Are Jewish cruises a good way to celebrate Jewish holidays?
For the weekly holiday, yes. Shabbat on a cruise can be a real Shabbat: a table, a minyan and a group that keeps it together, with nobody searching for a meal or a place to pray. For the festivals it depends on the sailing, and it is worth checking before you book.
This guide takes the holidays in order. It covers how Shabbat is kept on our cruises, what to ask when a sailing falls near a Yom Tov, and when a hotel program suits the festival better. If you are still planning a first cruise, our kosher cruising tips cover the kashrut and the practical steps, and our kosher cruises page lists the sailings we run.
How are Shabbat and services kept on a Jewish cruise?
On our cruises Shabbat is kept with the group, on board. A Sefer Torah sails with us, and there is a weekday minyan and tefillah every day. Kabbalat Shabbat, the Shabbat meals and the services are all with the group, at sea or in port.
Every meal on every cruise is Glatt Kosher Mehadrin, three meals a day. The group eats apart from the ship’s other guests, in a dining area of its own, and the meals are cooked for the group by a kosher chef under mashgichim. On the Sea Spirit in Antarctica the kitchen itself is ours, used only for the group, under a head mashgiach who sails for the whole voyage.
Where Shabbat falls changes the week:
- In port. The ship stays in harbor, so there is no sailing on Shabbat. On our Japan, South Korea and China cruise the first Shabbat is in port at Fukuoka.
- At sea. The ship keeps sailing, and the day is spent on board with the group. The second Shabbat on that cruise is at sea on the way to Hong Kong.
- Both. A 14-night sailing holds two Shabbatot, so it can hold one of each.
Ask which it is for your dates, and how doors, lights and key cards are handled.
What happens when a cruise falls over Pesach, Sukkot or another Yom Tov?
A Yom Tov asks more of a ship than Shabbat does. There is the Seder, the chag meals, in some cases a sukkah, and for Pesach a kitchen that is kosher for Pesach for the whole week. Cruise itineraries are not usually built around the Jewish calendar, so dates are the first thing to check.
- Pesach lasts 8 days outside Israel and 7 days in it, with the first and last days as Yom Tov.
- Sukkot lasts 7 days, followed by Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, which are 1 day in Israel and 2 days outside it.
- Other holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shavuot fall at fixed points in the year and are easy to place on a calendar.
Hebcal lists the dates for any year. Put the embarkation and disembarkation dates beside them, and ask the organizer in writing how each Yom Tov inside the sailing is kept: the meals, the services and the place of the Seder or the sukkah.
When does a hotel program suit the festival better?
For Pesach and Sukkot we run hotel programs. The whole stay is built around the chag: the Seder, the sukkah, the chag meals and the minyanim, with no sailing schedule to work around.
Our Pesach programs run in Rhodes, Jerusalem and the Kinneret, and our Sukkot program is at the Kinneret. The Pesach and Sukkot programs page has the hotels and the dates, and the Pesach dates page shows how the days fall year by year.
A cruise and a hotel program answer different wishes. The cruise is for seeing a coastline and keeping Shabbat while you do. The hotel is for keeping a chag in one place.
Are Jewish cruises a good choice for families and generations?
Many families travel together on a cruise, with grandparents, parents and children in a group that keeps the same Shabbat and the same kashrut. The practical questions are the ones to ask early:
- Cabins. Are connecting cabins or family categories available on your sailing?
- Children. What do the menus and the program offer for each age?
- Mobility. How far are the cabins from the elevators, and how is Shabbat managed for guests who cannot manage stairs?
- Requirements. Our guests all share a commitment to Shabbat and kosher observance, but there are no specific religious requirements to join.
Put the answers in writing, especially for a family trip.
What should you ask before booking a Jewish cruise near a holiday?
Five questions cover most of it:
- What are the exact sailing dates, and which Shabbatot or Yom Tov do they include?
- Who certifies the kitchen, and who is the mashgiach on board?
- Is there a minyan every day, and a Sefer Torah?
- How is each Yom Tov inside the sailing kept, including the meals?
- What are the payment and cancellation terms?
If you would like help matching a sailing to the calendar, contact us with your dates and who is traveling. For the full list of sailings, see our kosher cruises.
