

All part of the trials & tribulations of cruisin'

 

JB 🙂

 

We were scheduled to be in Haifa first two days and Ashdod the third.  I had booked with Guided Tours Israel on first and third days to go to Jerusalem and Masada/Dead Sea, although I forget which days were which.  On the middle day my spouse was going to relax and I had planned to go to Akko and Bahia Gardens on my own.  The first day in Haifa we docked by 6 am & we all got up early to go to the terminal to get pcr tests.  Then everyone waited on the ship until test results were reported and Israeli authorities cleared the ship.  That was a bit after 5 pm.  Before that, we all got text or email messages -- in Israeli characters  -- which scared us all, as we were so afraid one of us or some of us would test positive.  An announcement was made over the PA that it was just informing us that our tests had been received by the testing lab.  Ah, adventures!) 

 

Bahia Gardens had closed at 5, and I figured there wasn't enough time to go to Akko, so essentially that was a sea day - just different views and no gentle rocking. The Oceania, Viking  and NCL ships that had visited weeks before ran into the same issue, and I learned about it a bit before our cruise actually started and alerted GTS.  They stayed on top of it, and before we arrived in Israel, gave us options for re-arranged touring.   We were able to go with them to Jerusalem/Bethlehem, but to see Masada and float in the Dead Sea, we needed to take an Oceania excursion.  (No big deal, just more expensive.)  Both trips involved a lot of time on coaches, but at that point I was just grateful we could see and do the major things we wanted.  Our ship moved to a different location in Haifa port that night, possibly to let another ship dock and do the same testing routine that night or the next day.  It was pretty interesting to watch the ship turn around and relocate at night in a busy port like Haifa. Then the second night we left late to head to Ashdod. 

 

About a week after we were in Israel, Israel dropped the all-ship PCR testing.  I guess I have bad timing, but things were (and are) still pretty unsettled due to Covid and cruising re-start, so you roll with the punches.  

[John Bull]

2 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

.......................... so you roll with the punches.  

 

 Yep, that's absolutely the right attitude 

 

JB 🙂