Haifa Cruise Port in 2026: A New Terminal, One Regular Ship and Which Lines Might Return
Four years ago, the big ships came to Haifa every week of the season. The photo below is one of them: Celebrity Apex alongside the passenger quay in October 2022, white and navy against a dark blue sea, the breakwater curving out past her, and the low rooftops of the downtown and port district in the foreground, seen from the slopes of Mount Carmel.
That season Haifa saw MSC, Costa, Princess, Royal Caribbean, AIDA and Celebrity ships in turn, with passengers spilling off for day trips to Jerusalem, the Galilee and Acre. Then came the war that began in October 2023, and the international lines dropped Israel from their itineraries.
Where things stand
Haifa has kept building for the day they return. A new cruise terminal opened on 14 May 2026, at a cost of about 16 million shekels. It can handle two ships at once and is built for about a million passengers a year.
For now it has one regular customer. Mano Cruises, the Israeli line, sails its ship Crown Iris from Haifa on short cruises to Cyprus, Greece and around the eastern Mediterranean, mostly for Israeli passengers. It cancelled its sailings through April 2026 during the regional fighting and restarted on 23 April, with about 60 departures planned through the end of the year. In October 2026 Crown Iris is in Haifa twice a week. Through the summer the new terminal was in weekly use, by her alone.
None of the big international lines has a confirmed Haifa call in 2026. Some travel agency listings show Regent Seven Seas and Holland America calls pencilled in for 2027, but the lines themselves haven't announced them. Treat any 2027 Haifa call as tentative until it appears on the cruise line's own site.
If you're sailing from Haifa
Mano's cruises sell mainly in Israel, in Hebrew, and fill up around the holidays. Book through the line or an Israeli agent. Embarkation is at the new terminal in the port, a short taxi ride from downtown and the Haifa Merkaz HaShmona train station.
Give yourself a day in Haifa before you sail. The city is built on the slope of Mount Carmel, layered from the port up to the ridge.
The Bahá'í Gardens. Nineteen terraces of gardens run straight down the mountain to the gold-domed Shrine of the Báb, the city's landmark. The gardens are free. The full walk down the terraces runs as free guided tours, and the viewpoint at the top, on Yefe Nof Street, looks down over the German Colony and the bay, the best view in Haifa. The gardens close at times for security or maintenance, so check before you go.
The German Colony. At the foot of the gardens, the stone houses built by German Templers in the 19th century line Ben Gurion Boulevard, now restaurants and cafés.
Downtown and Wadi Salib. The old lower town near the port is rough at the edges and full of character, with markets, bakeries and some of the city's best hummus.
When the big ships do come back, they'll find a better terminal than the one they left.
More on the city's case for the ships: Bring Back the Ships: Why Haifa Deserves a Cruise Comeback and Celebrity Apex Embarks in Haifa on Mediterranean Cruise on Travel Marketing.