Venice-Alexandria ferry cancelled!

[biotruck]

Hi Itchyfeet.

Can you tell us more details how you arranged the ferry? Did you need an shipping agent? Did you book it in advance. Was there plenty of room on the freighter?

Any contact details you have would be really helpful

[itchyfeet38]

Sure.

Contact details below (lifted from website)

GRIMALDI LINES Freighter TravelVia M. Campodisola 13
Tel. (+39) 081 496444 Fax (+39) 081 496551
E-mail: gfc@grimaldi.napoli.it
Web site: www.grimaldi-freightercruises.com

We dealt with this guy re initial enquiries - he speaks perfect english.

Carlo Di Falco

GRIMALDI LINES FREIGHTER TRAVEL
13, Via M. Campodisola - 80133 Napoli
Tel. +39 081 496524 (direct), +39 3452503740 (mobile)
Fax +39 081 496551

e-mail: difalco.carlo@grimaldi.napoli.it
http://www.grimaldi-freightercruises.com


We didn't want to book/pay until we were in Israel as we weren't sure of our dates so Grimaldi told us to contact their agents in Tel Aviv when we arrived (Allalouf).

marcoh@allalouf.com
Tel Aviv (Israel)
ALLALOUF AND CO. SHIPPING
Tel: +972 3 5640202

We contacted Grimaldi by email a couple of months beforehand with enquiries and finally booked about 10 days before we sailed. We paid by credit card in Allalouf's office - they had to ring the payment through to Grimaldi.

There are only 6 cabins on the boat - 4 same size as ours and 2 bigger and more expensive. Three cabins were booked on our boat. Plenty of room for the car - in fact almost a deck to ourselves. Car is strapped down.The ship is enormous. I believe it's full capacity is c. 5,000 cars and on our journey it carried boats, cranes all sorts.

On top of the fare you need to pay an arrangement fee to Allalouf ($25pp and $50 per car). You also need a forwarding agent ($200). The port won't deal with you as a private individual - a couple of fellow passengers spent a day trying. Finally about 60/70 shekels port tax.

You have to remember it's a freighter and you are pretty much at the bottom of the pile re their priorities. We left 3 days late and I'd never have known if I hadn't kept ringing Allalouf each day. Also they can't guarantee stops. Others on the boat wanted to get off in Savona and that stop was cancelled en route. This might work to your advantage if they take you further! Or might not.

Thats all I can think of.

[m2m]

Hi itchyfeet38,

Thanks very much for the info.

[motoshaman]

Hello all,

We (2 Amerıcans) have just realized our syrıan vısas have expired and are scrambling to fınd an alternative route to jordan or egypt. We have contact wıth a few freıght companies and ıt looks as though it might be possible. There is also a possibility of sendıng a truck through syrıa , but its hard to send our girls off alone through syria. As we have no option but to find a way to africa somehow as we are going to SA, I will update with our fınal solution.

Rien

[itchyfeet38]

What they said to us is that we had to remove everything not attached to the car. But they didn't apply this very consistently. So we had to unbolt zarges boxes we use for storage and also take out the fridge. However, there was a box bolted onto the roof rack they said we didn't have to take off though they did go through it. We didn't have to take off the sand ladders and they were content with the tent just being opened. We weren't asked to remove the batteries. Every item had to come out of every box or bag and the scan was item by item. They were even leafing through the pages of books. They scared my other half to death by trying to dismantle some very expensive camera lenses (that don't come apart). Unloading and scanning took about 4 hours.

They then inspected the empty car which took them a couple of hours. I guess it would have taken less time if they hadn't broken the key in the door lock. They asked for the keys to the safe, took spare wheels off etc. We weren't allowed to be present when they inspected the car.

It then took us a couple of hours to repack so about 8 hours in all.

Bizarrely we also had to do much the same thing when we were leaving Israel although half way through the scanning our forwarding agent threw a wobbly and said we'd miss the ship. So they just stopped.

We had minimal questioning going in but quite a lengthy interview on leaving. They separated the two of us for questioning and then compared our answers.

In all honesty it was a real pain and though I really enjoyed the country I would would think hard about entering Israel again with a car - or at least one that fully loaded. I should add that the customs staff were all very courteous and polite throughout and we tried to reciprocate. From what I hear our experience matches that of others.

[itchyfeet38]

Grimaldi sent a pretty impenetrable document to us which mentioned other taxes - worst case scenario on my reading was $400+- when I pushed they said the exact cost depended on various factors such as how long the vehicle had been in the country. The forwarders (Allalouf) just said it didn't apply to us and in the event we were charged 60 odd shekels ($15-20) fully receipted. You could try contacting Allalouf for some comfort?

[itchyfeet38]

We got it covered on our green card. However, I heard it was $100.

[itchyfeet38]

Yes you should have insurance for Europe - no-one checked ours but it is a legal requirement.

We were away from the UK for three years so had no UK insurance. We bought a green card covering all Europe (incl Israel?!) from Alessi who I think are based in Belgium. NB it will not cover the UK or wherever in Europe your car is from. All was done via email/internet banking etc though we did get the original document couriered. It was pretty expensive (300+ euro) but we did want three months cover.

Two separate groups we met (incl two on bikes) said insurance had cost $100 for Israel. They were perfectly happy to accept the green card.

[sashkow]

We are in process of shipping our SUV to Alexandria for our overland trip to Cape Town. By container is expensive and slow...
Do you have idea what is the current situation with farries etc.

What is the procedure to clear the vehicle in Alexandria?

[Trumpton]

I dont think anybody really knows what the exact procedure is, or should be,
but from my experiences you will need Patience, patience & even more patience!!!!

Just dont expect anything to happen quickly!

Andy

[Timoneuk]

It seems as though there is significant uncertainty about a ferry to Alex and negotiating with Egyptian customs. Perhaps there may be another way...

I'm thinking about taking my camper by ferry to Ashdod in Israel and then driving to the Israel / Egypt border crossing at Taba. The positive in this for me is that I can have an Egyptian national friend meet me at the border in order to negotiate entry on my behalf.

[achim-in-jordan]

Hi Timoneuk,

Welcome to the HUBB! Please be aware that the border crossing in Taba is not possible for 4WD vehicles at this moment! In addition, the continuation to Sudan might me more tricky with an Egyptian entry stamp at Taba now since there is no ferry across the Nasser Lake anymore between Egypt and Sudan but a regular land border.

Best,
Achim

[Timoneuk]

Thank you Achim. My camper, a Citroen Relay (Jumper) is 2WD. What is the problem at the Taba crossing? I do not intend to continue to Sudan but to spend some time in Sinaii and then drive, via Suez, down to Berenice in the deep south.

Thanks, Tim

[achim-in-jordan]

There is no specific problem, but the entry into Egypt on the Sinai peninsula, be it through the Elat-Taba border, be it through the Aqaba-Nuweiba ferry, has been off limits for some time now for 4WD vehicles due to perceived security issues on the Egyptian side. 2WD are OK.

Most probably you will be obliged to join a convoy if you want to directly cross the Sinai from Taba. It might still be possible to go on your own if you follow the coast road to Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm before going up North on the Western side of the peninsula towards Suez.

Best,
Achim