Just over a year and I'm still asking the same questions ( see above )
This time the Costa Pacifica has an 11 night cruise from Rome that calls at Haifa ( for Nazareth ) & Ashdod ( for Jerusalem )
2 ports I've never been to.I'm considering this cruise along with a couple of other cruises.
Has anyone been to either of these ports ? How did your visit go.
Any comments welcome even if you haven't been.

Whilst I hate to send people away from this excellent and usually very helpful site, the fact that you have asked the same question twice and got no answers suggests to me you need to look elsewhere. Try http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk for helpful advice regarding your cruise.

I would rather my passport did not have an Israel entry stamp.

If this is really important to you then you are best advised to check with the Israeli Embassy direct, especially if you are concerned about the implications of having an Israeli stamp in your passport when visiting other countries.

The FCO advice for UK passport holders entering Israel can be found here

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/israel-occupied

and it makes it clear that the Israeli authorities are unlikely to let you in without having your passport stamped and that furthermore, without that proof that you have entered the country legally, you could experience problems once in Israel.

It used to be possible to obtain a duplicate passport from the UK authorities to enable people to enter other countries in the Middle East that would otherwise refuse entry if they saw an Israeli entry stamp (and vice versa) but I'm not sure whether in these times of much heightened security all round whether this is still available or not.

SM

When we visited Israel from a cruise ship they didn't stamp out passport. Instead we had what I think was a temporary visa and was a separate card inserted into the passport and that was stamped instead. They kept it when we left the country.

luci