Cruise control: Israelis return to booking - for summer and high holidays

According to Eyal Atias, CEO of MSC Cruises Israel, 2023 was the peak year for Israeli cruise departures through various cruise liners. "Our estimation speaks of over 250,000 Israelis who went on cruises either from Israel via Haifa port or flew to various destinations abroad and boarded ships there," he says.

Expectations were, adds Atias, that the numbers would grow even larger in 2024. However, following October 7th, the numbers are naturally not the same, and MSC Cruises estimates that in terms of Israeli vacationers, they will end 2024 with only about 40% of the quantity from last year.

The positive turning point and great enthusiasm of Israelis for cruises were felt, according to Atias, after the end of the coronavirus pandemic. "In February 2022, as soon as this crazy pandemic ended, MSC positioned a ship at Haifa port," he says. "We planned to do this again in 2021, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. No international company regularly sailed from Israel before that.

There were international ships that disembarked tourists and embarked them, but there wasn’t a regular line of international ships, meaning a line that brings tourists from here and eventually also disembarks tourists here cyclically throughout the season. We, as an international company, started with what is called a regular line. On April 14, 2022, our first sailing from Haifa port took place. Another international company entered in the summer. We couldn't handle the insane amount of inquiries. The market voted with its feet, and that gave us the boost."

An ambitious plan

According to Atias, other reasons that made 2023 successful were the pent-up demands during the pandemic. "Everyone was stuck at home and wanted to get some fresh air," he says. "After the pandemic, there were still many people who were afraid to pass through crowded areas like airports, for example. Also, the nature of the product accessible here for the first time, international brands with their quality and size, attracted Israelis."

The whole celebration stopped after October 7th."Our plan in Israel was very ambitious. In the first year, we stationed a ship of a certain size in Haifa, which contained a certain number of people. The following year, we brought in a larger ship by 50%. We moved from a ship with 2,000 passengers to a ship with 3,000 passengers. We intended to grow every year. October 7th dashed plans not only for us but for everyone.

When it happened, we already had about 3,000 customers in the middle of the sea, and then we had to decide how to solve this crisis of a ship in the middle of the sea with a third Israelis and two-thirds foreigners. A thousand Israelis were eager to come home. On the other hand, foreign citizens didn't want to come here, to a conflict area. In the end, we brought Israelis back with another ship, a special ship we rented in Cyprus, for millions of shekels."

Additionally, Atias adds, "we had to cancel all the cruises that were supposed to depart from Israel at the end of the year and were fully booked, with many thousands of passengers who booked. In addition, many Israeli passengers were supposed to sail on our ships departing from abroad. We removed Haifa from the route as a first stage, in its place we put Rhodes. We refunded everyone down to the last shekel, or for those who wanted - we offered an option to exchange the cruise for another cruise departing from elsewhere in the world without extra charge."

What's happening these days?"At first, we waited two months for an improvement in the military situation, but in the end, we were informed that there would be no sailings from Haifa in 2024, also because we need to plan a year in advance for each route. Israelis who want to sail with us will depart from other ports around the world. This Passover, thousands of customers sailed on our ships from Barcelona, Naples, Miami, Rome, Copenhagen, London, and more.

Thousands of Israelis are traveling abroad through us this year, we are working, there are sales, but in terms of numbers, we haven't returned to routine yet. These are not the numbers we are used to. If 2023 was a record year, then we're not there. The figure is improving all the time, and as mentioned, we estimate that we will reach about 40%-45% Israeli passengers compared to last year. We are optimistic, we sold a lot for Passover, and even now we continue to sell."

300 Destinations

MSC Cruises, the world's third-largest cruise brand headquartered in Geneva, operates 22 innovative ships, alongside three new ships to be launched in 2025, 2026, and 2027. The company operates cruises in over 100 countries worldwide to more than 300 destinations on five continents. One of the company's agendas is environmental preservation, committing to zero greenhouse gas emissions in its maritime operations by 2050.

One of the cruise ships of the company is MSC World Europa, launched in November 2022. It towers 22 decks high, accommodates 2,626 staterooms of 19 types (65% of rooms feature balconies), alongside 152 luxurious Yacht Club suites.

The ship can accommodate a total of 6,762 passengers. To preserve the environment, it utilizes, among other things, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and is equipped with SCR systems to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and an underwater noise management system to reduce potential harm from noise and vibrations to marine life.

I boarded this ship in Barcelona to experience, as presented to me, the next generation of cruise vacations. The full itinerary of MSC World Europa spans eight days: Barcelona (Spain) - Marseille (France) - Genoa (Italy) - Naples (Italy) - Messina (Sicily, Italy) - Valletta (Malta) - a day at sea - and back to Barcelona.

The first thing that caught my eye is the immense size of the ship. At first glance, it looks like a bustling city on the water, designed luxuriously and splendidly. My thought was that a navigation app wouldn't hurt in this place, especially after several times I circled the 14th floor where the rooms were located, in order to understand the different directions and reach the destination.

Vacationers on the ship came from all over the world, and one could meet Australians, English, French, Americans, Japanese, and more. It takes at least a couple of days to acclimate, digest the abundance, and start enjoying the various attractions on-site.

Snow Room and Colliding Cars

The words "extra" and "abundance" definitely characterize what's going on there. Culinary-wise, for example, even those who are very careful about their weight will struggle to resist the various options. The ship boasts dozens of different restaurants, bars, and lounges. Most of the restaurants are included in the price, and you can eat in them from 6:00 in the morning until 2:00 at night. On the ship, there are also several theme restaurants, for which you will need to pay an additional fee.

Among the theme restaurants: a sushi restaurant, a steakhouse, a fish market concept restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, and also Chef's Garden Kitchen restaurant, where they grow onboard hydroponic herbs used in the dishes. In addition, there is a brewery, a gin bar, a chocolate and coffee bar, a champagne bar, and even a tea club where, to the sounds of piano music, they drink various types of tea from around the world and enjoy branded cookies.

Did we mention abundance? There are also many swimming pools and jacuzzis, a luxurious spa (admission to which is an additional fee, and it even includes a snow room), a fitness center, a car collision facility, a water park with interactive slides, and more. The ship's promenade stands out with its unique design, featuring a giant spiral slide rising 11 floors high, which has been awarded the title of the longest slide at sea.

There's also the World Theatre on the ship, which accommodates 1,153 seats and hosts several shows in the evening, as well as an innovative area for entertainment shows, a secret and hidden bar (entered through a kind of public telephone booth and only by reservation), performances and parties throughout the day and night, and there's also a shopping promenade for shopping enthusiasts. Traveling with kids? You can take them to a dedicated area with clubs staffed by guides divided into three age groups: babies, kids, and teens.

Fans of order and cleanliness will be pleased to know that the ship's stewards will take advantage of every moment you leave the room to tidy up the bed for you again and again. In addition to the attractions on the ship, it is recommended to get off wherever the ship docks, take a guided tour (for an additional fee) or a self-guided tour to different destinations, and return to the ship before it moves on to the next destination.

How much does it cost?

The prices on this ship for 7 nights vary according to the type of room: Interior cabin: $850-1,200 per person in a double room (depending on the season); Cabin with a window: $1,100-1,250 per person; Cabin with a balcony: $1,250-1,600 per person.

If you want to book the Yacht Club - MSC Cruises' most luxurious section located at the front of the ship on decks 16-20, where there are luxury suites, a pool, private restaurants, unlimited premium drinks, and more pampering - with 24-hour personal service (even unpacking your luggage and arranging your clothes for you) - you will pay starting from $3,000 per person in a double room.

Children up to the age of 18 receive a 50% discount on all ship rooms. Prices on the ship include most attractions (except for spa entry and treatments, themed restaurants, and guided tours off the ship).

Regarding beverages: coffee, tea, water, and ice are available 24/7 at certain locations on the ship, but most hot, soft, and alcoholic drinks are not included in the price and are available for an additional fee at reasonable prices. You'll pay €2 for an espresso, €3.75 for a cappuccino, €3.5 for a cola, beer starting from €4 , and an average of €7 for a glass of wine. It's recommended to pre-order a drink package that can significantly reduce costs, up to 50%.

By the way, if you want to buy something on the ship or order various extras, transactions are not conducted in cash or credit. All transactions are done through a room access card, which can be charged with cash. It's recommended to use a dedicated app while on board that will update you on activities happening at the same time on the ship and allow you to book seats for shows, tours, spa treatments, and more.

"According to a report by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the percentage of people from around the world going on cruises returned in 2023 to pre-pandemic levels of 2019, and even increased by about 6.8%," sums up Atias. "In 2019, 29.7 million people from around the world went on cruises, in 2023 - 31.7 million, and the forecast for 2024 is 35.7 million.

The international cruise industry has been steadily growing in recent years and is considered the fastest-growing tourism sector in the world among the various tourism sectors. In terms of Israeli interest in cruises for the near future, we see beautiful bookings for the summer and also the fall holidays are waking up nicely. The fall holidays do not coincide with the holidays abroad for tourists, so the prices are very comfortable, and Israelis can grab cheap prices."

The writer was a guest of MSC Cruises.