Israel Cruises: Ports, Ships and Things to Do

At a glance

1 current cruise calls at the 2 ports Cruiseable lists under Israel, on 1 ship from 1 cruise line. The busiest of those ports is Eilat- Israel, on 1 itinerary. All of them are sailed by Emerald Cruises.

About

Both old and new, Israel was founded as the Jewish homeland in 1948 on a part of Palestine that was historically the Kingdom of Israel, the fabled Promised Land. It’s the home of many of the holiest sites of all three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. From the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, you can look out over a panorama that includes the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish quarters of the Old City; the great golden Dome of the Rock, the sacred mosque of Islam that dominates the skyline; and the seven onion-shaped domes of Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalena. You can see where the Roman emperor Hadrian leveled the city of Jerusalem in 72 A.D. after a Jewish revolt and combined its provinces of Judea and Philistia (of the Biblical Philistines) and called the combined area Provincia Philistia, which later evolved into the name Palestine. The archeologically minded can go farther back, to sites of Neolithic life in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel.

Photos of Israel

The Dome of the Rock, a historic shrine on Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem, was initially completed in 691 B.C.
The Mount of Olives is one of three peaks of a mountain ridge just east of Old Jerusalem.
The Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa, Israel comprise a staircase of nineteen terraces extending all the way up the northern slope of Mount Carmel.
Bike rider on the promenade in Tel Aviv.
The Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalene in Jerusalem.
Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, Israel.
The Dome of the Rock is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Jerusalem, Israel.
Jerusalem, Israel near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Flamingos in the Negev Desert, Israel.
Sunset on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Tiberias is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Kinneret) in Israel.
Jerusalem at twilight.
A hillside on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Magnificently preserved Roman amphitheater in Beit Shean, Israel
Ruins of the aqueduct, dating from Roman times, in Caesarea National Park, Israel
Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
Columns of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Festival of Light offers dozens of installations and displays throughout the Old City.
Look, no tricks! Dive in and float in Israel's Dead Sea.
Hiking in the Negev Desert, Israel.
A festively painted house in Israel.
Kayakers paddle by Rosh Hanikra, Israel.
This mosaic in Israel is known as the Mona Lisa of Galilee.
Tiberias, Israel, at night.