Living in an Inside Cabin

Jerusalem from the road

Cruise itineraries are subject to change.  It’s in the brochures and on the web site.  Well this time the itinerary was changed due to the situation in Egypt and we were rerouted to Israel. We called at Ashdod and Haifa.  Shore excursions did a marvelous job in offering new tours in a timely manner and I hopped on a 9 hour trip to Jerusalem from Ashdod, “The Best of Jerusalem”.

I was in Israel in the mid eighties thanks to the Israel Tourist Board and had a fabulous trip, driving all over the country.  I always said I wanted to return.  The tour through the old city was a bit of a forced march because there

King David

are a lot of sights to cover in the four quarters of the city.  Golgatha, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Western (Wailing) Wall, all memorable experiences plus the hustle of the street markets.

I have to say that I did not anticipate the crowds in the city.  It was so crowded that it was not a pleasant experience.  Summer is hot, crowded and extremely expensive so I would recommend visiting in the off season.

Garden of Gethsemane

Haifa is the stop to get to the Sea of Galilee and Masada and the Dead Sea.  I had to stay in town so didn’t take the tours.  The city is quite nice with beautiful Bahai Gardens.  Again it is very expensive, especially after being in Greece and places like Montenegro.  On the other hand, the wifi is excellent.  All and all I am pleased to have been able to return to the country and would come back in the off season without a tour group in tow.