EDITOR EMERITUS TIN THOMAS WAS ONBOARD REGENT’S SEVEN SEAS MARINER IN THE MEDITERRANEAN LAST SUMMER WHEN AN UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITY TO TOUR ISRAEL IN DEPTH OCCURRED. THE CONSENSUS? ISRAEL’S UNMATCHED HISTORICAL AND BIBLICAL SITES PROVED TO BE THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE CRUISE.
TIN THOMAS
GUESTS ENJOYING A CRUISE last summer on Regent’s Seven Seas Mariner in the eastern Mediterranean had an unexpected opportunity to explore Israel in some depth when a planned two-day visit to Egypt was cancelled due to the uncertainty following the Arab Spring. So, instead of two days, we were given four to explore Israel, the most fascinating of countries, in more detail than usual.
But we’d have to work at it! The shore excursions that took in most of Israel’s highlights called for long days away from the ship, lengthy coach trips and hours of walking in the Middle East’s summer heat. I didn’t hear any complaints! It was a wonderful experience.
This region is so steeped in history it leaps out at you at every turn and at virtually every port of call there are amazing places to visit. For most of the guests, Israel was the highlight of the cruise and the superb program of shore excursions took us strolling through the pages of Biblical history.
My own plans for the Holy Land called for excursions on each of the four days we would be there: visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem on the first day from the port of Ashdod and Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee on the second day, both 13-hour trips. I would follow that with another full-day visiting the Dead Sea and Massada from our second Israeli port, Haifa, and spend a final day in the coastal cities of Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Caesarea.
The coach trips were an opportunity to appreciate the way the Israelis have coaxed an amazing variety of fruits, vegetables and other foods from this land of little rainfall using minimal irrigation so successfully that the country now grows some 90 percent of its food requirements including wheat and corn, and more than 40 types of fruit, from citrus crops to bananas and dates. Grapes are grown in several regions to produce some most acceptable wines.
Over the four days we visited the spot where Jesus was born, now a grotto in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, and saw such Jerusalem landmarks as the Western (Wailing) Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and the Mount of Olives. We walked the Via Dolorosa in Old Jerusalem, crowded with pilgrims following the route Jesus is said to have taken to his crucifixion on Golgotha Hill.
We visited the impressive Basilica of the Annunciation where the Archangel Gabriel is said to have revealed to Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah. One of the most revered Christian sites, this fine modern church, largest in the Middle East, is filled with mosaics, works of art, stained glass windows and plaques donated from Christian countries world-wide. Many other famous Biblical sites were on our tours including Cana where Jesus turned water into wine, Tabgha where the miracle of feeding the host with a handful of loaves and fishes occurred, the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum and the baptismal site on the River Jordan.
Herod the Great’s spectacular seaport at Caesarea Maritima is a rich archaeological site and the cobbled streets of Jaffa, one of the world’s oldest cities, and a tour of modern, sophisticated Tel Aviv ended our visit.
This was indeed Israel in a nutshell, breathtaking history and a glimpse of the impressive greening of what is basically a desert country.
Meanwhile the lovely Seven Seas Mariner, there were no chits to sign at the bar or at the shore excursion desk. No need to calculate tips for dining room staff or suite attendants. No charge for bottled water in the suite or for shore excursions. Coffee and cookies were available at no charge in the ship’s café. No surprises in the ship’s account slipped under the door on the last night of the cruise.
That’s the happy state of affairs on cruises operated by the three ships of Regent Seven Seas since the line committed to an all-inclusive policy that covers alcohol and soft drinks including bottled water and wine with lunch and dinner, shore excursions at all ports, gratuities for shipboard staff, all meals in alternative restaurants and the coffee shop, and pre- or post- hotel stays. The result is the industry’s first true all-inclusive cruise product.
Our cruise seemed to indicate that the moves have attracted first timers to the Regent brand. It certainly made for a happy group of guests who chose this 12-day visit to Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Israel.
Seven Seas Mariner is one of the world’s top-rated cruise ships, a 48,000-grt vessel carrying only 708 guests, two to a suite; typically other ships of that size carry anything up to 1,500 guests. In the ten years she has been in service this first all-suites, all-balconies ship has maintained her gracious, stylish and unostentatious luxury and this year’s Berlitz Guide rates her No. 1 in the entire industry for a high guest space ratio – 67.8 (the interior volume of the ship divided by the number of guests).
Unencumbered by the necessity to sign bar receipts, the sail away parties were well attended and guests mixed and mingled happily. That went, too, for the unique Block Party, when guests were invited to join their neighbors in the corridors outside their suites and enjoy wine poured by the stewards – a wonderful ice-breaker at the start of a voyage.
As it is on most ships, dining is a key element in the mix that makes up a Regent Seven Seas cruise. Dining in the elegant, low-key Compass Rose main dining room was always a pleasure but the cuisine entered into another class altogether in the alternative rooms, Signature with its classic French cuisine approved by Le Cordon Bleu, and the smaller Prime Seven Steakhouse.
Prime Seven was the scene of our most spectacular dinners. On my first visit I elected for a slice of the prime rib roast and was staggered – and ultimately defeated – by the size of the cut presented. Next time I chose the Alaska king crab special and was equally staggered to see the piledhigh platter that arrived at the table; there must have been two-to three pounds of crab, a monumental task to finish even helped by the ship’s fine Sancerre wine.
REMNANTS OF ANCIENT GREECE and the Roman Empire still litter the Mediterranean area and the lovely island of Cyprus, tucked away in the northeast corner of the region is no exception. But the charm of this island rests in the brooding Troodos Mountains and the fertile areas between them and the sea where we drove by huge citrus orchards and vineyards dotted with villages which have changed little for centuries. Our main stop was the village of Omodos, billed as one of the most beautiful and typical of the region.
Our visit to Turkey began with a visit to the city of Antalya, a modern resort of some one million residents that in the last 20 years has grown incredibly quickly and is built around a fascinating old town. It was good to get away from archaeological ruins for a day and explore the shop-lined streets of this vibrant city of high rise apartments and hotels lining the Mediterranean coast. Later, on the final day, following a visit to the Greek island of Rhodes and another call in Turkey at Kusadasi, the port for the superb archaeological site of Ephesus, we had time for a half-day tour of Istanbul before spending our last night on board there.
Previous visits had familiarized us with many of the well known Istanbul highlights but we had never before ventured into the city’s underground cisterns so we descended deep into the bowels of Istanbul to admire the incredible engineering feat that created the Basilica Cistern. The largest of several hundred such watery vaults, this once stored 100,000 tons of the city’s water, but today it holds only a few feet of fish-filled water. It’s an amazing space, 70 x 140 meters in area and with a high vaulted roof supported by 336 marble and granite columns more than 30-ft tall, salvaged from sites all over Turkey during its 6th Century construction in the glory days of the Byzantine Empire. Today these cisterns have been turned to many other purposes such as a military barracks, fish farming and a department store. It was cool underground and a welcome relief from the summer heat, but we breathed several sighs of relief when we emerged into daylight once more to end the final stop on an exciting and intriguing cruise.
