Rhapsody of the Seas May 22, 2023 Israel Conflict

[Darryljerry]

My family and I are departing Israel on May 22, 2023.  We will be coming from the United States.  We have become very concerned about the conflict going on there now.  We are concerned about the cruise cancelling or worse, not cancelling yet the area be too unsafe to travel.  Is there an area in this forum that would have current information on the subject?  Any recommendations about where to get current information?  Recommendations in general?

Any information would be appreciated.

 

 

[Matt]

Perhaps @Traveler can provide better context since he lives there.

As someone who has lived in Israel many years ago, the news makes the conflict seem like it's widespread across the country and much worse than it really is.  

Your cruise leaves from Haifa, which is in the north part of the country. The attacks tend to occur closer to the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and while Israel is a very small country, it's still far enough away in Haifa that it's not as much a factor.

Obviously no one can promise you that there's no risk, but I'd still go.

[Darryljerry]

Thank you for the information. My wife and I have been to Israel but it has been some years. What concerned me most, in the current conflict, is that the shelling was coming from Lebanon. We are returning this time with our grown children. Our flight is for A few days in advance of the cruise. We planned to use that time to show them some of Israel's highlights. The opportunity for them to see Israel was the primary reason that we chose this particular cruise.

Thanks again for the information.

[Jill]

Agree with @Matt. Haifa is far enough away from Jerusalem/Gaza/West Bank

We were in Israel last October (Holy Land cruise) during Sukkot and had some minor concerns but had no issues whatsoever. 
 

I wouldn’t be concerned leaving out of Haifa. Even Jerusalem’s port (Ashdod) is quite a distance from where the turmoil is. 
 

Royal will not put you in harms way. 

[smokeybandit]

28 minutes ago, Jill said:

Royal will not put you in harms way. 

Key point for any port stop RC makes that involves a country with some sort of newsworthy turmoil.

[Darryljerry]

Thanks for the information.  I guess I will continue to plan my trip. I have gotten to the stage where I have to reserve hotels, rent a cars, etc..., for The days that I will spend in Israel.  If the conflict escalates, we will just run the risk of losing our money/vacation.

Thanks again. 

[Jill]

1 hour ago, Darryljerry said:

Thanks for the information.  I guess I will continue to plan my trip. I have gotten to the stage where I have to reserve hotels, rent a cars, etc..., for The days that I will spend in Israel.  If the conflict escalates, we will just run the risk of losing our money/vacation.

Thanks again. 

Be sure to get a good travel insurance policy 

[RafaellaCG]

In previous years RC has been quick to cancel at every flare up, so canceling is on the table, but I really doubt the cruise will continue if there's any significant risk. If you haven't booked flights yet, maybe spring for "cancel for any reason" insurance. As to the actual risk, things will likely calm way down after Eid (probably ending on April 26, 27).

[Darryljerry]

I have already purchased my flights and so that is not an option at this point. It's a great idea otherwise. Thanks for the awesome information.

 

[Traveler]

First , you can be sure that RCL will not put the passengers or crew under any risk , if they think the area is not safe enough they will cancel.
More likely they will shift the cruise to go out of Cyprus and offer a way to go there.
For now , although there is allot of news you do not really feel it in Haifa (were the port is) or even in Tel Aviv as things get to normal very quickly here. 
I think that after the holidays here things will be much less tense so May , but that is just my opinion. 
Anyway , there are still several weeks before your cruise , many things can change 50 times but then, hope everything will be fine and you and your family  will enjoy Israel and the cruise.
Let me know if you any questions or require any tips regarding the locations or port.

[Darryljerry]

Thank you so much for this information. We will be arriving on the morning of May 18th and spend four nights prior to the cruise. My goal is for my family to be able to see the Dead Sea and region in the south, Jerusalem and specifically the old city, and the northern area including the Sea of Galilee. I am still sorting out where to be on which night in order to minimize driving but also stay cognizant of having to change hotels. How concerned should I be about scheduling a day around Jerusalem on Saturday?

[RafaellaCG]

3 hours ago, Darryljerry said:

Thank you so much for this information. We will be arriving on the morning of May 18th and spend four nights prior to the cruise. My goal is for my family to be able to see the Dead Sea and region in the south, Jerusalem and specifically the old city, and the northern area including the Sea of Galilee. I am still sorting out where to be on which night in order to minimize driving but also stay cognizant of having to change hotels. How concerned should I be about scheduling a day around Jerusalem on Saturday?

Really depends what you want to see. The crowds at the Western Wall on Friday night are cool, but museums and attractions are closed, as are most restaurants (enough is open that you'll be fine with planning, but don't be spontaneous).

[Traveler]

19 hours ago, Darryljerry said:

Thank you so much for this information. We will be arriving on the morning of May 18th and spend four nights prior to the cruise. My goal is for my family to be able to see the Dead Sea and region in the south, Jerusalem and specifically the old city, and the northern area including the Sea of Galilee. I am still sorting out where to be on which night in order to minimize driving but also stay cognizant of having to change hotels. How concerned should I be about scheduling a day around Jerusalem on Saturday?

Few questions :
 

1. Are you planning to rent a car or you want to use public transportation , combination ? 
2. Israel is the size of NJ , so if you are staying in Tel Aviv , its one hour drive to Jerusalem (pending traffic), two and half hors to the north and 2 hours to the dead sea . Based on that do you prefer  to take one hotel for the 4 nights and plan a day travel to the different places ? 
3. Self guide tours or guided ? 
4. Any must do in the north and Jerusalem  in your list ? 
5. How old your kids ?

Anyway , here is one option for self guide that includes a car :

Day one - depends when you are landing , take a taxi to Tel Aviv (35-50 $) , drop the luggage in the hotel , visit the boardwalk of Tel Aviv , visit Old Jaffa during the night.

Day two - pick a car , if you want to start very early , you can take the train to the airport (15 minutes ride) and take the care from there  ,once you took the car you can go to Jerusalem (50 minutes) , you can park at the "Mamila" parking which is 10 minutes walk from the old city. Go to the Jaffa gate of the old city, you can visit first the Tower of David Museum (https://www.tod.org.il/en/) after the visit you can go up the wall (adjust to the museum) take the right path and walk over the wall until the last exit , you will have very nice photo ops, that can take 30 -40 minutes. Go down from the wall and walk to the right until you will get to the wailing wall . After the visit in the Wailing wall you can take the exist on the other side and walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , after that you can visit the market and go via the market back to the Jaffa gate.
You can choose to stay in Jerusalem and visit other part of the city, for nice view of the old city I would visit Mount Scopus.
Now there are two options , one is go back to Tel Aviv , the other one is to continue to an hotel in the dead sea. if you choose to go to the dead sea on the same day , I would recommended not to take the short road to the dead sea but to go via road 6 (tool road) to the south and go via the town of "Arad".

Day 3 , visit the dead sea (mind not all the hotels will allow you one day stay during the weekend) and visit Masada , at the end of the day I would drive back to Tel Aviv or stay another day in the dead sea hotel (which mean a very long drive the day after).

Day 4 , North  ,  Hotel near the city of Tzfat , visit to Sea of Galilei and Nazareth , if you want to have a nice wild life (mainly birds) I would go to visit https://agamon-hula.co.il/home-en/.

Day 5 - Checkout and drive to Haifa to drop the car , take taxi to the port  (it will take around 1 hour drive).

Its allot in 4 days , so you can change several things , you can choose to take a full guided day trip from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the dead seas and take the car the day after to go to the north which mean less driving. 

[Jkaczano]

I’m on RC’s 12 day Holy Land cruise leaving out of Rome (Citavecchia) May 6th.  3 days in Israel.  Less than a month out and we haven’t heard of any changes yet.

[Darryljerry]

Thanks to all and especially @Traveler.  Wow you really went above and beyond!  I looked for something, like what you did, before I began to plan from scratch.  I have multiple criteria and that has complicated the planning.  I was trying to spend 1 night in the Dead Sea region, after spending the day there, so that we would have the hotel to clean up from swimming etc... I was also trying to avoid Jerusalem on Saturday, if possible, and lastly trying to limit the miles that we have to drive.  I made a spreadsheet and moved the components around every way possible.  Your plan is comparable to my final draft.  I am sharing it here and if you have a concern about my plan, I am all ears:

 

We will land in Tel Aviv around 10:00am (Thursday).  I am planning to rent a car from Hertz and return it in Haifa.  After getting the car we are going to head down to the Dead Sea and probably stay near Ein Bokek.  The next morning (Friday) we will head back towards Jerusalem and see Masada and other interest on the way.  We plan to spend the remaining part of Friday in the Old City and spend the night in Jerusalem.  We are planning to see The Garden Tomb, Mount of Olives, and other things in the surrounding area and spend Saturday night in Jerusalem also.  The next morning (Sunday)  we plan to drive towards Haifa and see Caesarea along the way.  We are going to continue to The Sea of Galilee and overnight near the port, in Haifa.  The next morning (Monday) we will return the car and get on the ship. 

Any suggestions?

[Traveler]

2 hours ago, Darryljerry said:

Thanks to all and especially @Traveler.  Wow you really went above and beyond!  I looked for something, like what you did, before I began to plan from scratch.  I have multiple criteria and that has complicated the planning.  I was trying to spend 1 night in the Dead Sea region, after spending the day there, so that we would have the hotel to clean up from swimming etc... I was also trying to avoid Jerusalem on Saturday, if possible, and lastly trying to limit the miles that we have to drive.  I made a spreadsheet and moved the components around every way possible.  Your plan is comparable to my final draft.  I am sharing it here and if you have a concern about my plan, I am all ears:

 

We will land in Tel Aviv around 10:00am (Thursday).  I am planning to rent a car from Hertz and return it in Haifa.  After getting the car we are going to head down to the Dead Sea and probably stay near Ein Bokek.  The next morning (Friday) we will head back towards Jerusalem and see Masada and other interest on the way.  We plan to spend the remaining part of Friday in the Old City and spend the night in Jerusalem.  We are planning to see The Garden Tomb, Mount of Olives, and other things in the surrounding area and spend Saturday night in Jerusalem also.  The next morning (Sunday)  we plan to drive towards Haifa and see Caesarea along the way.  We are going to continue to The Sea of Galilee and overnight near the port, in Haifa.  The next morning (Monday) we will return the car and get on the ship. 

Any suggestions?

The plan for sure a doable plan , 

The flight you are taken ( I assume United by the landing time) is a good one and most of the times it will even land earlier. There might be some line in immigration but not too bad. The Car rental is on the same building as the arrival building (you will need to take the escalators or elevator one or two level up). from the airport to the dead sea it will take you around two hours (pending traffic) best way will be to take the tool road #6 south and come from the south. If you will use GPS it might send you via Jerusalem as it might be shorter but this road is going via the south part of the west bank. Same when you are going to Jerusalem. In the dead sea it is better to take at leas half board hotel as the option to eat out around Ein Bokek (which is a good place to take the hotel) unless you care for fast-food or a sandwich (yes it has a MacDonald's there). The half board is a buffet style. Please  mind that some of the hotels have there own beach and some you need to walk few minutes to go to the beach. A tip to save some money, there is a small mall near the hotels area which you can buy the mod and other dead sea products much cheaper than you will get in the hotels.
If you want to visit Masada try to aim for the morning when the cable car will be less busy. Jerusalem at Saturdays is OK, There some restaurants open (not like in Tel Aviv but there are) some of the museums are open , including the biggest Israel Museum https://www.imj.org.il/en which has large exhibitions  of archeology, arts from all around of the world and the dead sea shrine (children under 17 are getting free entrance on Saturday) , also the market on the old city is open.

On the way to the north , Caesarea is a good option , plan few hours there its not a small site , its also a good place to eat lunch , although there are many other options around. When you bring back your care take into consideration that the Hertz Haifa location is opened between 0800 to 16:00 .

[Darryljerry]

I am delighted that you were willing to help.  Your information is indispensable.

Thank you so much!

[Jill]

7 hours ago, Darryljerry said:

Thanks to all and especially @Traveler.  Wow you really went above and beyond!  I looked for something, like what you did, before I began to plan from scratch.  I have multiple criteria and that has complicated the planning.  I was trying to spend 1 night in the Dead Sea region, after spending the day there, so that we would have the hotel to clean up from swimming etc... I was also trying to avoid Jerusalem on Saturday, if possible, and lastly trying to limit the miles that we have to drive.  I made a spreadsheet and moved the components around every way possible.  Your plan is comparable to my final draft.  I am sharing it here and if you have a concern about my plan, I am all ears:

 

We will land in Tel Aviv around 10:00am (Thursday).  I am planning to rent a car from Hertz and return it in Haifa.  After getting the car we are going to head down to the Dead Sea and probably stay near Ein Bokek.  The next morning (Friday) we will head back towards Jerusalem and see Masada and other interest on the way.  We plan to spend the remaining part of Friday in the Old City and spend the night in Jerusalem.  We are planning to see The Garden Tomb, Mount of Olives, and other things in the surrounding area and spend Saturday night in Jerusalem also.  The next morning (Sunday)  we plan to drive towards Haifa and see Caesarea along the way.  We are going to continue to The Sea of Galilee and overnight near the port, in Haifa.  The next morning (Monday) we will return the car and get on the ship. 

Any suggestions?

We were in Israel this past October and opted for tours through Guided Tours Israel. They were PHENOMENAL! We did semi private (16 of us) to Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Masada and Dead Sea. Opted for private tour (our party of 6) for the Old City. Started at Mount of Olives. A truly incredible experience. 
 

We chose not to go to Bethlehem. Had US Military with us in our party and definitely a no go. 
 

Overall the most incredible experience. Highly suggest this tour operator. 
 

https://www.guidedtoursisrael.com/

 

 

[Darryljerry]

I will definitely check it out. Thanks Jill.

[Rosebud]

5/11/23 - I am very concerned about recent escalations in Israel.  I have been on the phone with Royal Caribbean all morning.  I am also scheduled on the May 22nd cruise.  The first call was one, with a directive to file a claim with the insurance company, which I did.  The second call was disastrous, with the call center associate hanging up on me as I asked him multiple questions about my next steps.  He also embellished information, stating Royal Caribbean has never cancelled this itinerary.  I do not want to wait until next week to reshuffle flights,  hotels and transportation.  Need Royal Caribbean to step up now and conduct their due diligence.  

The situation in Israelis escalating and no reassurance from bloggers will make me feel safe at the moment. 

Thoughts? 

[Darryljerry]

Good afternoon.  I feel your pain.  My family and I have additional plans that include seeing Israel for a few days, prior to the cruise, if we were going to be there anyway.  I was hoping for a cancellation prior to having to book rooms, cars, etc.. in Israel.  I went ahead and booked those but got free cancellation until early May.  Those dates have come and gone and so we can no longer cancel and get a refund.  I pray that things settle down and we can still go. 

[RafaellaCG]

18 hours ago, Rosebud said:

5/11/23 - I am very concerned about recent escalations in Israel.  I have been on the phone with Royal Caribbean all morning.  I am also scheduled on the May 22nd cruise.  The first call was one, with a directive to file a claim with the insurance company, which I did.  The second call was disastrous, with the call center associate hanging up on me as I asked him multiple questions about my next steps.  He also embellished information, stating Royal Caribbean has never cancelled this itinerary.  I do not want to wait until next week to reshuffle flights,  hotels and transportation.  Need Royal Caribbean to step up now and conduct their due diligence.  

The situation in Israelis escalating and no reassurance from bloggers will make me feel safe at the moment. 

Thoughts? 

Obviously now is much more concerning than last month. RC is probably waiting to see how the cease fire shakes out. If they cancel the cruise (which they will if there's any danger) they have to compensate everyone.

[Traveler]

I can't advice anyone here about what to do. I can just say that in the past usually such issue ended in less than  a week, nothing guaranteed it will be the same but there is a good chance.

Second , the situation now impacting only the south/mid part of Israel up to around 100 km from Haifa port.  Just to give you indication,  yesterday there was a 40000 people concert in Tel Aviv under the open sky's. It was approved.

Third , actually such tension is like earthquake,  sometimes heaving small earthquake making sure you will not have the bigger one in the near future. 

This weekend wil show to were we are goin.

RCL will cancel the cruise if they will think any danger to the passengers or crews as they canceled Odyssey Israel ports this week.

Wish that everything will work well for you and that you will be able to enjoy fabulous cruise. 

[RafaellaCG]

Unfortunately, rockets at Jerusalem marks a significant escalation, I'm less optimistic now.

[Darryljerry]

Thanks for the updates.  We are supposed to arrive on the 18th and have hotel rooms booked until the cruise.  We are just playing it by ear.

[Cactus527]

I saw this a few days ago: https://www.cruisehive.com/major-changes-for-unique-royal-caribbean-itinerary/101087

I wonder if they will be altering other itineraries because they already have on this one?

[Darryljerry]

That was mentioned earlier by @Traveler  That is a great cause of concern.

[Traveler]

Good news cease fire just announced , still need to see how it goes tomorrow but look promising. Just be aware that on Thursday it will be very busy in Jerusalem so its not a good day to visit (but excellent one for the dead sea)

[Darryljerry]

Thanks so much @Traveler  We arrive on Thursday and have a taxi lined up to take us to our hotel in Jerusalem. We are renting a car from Friday through Monday and will turn it in at Haifa. Is there a particular reason that Jerusalem will be so busy on Thursday?

[Traveler]

41 minutes ago, Darryljerry said:

Thanks so much @Traveler  We arrive on Thursday and have a taxi lined up to take us to our hotel in Jerusalem. We are renting a car from Friday through Monday and will turn it in at Haifa. Is there a particular reason that Jerusalem will be so busy on Thursday?

Thursday is "Jerusalem day" and from the morning to 4 or 5 PM there will be many people marching around the old city but I guess it will be OK just might take you more time to arrive to the hotel due to traffic. 

[Darryljerry]

Got it and thanks for the info. 

[Ak60]

All good there ? 

[Ak60]

We are starting sat by united and arrive sun tlv .. check into Jerusalem hotel and plan to walk as much as we can from Jaffa gate and back to hotel . Mon from hotel to Haifa cruise by train . Any suggestions that i should not do or should do in this little time . ...thanks 

We  love all humanity and religions , not belong to any there 

[Traveler]

1 hour ago, Ak60 said:

Any suggestions that i should not do or should do in this little time .

The train option is excellent (although crowded during Sundays and Thursdays) and the train station for the port is very close to the luggage drop off. Regarding Jerusalem it's all depends on what you want to see. A good option that I like is to start in Jaffa gate , enter the wall boardwalk on the right (don't enter the gate) walk on the wall (entrence fee is few dollars) and have nice view. You should go down almost at the end which will bring you to the Wailing wall , you can enter and go outside from the opposite direction doing your way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . Post the church you can do your way to the market street and go all the way back to the Jaffa gate.  

[Darryljerry]

We arrived yesterday morning on United. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel in Jerusalem. I picked up the car this morning, in Jerusalem , from Budget. We are going to stay the next two nights in Jerusalem, our last night in Haifa and then board the cruise. Everything here has been wonderful. 

[Ak60]

2 hours ago, Traveler said:

The train option is excellent (although crowded during Sundays and Thursdays) and the train station for the port is very close to the luggage drop off. Regarding Jerusalem it's all depends on what you want to see. A good option that I like is to start in Jaffa gate , enter the wall boardwalk on the right (don't enter the gate) walk on the wall (entrence fee is few dollars) and have nice view. You should go down almost at the end which will bring you to the Wailing wall , you can enter and go outside from the opposite direction doing your way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . Post the church you can do your way to the market street and go all the way back to the Jaffa gate.  

Thank you , we follow this 

[Ak60]

2 hours ago, Darryljerry said:

We arrived yesterday morning on United. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel in Jerusalem. I picked up the car this morning, in Jerusalem , from Budget. We are going to stay the next two nights in Jerusalem, our last night in Haifa and then board the cruise. Everything here has been wonderful. 

Great , enjoy your stay , we may see each other in cruise 

[Ak60]

2 minutes ago, Ak60 said:

Thank you , we follow this 

Sunday train from airport and also light rail . Monday from Jerusalem to Haifa . Can I use movit or rav hopon without physical rav card on each phone ? 

[Traveler]

12 hours ago, Ak60 said:

Can I use movit or rav hopon without physical rav card on each phone ? 

For the train you better buy paper tickets from the machine (using cache or CC) as everyone needs to use the bar code entering and existing. This is what we usually do. You can use one move it for up to 8 people you in the bus or light train. In the bus after you scan the barcode you can choose the number in the light train before you go to the train.

Ram Kav you will need one for each passenger.  You can buy one for 1.5 Dollar .

[Ak60]

Thank you . So moovit for light train or bus . For high speed paper tickets . Thanks again . Appreciate your help