Cruises were the smartest concept of the past decade for vacationers. They are the combination of food, sights, relaxation, and the sea. So anyone looking to take a little R&R I highly recommend taking a little boat trip. HOWEVER, apparently Israeli cruises are not the same thing as the aforementioned getaway. A group of 8 of my friends decided that for break we would go on a little 4 day cruise from Israel to Greece(Thank you Adam Weiner). Sounds too good to be true right…well my wonderful readers it was. Don’t get me wrong I had an incredible time on the ship and loved the adventure but let me retell a tale of the high seas.
We begin our journey on a Thursday morning at 7:00 as my alarm goes off to get me up and moving. Our ship was scheduled to board at 11:00 and then would depart at 1:00. It takes roughly 3 hours to get to Haifa from Jerusalem. So waking up at 7 seemed like plenty of time to get there and not worry at all. I of course forgot that I was traveling with the lovely girl pack and timing apparently does not apply the same to them as it does to us guys. So instead of getting on our 8:00 bus to Haifa we waited for the 9:15. We arrived at the Carmelit station in Haifa around 11:30 and still needed to get to the Namal(port). We are sitting around not sure how to get there so I take charge look at the map and get us on the bus. I ask the driver if it goes to the port and he says yes. We all hop on and are super stocked about our adventure to begin. We arrive at the port security at 12:00 giving us an hour to get through the line and board the ship. The line was short and it looked like smooth sailing was ahead of us. Once again don’t count your chickens before they hatch. As I collected the passport, boarding documents and luggage for the group at the counter the group was asked to step to the side. I immediately asked what the problem was and if everything was okay. The security said that they had to check something with their boss and we should be patient. It seemed just like a minor inconvenience that would take 30 secs and we could then board. Well 10 mins later and 3 more security officers we were informed that we would have a “random” interview process to ascertain the reasons we were taking this cruise. Each person had a private 10 minute conversation about what they were doing in Israel, if their parents were jewish, when they were leaving, if they packed their suitcases personally, etc. It was actually the biggest joke of my life since when do 9 American Students with visas automatically become number 1 terrorist suspects. It is now 1 o clock and the ship was supposed to set sail. After our interviews we had a bonus of getting a private screening of our luggage. Each piece was put through the x-ray machine and we were interrogated as to the exact contents of the luggage. Needless to say they found nothing that was suspicious or confiscated. Finally at 1:30 we had our luggage checked and we were off to the ship. But wait we had to go through a customs check also, all our passports were inspected and stamped to make another security check. What more could be waiting for us but of course we can’t get on the ship without a pat down from the ship security. At last we have stepped foot unto our maiden voyage after the most ridiculous episode of security that has ever happened to me. Needless to say we were upset and exhausted but we got out ship cards, put our stuff away in the room and began the cruise.
In the next 4 days I saw 2 countries, got closer to 8 friends, gained 5 pounds, and climbed 1 mountain. It was an unforgettable experience filled with memories and exciting moments. I appreciate the opportunity I received to go on the trip. Most great things just happen to fall into people’s laps.
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