Day at Sea

On almost every cruise, there are days at sea.  That wonderful time to relax, enjoy the ship, and do nothing.  After leaving Alexandria, the Pacific Princess headed to Ephesus in Turkey, and provided us with our last full sea day followed by formal night.

When I awoke, I noticed some movement of the ship, and as usual I was very hungry.  But after getting ready for breakfast and making my way upstairs, I was much less in the mood to eat.  The Pacific Princess is a small ship and the rough seas produced rolling.  After a VERY light breakfast, I returned to the cabin and laid down. This was the best position of me.

I watched a few movies took a nap or two as the day progressed and the ship continued to roll.  We were in an ocean-view cabin on deck 4 with a nice picture window to let in light.  Several times during the morning I would sit up and watch the roiling sea.  The outside of the window had a fine film of dirt, but it was still easy to see the water.  I was going to call the cabin steward and ask him to clean the outside of the window just to see his reaction.
While watching the television, my cabin darkened as if I had covered the window.  Upon sitting up and looking out, I realized a wave had cleaned the outside of my window, problem solved.  But that means the waves were at least 40 feet high.
After a light lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon as I had spent the morning. Once we entered the waters around the out-lying Greek Islands, the winds diminished along with the rough seas.  At the late seating for dinner, there were a good number of empty seats.  I did taste the Beef Wellington, but after a few bites decided it would be best not to finish.  One other table mate decided the same since the ship was still rocking some.  Of course, the ship's movements had no effect on the 'Special Gems of the Sea'.  When I decided I had finished, E ate the spinach from my plate and really wanted the beef, but felt guilty and returned it since no one would share it with her.
With less movement of the ship, it was easier to walk around the ship.  While in the lounge, I joined two passengers from Los Angeles and a member of the entertainment staff.  They inquired about the 'Gems of the Sea' since they had the experience of meeting E.  During a Zumba class, E had arrived late, how unusual, and was doing her own routine.  She repeated stated that the class was NOT Zumba since she did it on LA and was being taught incorrectly.  When asked if she would like to lead the class, E declined and left.

The crew member said they were lucky with only having to pay for the cab ride when they were late.  Some ports charge hefty fines for overstaying, in excess of $100,000.  She was on a cruise that was delayed by passengers in a port that resulted in the ship having to travel faster to the next port.  Traveling faster means more fuel, and they were presented a bill for the excess fuel consumed.  That would have gone over like a lead balloon.

Israel - Day 2

After a very comfortable night's sleep and tasty buffet breakfast, our group boarded the bus again to continue the tour of Israel.  Today's itinerary would circle the Sea of Galilee to the north of Jerusalem.  Along the way the countryside was dotted with small towns, Bedouin settlements and date groves.

Our first stop was a kibbutz that recreated where Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan.  The was a large gift shop with various products ranging from religious to Dead Sea products.  A large terrace area overlooked the river and steps lead down to the water.  People were in the water being baptized as the crowds milled around watching the proceedings.  This is not the actual spot where Jesus was baptized, the actual site is in Jordan, so this was a recreation.
The drive continued north to the location of the Sermon on the Mount.  The large hill offers a panoramic view of the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, and is crowned by a small church.  One of the tour members read from the New Testament as we stood on the terrace taking in the view.
At the base of the hill was the ruins of a town.  In the town were the remains of Peter the Apostle's house.  There were Roman ruins of the town which we wandered around that included grinding stones for milling grains among other items.  There were additional ships in port and this site was very crowded.

Lunch was served at a kibbutz on the eastern shore at the base of the Golan Heights.  There were several appetizer plates on the table when we were seated.  The liver pate with caramelized onions was delicious, and since no one else cared for it, most ended up on my plate.  Since the kibbutz raises cattle, lunch was steak.  Small individual desserts topped off lunch.  Since the kibbutz is self supporting, there was a  general store on the other side of the room.  Everything from fresh meat, to spices to pots to cook with.  The spices were sold in bulk, and covered a large table.
Our last stop before returning to the Pacific Princess was Nazareth.  There is a church built on the location where Joseph and Mary had their house.  There is also an enclosed ruin that is supposed to be the actual house, I accepted it was a representation of a house of that time period.  The actual town of Nazareth had grown into a small city.  There were crooked streets lined with apartments above store fronts.  After a brief tour we boarded the bus back to Haifa.

When on a cruise, there is a time given for all passengers to return to the ships so it can depart on time.  Just before this time, passengers names will be called that have not returned, and if they were on board please contact the purser.  Well, at 5:15, the names of 6 passengers were announced, two of them our tablemates.  A few minutes later, it was just those two.  The Pacific Princess was supposed to depart at 5:30, at 6:15 3 passengers were dropped off at the gangway.  It turns out they were on an excursion and had a minor medical issue, but had contacted the ship, so they were aware of the situation.
A few passengers had gathered on the upper deck to watch for the returning 'Gems of the Seas'.  At 6:40 a car swerved around the barricades at the end of the pier and sped towards the gangway.  Out of the car emerged E and J and the driver.  Watching from 10 decks up it was easy to see the driver was very mad from his body motions.  After  brief discussion, he grabbed the immigration paper from E, got in his car and drove off, E and J boarded, and the ship departed.
As usual, E and J were late to dinner, and the question of what happened was asked.  They had taken the train to Jerusalem on the first day to explore the city.  They wandered around the old city and did some shopping.  It was unclear exactly what went on, but E ended up behind the counter in one store with the owner, where he 'stole two kisses'.  It seems she allowed at least the first one.  They spent the night in a hostel that had partial walls, curtain separations and a shared bath, a little different than their shipboard accommodations.
This where the story versions start to differ.  E said they went to the train station at 3:15, J said E was haggling over gold jewelry and was reminded of the time which was already 3:15.  So they got to the train station late and missed the train, the bus would not be fast enough, so they got in a taxi.  The standard fare from Jerusalem to Haifa is 700 shekels, they only had 300.  They told the driver they had the 300 and he would be paid at the ship.  Once at the entrance to the port, the Princess port agent, the driver of the car, met up with the pair and paid off the cab driver the additional 400 shekels.  E thought that had gotten off easy.
The following day they were called to Guest Services and informed of the charge for about $125 for the cab fare.  E thought this was wrong since they told him how much they would pay.  But since English was not his first language, he understood they had some money with them and rest was on the ship.  We told her that was not bad because the ship could have left them and they would have to fly to the next port.  E was that would be bad PR and they would not leave them, obviously she has never been on a cruise where passengers had been left, because it does happen.

Israel - Day 1

The original itinerary was for one night in Haifa, followed by one night ins Ashod, but because of some unrest in Ashod, the Pacific Princess remained in Haifa for two nights.  This did not effect our excursion, since ours included and overnight stay in Jerusalem.  The only request from the ship was if you were going to stay on land to let them know.  But more on this later.
Haifa is a port city, and only recently a cruise destination.  This means the port itself is not very attractive.  But the city itself rises up the slopes of a small mountain.  The most recognizable site is the Baha'i Temples and its gardens, unfortunately our tour did not include this site, but it was visible from the ship.
After meeting in the lounge, our group departed for the bus and the drive to Jerusalem.  The driver navigated the streets of Haifa and we entered onto a highway like any interstate at home.  The trip was about two hours and passed fields, towns and memorials.  On our rest break I sampled fresh made tahini, ground sesame seeds, and a sweetened candy-like version.
Once in Jerusalem, we drove to the Mount of Olives for a view of the Old City.  The view was impressive with the city wall, the Dome of the Rock and many other Biblical sites.  The next stop was the Church of All Nations which is located in the Garden of Gethsemane.  There was a very large crowd waiting to enter the church, but our guide knew the staff and our group was allowed to go in through the exit cutting out an hour's wait in line.  Both of these locations were mentioned multiple times in the New Testament with the travels of Jesus.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient writings in Hebrew of the Bible, found by a Bedouin herder in caves near the Dead Sea, they are housed at the Israel Museum.  In the courtyard of the museum is a 50:1 scale model of Jerusalem in the year 66.  It is amazing in its detail, and some of the structures are still identifiable in the modern city.  Inside the museum is the display of the scrolls along with the history of their discovery.  The original clay jars from the first scrolls discovered are also on display.  The scrolls are arranged around the outside of the display area and in a circular center section.  A short stroll through the sculpture garden then back on the bus.
Due to urban sprawl, the city of Jerusalem and the town of Bethlehem run together.  I had always thought they were farther apart then the approximately 5 miles.  We went in the church that was built over the site believed to be the manger where Jesus was born.  There was a service in progress and the line to the 'grotto' was extremely long, so our resourceful guide took up around so we could glance in.  Lunch at a restaurant wa included.  It consisted of the local cuisine and  some items to appeal to American tastes.

Back in the Old City, we wandered through the narrow alleys lined with shops to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher  built on the site of the Crucifixion and the Tomb of Jesus.  The  church was dark and imposing in the deepening night.  Once inside we climbed to the chapel believed to be on the actual site, then to the tomb, also inside the church.  A memorial mass was being conducted so the was quite a crowd.  More narrow alleys and then we were in the open space before the Western Wall, part of the original temple.  To approach the Wall, men needed to cover their heads, and males and females were separated to different areas.
Once we arrived at out hotel, The Dan, we checked had a few minutes then to dinner.  Luckily the meal was served in hotel buffet style in a ballroom.  Being in Israel, all the food was Kosher, but there was a wide variety of options, of of which were delicious, and multiple bottles of wine.
The night time entertainment was a light show in the courtyard of a guard tower on the city wall.  It was very well planned with a walk along the inside perimeter of the wall with various vignettes in the alcoves.  The actual show was projected on the interior walls.  It was a show of the history of Jerusalem and I thought it was very good.  Of course was had to take in all the details because of the size of the projection.

The one thing that REALLY surprised me about Jerusalem was how hilly it was, and the fact that they were STEEP hills.  I thought it would be on rolling hills, not some that were more like cliffs.