Day 14: Ashdod, Israel with Holland America
Day 14: Ashdod, Israel with Holland America
Holland America Africa Explorer Cruise – 49 Days from Rotterdam to Cape Town
Date: Friday October 10, 2014
Weather Forecast: Sunny; 30 C/87 F
In Port: 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM
All Aboard: 8:30 PM
Dress Code: Smart Casual
Holland America Line Shore Excursion: The Best of Jerusalem & the Old City
Location Information:
The Port of Ashdod is the largest in Israel and the gateway to visit Jerusalem. The Israeli shekel is the country’s local currency (although some merchants in Jerusalem’s Old City will take US dollars and euros).
WJs Day:
This morning we took a 9.5 hour Holland America Line shore excursion from Ashdod – “The Best of Jerusalem & the Old City” (US$149.95). Tour Description: In Jerusalem walk through the Garden of Gethsemane. At Mt Zion visit the Room of the Last Supper. During your walk through the Jewish Quarter visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Continue through the bazaar to the Wailing Wall. On the return stop at Sherover Promenade for a photo stop. Strenuous activity. Lunch included.
This is the first ship shore excursion we’ve signed up for on this cruise. So far we’ve felt completely comfortable in previous ports just sightseeing on our own. With Ashdod being about a 90-minute drive to Jerusalem (and due to recent conflict in Israel) we decided the description of this tour would make the best use of our time and we would get to visit the major sites. For this tour we met in the Showroom at Sea at 7:45 AM and were assigned to a bus and guide for the day. As soon as we had the sticker for our bus we took our passports and proceeded to Immigration Inspection in the cruise terminal. There were 3 security checks (visually checking our passports and making sure we matched the photo inside) with metal detectors and scanners for larger bags. The process was very orderly and actually went quickly. Within 10 minutes of leaving the ship we were aboard our bus and met the guide, Adrian (originally from England, but living in Israel for 33 years).
At 8:20 AM the bus started the journey from the Port of Ashdod into Jerusalem with Adrian providing commentary of the sights along the way and explaining historical facts about Israel. Audio headsets were also handed out so we could hear the guide without being right next to him (and which always make a tour with a large group (41) much more enjoyable). By 9:25 AM we were at the Mount of Olives for a 20-minute photo stop with fantastic views over Jerusalem’s Old City.
We were in Jerusalem during a festival weekend, so traffic had been blocked throughout the city and our itinerary for the day adjusted to make it possible for our tour to hit the highlights we’d signed up to see.
The road blockages certainly created challenges for the driver and he was able to get us to Jaffa Gate so we could walk through the Christian Quarter to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we spent about an hour.
Upon leaving the church we continued our walk through the Old City and wandered through the Jewish Quarter where we had a 30-minute shopping stop.
Then our group continued walking towards Mt Zion and Zion Gate. Here we visited the Room of the Last Supper and King David’s Tomb.
When we returned to the bus and driving 20-minutes to Ramat Rachel – a Kibbutz Hotel where we spent just over an hour enjoying an extensive buffet lunch in a vast hall, and with views across the valley to Bethlehem.
Upon leaving the kibbutz, we drove to the Haas Promenade to see the views of Jerusalem’s’ Old City from a different perspective.
The Garden of Gethsemane was our next stop; here we also visited the Church of All Nations.
Our last stop of the day took us to the Dung Gate and the Wailing Wall where we spent 40-minutes. At the Wailing Wall we witnessed people praying and leaving prayers (written on paper notes) in the cracks of the wall.
At 5:40 PM we were back on the bus for the drive to Ashdod where we rejoined ms Rotterdam by 6:50 PM. This tour was excellent and we were thrilled with the knowledge of our guide, and the wonderful buffet lunch that was included.
Tonight aboard ms Rotterdam the “On Location – A Taste of the Eastern Med” feast and entertainment around the Lido Pool was very good, and a nice way to wrap up an exciting day in Jerusalem.
Next – Haifa, Israel
