Hello Im New - Israel Help Would Be Great

Hello, I am New to post but have enjoyed reading all your posts for many months, they have been very informative and helpful.

I have booked a Thomson cruise (will be my 4th) which includes Israel and have a few questions and hope you might be so kind to advise.

I intend to take the ship excursion to Jerusalem & Bethlehem.

(1) Will the Israeli port stamp my passport, or is it on separate piece of paper ?

(2) With the Thomson cutbacks you have all been discussing lately can I presume I will still NOT need a visa and that we still come under the ships visa which they provide ?

(3) The excursion is long and lunch is provided, however is there much (if any) free time ............. was hoping for an opportunity to slip away and purchase some Dead Sea salts or other souvenirs ?

(4) Cash £££££ ............. I always like to have a bit of cash on me, what currency would you recommend from your own experience ..... I thought US Dollars would be acceptable ?

(5) When I did the Red Sea Cruise, our coaches travelled in convoy and with an armed guard :eek: , is this also the case when visiting Israel ?

Hope I have not boiled your brains, and would appreciate the valuable information from those that have taken this excursion. Thanking you in advance :)

Welcome - good to have you on board, hope you will enjoy being involved with the forum as well as finding it helpful. :)

Hello, I am New to post but have enjoyed reading all your posts for many months, they have been very informative and helpful.

 

I have booked a Thomson cruise (will be my 4th) which includes Israel and have a few questions and hope you might be so kind to advise.

 

I intend to take the ship excursion to Jerusalem & Bethlehem.

 

(1) Will the Israeli port stamp my passport, or is it on separate piece of paper ? We didn't have ours stamped - we had a separate immigration slip of paper which you had to keep with your passport

 

(2) With the Thomson cutbacks you have all been discussing lately can I presume I will still NOT need a visa and that we still come under the ships visa which they provide ? Not heard about anyone reporting that. I think passengers would find that such a hassle and so unacceptable that I doubt Thomson would go down that route.

 

(3) The excursion is long and lunch is provided, however is there much (if any) free time ............. was hoping for an opportunity to slip away and purchase some Dead Sea salts or other souvenirs ? We didn't have any 'free' time as such i.e. to wander around for a time other than at the various sites (there's a lot to see on these excursions so they are pretty packed itineraries) but different trips may vary - not certain but there may have been a few small shops at the hotel we went to for lunch

 

) Cash £££££ ............. I always like to have a bit of cash on me, what currency would you recommend from your own experience ..... I thought US Dollars would be acceptable ? Not certain - fairly sure we used € though since we were in the Med (don't think we'd have thought of taking $) but I guess they'd be very acceptable - I'm sure they have a lot of US tourists. I know we had to buy Skekels for the tickets for the funicular in Haifa and there was a currency exchange machine at the station so clearly other currencies are generally accepted and they make it easy for you to use alternative currency. We bought postcards and stamps too with whatever we had €? but perhaps someone else will confirm what they used to be sure.

 

(5) When I did the Red Sea Cruise, our coaches travelled in convoy and with an armed guard :eek: , is this also the case when visiting Israel ? Sorry can't really remember but don't think so, but do clearly remember them in Egypt.

 

Hope I have not boiled your brains, and would appreciate the valuable information from those that have taken this excursion. Thanking you in advance :)

Hope I've remembered correctly - I must confess to being a bit hazy about some things but I'm sure further help will be forthcoming. :)

Hello, I am New to post but have enjoyed reading all your posts for many months, they have been very informative and helpful.

 

I have booked a Thomson cruise (will be my 4th) which includes Israel and have a few questions and hope you might be so kind to advise.

 

I intend to take the ship excursion to Jerusalem & Bethlehem.

 

(1) Will the Israeli port stamp my passport, or is it on separate piece of paper ?

 

(2) With the Thomson cutbacks you have all been discussing lately can I presume I will still NOT need a visa and that we still come under the ships visa which they provide ?

 

(3) The excursion is long and lunch is provided, however is there much (if any) free time ............. was hoping for an opportunity to slip away and purchase some Dead Sea salts or other souvenirs ?

 

(4) Cash £££££ ............. I always like to have a bit of cash on me, what currency would you recommend from your own experience ..... I thought US Dollars would be acceptable ?

 

(5) When I did the Red Sea Cruise, our coaches travelled in convoy and with an armed guard :eek: , is this also the case when visiting Israel ?

 

Hope I have not boiled your brains, and would appreciate the valuable information from those that have taken this excursion. Thanking you in advance :)

You will get an card visa in Israel ( Free ) and everyone on board as to have one, staff and all. Usually start visas early around 5.30 am.

Very long day trip the Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Personally I did not like Bethlehem similar to going to Cairo, pestered a lot. Jerusalem very long walking through the town not much chance to souvenir shopping.

The souvenir shop the guide takes you to in Bethlehem is a total rip off and that's being kind. No need for convoys and you can get Israeli money form on board or use euros.

We've booked the Jerusalem & Bethlehem trip when we go on our cruise in June, and i must say that the answers to the questions will help me with some of the questions being aimed at me by my other half.... :)

Many, Many thanks for your kind welcome and for your information, most appreciated. Maybe I will stick with Euro for loose change (espech if theirs little chance to spend anything) which is probably just as well ':o'

I am grateful for the Bethlehem 'tip off' ........ having been to Cairo I remember how awful it was with the harassment from peddlars, beggars and thieves ........... so I will be prepared and ready. Thank You.

Roll on October ...... Spirit, here I come ............. but first a little sneaky trip booked on The Island Escape for June in the Western Med ........... My doctor said I need more Vitamin D, so its purely medicinal purposes :D ''evil chuckles'' :D

Hi I did this excursion myself and did our own thing in Bethlehem we were not bothered by anyone at all certainly nothing at all like Cairo. The shops we went into there were hassle free and also being a lot cheaper than the one you are taken to by the tour guide .In fact we were also given a 20% discount the shop owner told us that the shops that the tour guide takes you to are on 40% commission and the independent shops there really value our custom.We found Bethlehem to be a really special place and this is the 3rd time that I have been there.I always take a mixture of money with me euros dollars and some shekels.In Jerusalem again you are rushed through it with the guide doing it independently we strolled around at our leisure and joined a free walking tour of Jerusalem I would much prefer to do this myself at my own speed and visiting the places that I want to go to .I am sure you will have a fab time if you get any free time in Bethlehem go to the Christmas Shop in Manger Square but I doubt if you will be allowed to leave the group.

The Bethlehem part of the tour was one big rush. No chance to stop and as said one big rip off at the shop we were taken to. The meal was also taken in Bethlehem and the only food I think was edible was the salad? Better to be forewarned but may be just mine and the wife's opinion, also a lot on our coach said the same?

Jerusalem was not so much of a rush,just a long walking tour to fit it all in and almost no time to stop. There were not touting there but no time to shop as the guide wants to fit all the sites in. Hope you enjoy your time in Israel.:)

All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others:D

We missed our opportunity to buy products from the Dead sea, as it was the first stop made. The shop seemed expensive, and we thought there would be an opportunity to buy later when we arrived at the hotel for a swim, but we were wrong (or simply missed where to find any).

I didn't find we were pestered in Bethlehem, any sellers would have to run to keep up! The guide moved us quickly to the Church of the Nativity, although we had plenty of time in the Church itself. The shop they take you to is near the hotel where you have lunch, and it is full of beautiful nativity carvings, which is Ok if you like that kind of thing, but very pricey indeed.

When we went to Jerusalem there was no free time to shop. Plenty of time for they key sites, but a race through the bazaar with NO STOPPING! We would have liked 30mins just to pick up a few affordable souvenirs, but instead we were taken to a glass shop just outside the bazaar, run by the guides friend from Armenia if I remember correctly. Most people didn't go in the shop, but just sat outside in the shade.

Overall, we had two amazing days, but didn't spend a penny in Israel as we were only ever going to buy a few trinkets.

Sweby

Just off the spirit, we had a Israel talk in the broad way lounge on sea day, the destination depth explained about the shopping, by law each trip have to have a shopping stop and the shop is prearranged with immigration as they will call to make sure the buses have been there, the ship would not be allowed in port without the trips going to a shop, there is a duty free shop in Ashdod port which sell a few trinkets, not much though, ie magnets, keyrings and a few pots, all items are kept and sent to the ship during the day and you collect them from reception

Many thanks for your valuable info and help, it is much appreciated :)

Hello, I am New to post but have enjoyed reading all your posts for many months, they have been very informative and helpful.

 

I have booked a Thomson cruise (will be my 4th) which includes Israel and have a few questions and hope you might be so kind to advise.

 

I intend to take the ship excursion to Jerusalem & Bethlehem.

 

(1) Will the Israeli port stamp my passport, or is it on separate piece of paper ?

 

(2) With the Thomson cutbacks you have all been discussing lately can I presume I will still NOT need a visa and that we still come under the ships visa which they provide ?

 

(3) The excursion is long and lunch is provided, however is there much (if any) free time ............. was hoping for an opportunity to slip away and purchase some Dead Sea salts or other souvenirs ?

 

(4) Cash £££££ ............. I always like to have a bit of cash on me, what currency would you recommend from your own experience ..... I thought US Dollars would be acceptable ?

 

(5) When I did the Red Sea Cruise, our coaches travelled in convoy and with an armed guard :eek: , is this also the case when visiting Israel ?

 

Hope I have not boiled your brains, and would appreciate the valuable information from those that have taken this excursion. Thanking you in advance :)

Hello

We were in Israel 2 years ago, docked at Ashod.

A group of us used a private company called Guided Tours Israel, you can check them on Tripadvisor.

They were absolutely fantastic for a tour to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, II would fully recommend them.

All the best

Mike

I can also endorse the recommendation for Guided Tours -- without having used them. When we embarked at Southampton we were told that the visit to Israel had been cancelled. I went to send an email to a Guided a Tours only to find one from them in my inbox telling me they had heard we were not coming into port and that they had refunded my earlier payment. The money was indeed in my account the next day.

I can also endorse the recommendation for Guided Tours -- without having used them. When we embarked at Southampton we were told that the visit to Israel had been cancelled. I went to send an email to a Guided a Tours only to find one from them in my inbox telling me they had heard we were not coming into port and that they had refunded my earlier payment. The money was indeed in my account the next day.

Excellent. That's good service and a recommendation in itself! Note taken for future reference. Thanks!