Ahsdod (Israel) Port Security Procedure ?

[heathstockton4]

Hi

 

Read a lot of different reviews and opinions on this so hopefully i can get some good, accurate and up to date feedback

 

Part of our Thomson Spirit cruise is a 2 day stay at Ashdod in April and plan is to arrange our own trips for both days with a registered guide, when we arrive at 7am are we free to arrange our guide as we want and what is the procedure for disembarking and meeting our guide ?

 

Have been told various things including every passenger on the ship has to be security checked and searched before they even get off and this can take hours and you are not allowed to make your own way from the ship to meet a guide

 

All advice appreciated

 

Thanks

[Pee0305]

I don't know how easy/difficult it is to get off the ship independently in Ashdod as we did the Thomson trip which was extremely well organised. We had to carry our passports with us and there were port officials waiting at the gangplank checking everyone off and back on. Isreal has notoriously difficult immigration procedures and it would be wise to allow time for this, particularly on returning to the ship.

[dronnygirl]

Hi Heathstockton4

We are on Celebration 19th May to Ashdod. We always prefer to travel independently if possible - may I ask which guide/company you are using? Have you confirmed etc?

Thanks in anticipation....

[geomagot]

yes, every passenger will be required to have a face to face interview with the immigration officials before they can disembark the ship, thomson own shorex will be given priority then everyone else will called by deck number then the crew

 

the whole procedure was completed by about midday

[mollymoomoo]

We were on the Celebration in September and we all had to present ourselves in the Explorers lounge. Everybody had to be seen. We were staying onboard the ship but still had to be seen by customs.

 

We were told it could be anytime from 7am. The trips were called via cabin speaker first and then they worked their way down from the top decks. As we were down in deck 1, we were last but the whole procedure didn't take long. We were called about 830. This is also when reception staff give you your passport back.

 

There were a few people on non British passports who had to sit and wait to see some-one else.

[mollymoomoo]

Also it wasn't really an interview as they didn't talk to you but just stamped the immigration card.

[Pee0305]

Ah yes, I completely forgot about the face to face "interviews" in the lounge :eek:

[warrington wanderer]

Hi

 

Read a lot of different reviews and opinions on this so hopefully i can get some good, accurate and up to date feedback

 

Part of our Thomson Spirit cruise is a 2 day stay at Ashdod in April and plan is to arrange our own trips for both days with a registered guide, when we arrive at 7am are we free to arrange our guide as we want and what is the procedure for disembarking and meeting our guide ?

 

Have been told various things including every passenger on the ship has to be security checked and searched before they even get off and this can take hours and you are not allowed to make your own way from the ship to meet a guide

 

All advice appreciated

 

Thanks

as already said, ships trips given first checks so you may not be able to give your guide a precise meeting time ,they will only be allowed to your ships berthing dock ,one of our passangers returned by taxi and was taken to main terminal as driver not allowed to berth she spent 2hrs being interviewed and return to ship escorted by police cars,security is very strict!also when you get to jerusalem you with have to pass through security gates male and female queues so make sure not one person has all passports in case you have to show them,also if your visit is on a monday big barmitzvah day so very busy

[Huddersfieldtourist]

Hi

 

Part of our Thomson Spirit cruise is a 2 day stay at Ashdod in April and plan is to arrange our own trips for both days with a registered guide, when we arrive at 7am are we free to arrange our guide as we want and what is the procedure for disembarking and meeting our guide ?

 

Have been told various things including every passenger on the ship has to be security checked and searched before they even get off and this can take hours and you are not allowed to make your own way from the ship to meet a guide

 

 

Thanks

 

The ship will arrive and all passengers whether staying on board or not will have to meet security in the lounge with their own passport. There is no "interview" in the same way as you are not interviewed at an airport unless of course there is something amiss with your passport.

 

The horror story of a taxi not being allowed through the gate at the port is an odd one and must be incomplete. Certain taxis in Ashdod have a port security pass and can drive to within yards/ very close walking distance of the ship and I would imagine that the person who got dumped at the gate and had to negotiate for 2 hours will have taken a port taxi to Jerusalem or wherever and then come back in a Jerusalem based taxi which has no access pass for the port at Ashdod.

 

So if your guide can meet you at the ship with his/her vehicle then getting back to the ship should be no problem - the guide needs to have full entrance authority. It is not adequate for the guide to say " I can meet you at the port" - Can he/she gain access to the dock and upto the ship area itself.

 

My recollection was that the passport checking procedure had been completed by about 10.00am and from memory the last people to be seen were crew.Passengers are usually all seen by 9.30am ish and that is usually the stragglers who are in "no hurry". The passport checking usually starts very early as some trips leave early. Those trips are given first priority to be seen. Of course sometimes there are "delays" when the officials are late/slow/short in number but the above times are fairly typical from the times we have been to Ashdod.

 

I think the comment " you can not make your own way to meet your guide" may have been that you can not simply just walk out through the port area to the gates yourself but the fact that taxis are close to the ship automatically means you can leave independently in a taxi. We did that last time we went to Jerusalem. If anyone does a taxi trip make sure you book the same taxi for the whole day but bear in mind that the taxis at the port do not have authority to get in to Bethlehem but the drivers seem to have contacts with other taxi drivers who will share that part of your DIY excursion. You must go back to the ship in the port taxi to avoid the hassle.

Edited March 23, 2014 by Huddersfieldtourist

[heathstockton4]

Hi Heathstockton4

We are on Celebration 19th May to Ashdod. We always prefer to travel independently if possible - may I ask which guide/company you are using? Have you confirmed etc?

Thanks in anticipation....

 

We have arranged 2 days with a guide that has been recommended to us, as there are 7 of us it worked out cheaper than the Thomson Trips and of course it is a private trip so can be tailored to however we want it. Happy to pass his details on for you and of course when we return will be able to comment further on our 2 days with him.

[heathstockton4]

Hi Heathstockton4

We are on Celebration 19th May to Ashdod. We always prefer to travel independently if possible - may I ask which guide/company you are using? Have you confirmed etc?

Thanks in anticipation....

We have arranged 2 days with a guide that has been recommended to us, as there are 7 of us it worked out cheaper than the Thomson Trips and of course it is a private trip so can be tailored to however we want it. Happy to pass his details on for you and of course when we return will be able to comment further on our 2 days with him.

[WeeCountyMan]

QUOTE Isreal has notoriously difficult immigration procedures and it would be wise to allow time for this, particularly on returning to the ship.UNQUOTE

 

We had no particularly undue delay in returning aboard in Eilat - there was a queue of course, same as on entering Israel - took about 10 minutes to get through.

[Pee0305]

I would say it's wise to allow time for checks. The ship wont wait for independent travellers.