Royal Caribbean Cruises has designated Haifa as its homeport for the 2022 summer season. The company announced that the Rhapsody of the Seas will be based in Haifa and will operate 28 cruises to Cyprus and the Greek Islands between August and October, with voyages ranging from two to eight nights. The Rhapsody of the Seas, which will also dock in Israel in August, has a capacity of up to 2,000 passengers and a crew of 765.
Royal Caribbean, which operates from 33 ports, including Barcelona, Miami and Sydney, has also scheduled cruises from Haifa for the summer of 2023.
At a press conference in Israel attended by Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov, Royal Caribbean's top executives, Sean Treacy, Vice President of Sales, and Ben Bouldin, Vice President of EMEA, spoke optimistically about the tourism potential of cruises from Haifa, both for Israelis and for people coming to Israel to embark on cruises.
Razvozov said: “This year, more than 160,000 tourists will arrive in Israel through seaports. Next year, more than 250,000 will come. Maritime tourism is a key component of the Tourism Ministry’s plan, which we are currently preparing, to bring 10 million tourists to Israel annually by 2030.”.
Royal Caribbean's 28 cruises to Israel will begin on August 5 and end on October 30. The cruises will call at Limassol (Cyprus) and Rhodes, Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini in Greece.
The cruises have been adapted to the Israeli market and will include kosher food, kosher glatt meals, Hebrew menus, and Shabbat elevators. Unvaccinated passengers will be able to undergo PCR testing before boarding and at the end of the cruise. Bouldin said, “Our product is international, but we recognize the needs of Israeli passengers.” He added, “The potential isn’t limited to Israeli tourists. We can bring tourists from the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. Cruise enthusiasts will want to visit Israel and spend several days on our cruise. In the next stage, we will explore the possibility of combining more distant destinations, in addition to the Greek islands, for longer cruises departing from Haifa.”.
