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Modified 14-Jul-24
Created 23-Jan-16
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Day 2-7 of 18 - The Suez Canal
I’m lumping these all together as the days seem to lose importance as time goes on .. just being at sea is a nice thing without having to worry about what the time is or what day of the week it is. Routine can be very comforting. Unfortunately the cold that I thought I had shaken in Vancouver has come back with a vengeance. I guess being so tired after seeing all the sights in Rome didn’t do my immune system any favors so I have the chest cold, flu etc. Not much fun I can tell you. Anyway, I’m making out as best as possible under the circumstances and Pat is being very understanding about it, which all helps.
The port visits to Civiticchia (Rome) and Messina went as planned. We didn’t tour around as we’d already been there and doing the same tour twice didn't seem like a great idea. So we did a little walk-about in each spot, then back to the ship for a pre-dinner drink … which was great for me considering my battle with the flu.
The talent of the performers for the evening shows has been quite good. We had a pianist one night and a violinist the next. Both were really good. Last night we had a Tango review that we both really enjoyed. They sang all the good songs, danced well and showed lots of pictures of B.A. on the big screen. We can’t wait to go back now.
After 3 days of crossing the Mediterranean we finally made land fall at Port Said (pronounced “sayeed”) on the Egyptian coast near the entrance to the Suez Canal. It seems we have to “convoy up” for the transit. The canal itself is fairly wide but only deep enough in the middle so the bigger ships cannot pass in opposite directions. They run two convoys south and one convoy north each day.
Our convoy left Port Said at 1 am and entered the canal shortly there-after. The canal is over 160 km (100 miles) long and because of the speed restrictions it takes anywhere from 12 -14 hrs to complete. Two thirds of the way along there is a lake called the Great Bitter Lake where the convoy will anchor for a short time to allow the north bound fleet to pass by. We then complete the last leg south and into the Gulf of Suez.
The canal is owned by Egypt and they run a fairly smooth operation. I was told by the Capt. that the cost for this ship to transit the canal is about $225,000, which is not a lot considering the Panama canal cost the cruise line $630,000 for this same ship.
For the first part of the canal transit there is absolutely nothing to see. I suppose that's why they do it at night. To the west is Egypt proper and to the east of the canal is the Sinai peninsula .. and on both sides are miles and miles of absolutely nothing but sand and scrub brush. Desolate !
At Lake Timsah, about half way along, there is a sizeable town called Ismailia, there are army guard posts or check points along the canal every few miles on the Egyptian side, but along with the sand, that’s about it. Further south there was the pause at anchor in the Great Bitter Lake for the north bound convoy to pass by, then more of the same heading down the remainder of the canal.
At noon today we completed the last part of the canal and exited south into the Gulf of Suez. This is also where they have a little town called .. what else … Suez. There does seem to be more signs of habitation in this area but aside from other shipping and a few houses here and there, not much else. As we head south (I mentioned this) we’ll have Egypt on the right (to the west) and the Sinai Peninsula on the left (east) until we eventually get to a place called Sharm al-Sheikh and make the turn to the east to go up the Gulf of Aqaba.
