We were supposed to transit the Suez Canal in the daytime but for some reason it was brought forward to midnight. We checked our position before going to bed and we were in the holding bay awaiting further instructions as far as time and position in the queue. We were the only cruise ship and the rest were mainly large (some very large) cargo ships.
We went to bed and left our tv on the front camera of the ship so we could see when we were on the move. This was not conducive to a good night's sleep and hence we suffered badly the next day... grumpy, tired, and a headache plus a touch of sunstroke as it was soooo hot on deck.
We woke around 1am and could see we were in the canal so a quick change of clothes and up to the front of the ship on deck 11 only to find one other person. The night air was very mild to warm with a very heavy dew and we were gliding ever so slowly down the canal. Very peaceful except the odd occasional whistle or yelling from the shore and even a series of gunfire and some music from a large town. We were the first ship in a convoy of 18 and interestingly each ship has to have their own pilot... a bit of a money making exercise if you ask me!! The transit costs Princess in excess of $200,000 but not as much as the Panama Canal which is in excess of $300,000.
We are now on pirate watch and we have had a piracy drill on board. All around the ship there are water hoses position over the side to squirt high pressure water if anyone tries to scale the side of the ship. We also have sound machines that emit noise at a very high frequency that is supposed to be painful to the ears. There are staff on 24 hour watch around the ship as well.
We had increased security protection in the Canal with 2 tugs at the rear of the ship and one at the front plus regular helicopter swoops throughout the transit.
The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean and Red Seas in Egypt. Led by French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1858, a team of over 30,000 worked to dig the man made canal over a period of 11 years. When it officially opened in 1869, the Suez Canal was approximately 101 miles long - nearly twice the length of the Panama Canal.
We went back to bed around 3am not long after passing under the Al Quantarah Bridge. At 5.15am I woke again and hot footed back up to deck 11 to see us come out of the first half of the canal into the Great Bitter Lake which was just as the sun was peeping over the horizon. We stayed in this lake till 10am to allow the rest of the convey to finish their transit and also to wait for the ships going in the opposite direction to finish their transit of the other half as it is one way only.
This allowed time for a quick breakfast and another quick nap before back up on deck. Today was extremely hot and I think with the broken sleep I suffered a hit of heatstroke as did a lot of people. Nothing that a good night's sleep and an alcohol free night couldn't fix!! The first night without alcohol since leaving home although we did have our first cocktail of the trip during the day to cool off... maybe that was the problem???!!!
The scenery was very different on both sides of the canal with a lot of military presence. Soldiers with machine guns standing watch on both sides of the canal and often standing out in the full sun. We finished our transit around 2.30pm which left the rest of the afternoon to snooze and that's what we did.
Another sea day tomorrow to recover before Petra.
The water hoses on pirate watch
The sound machine and lookout person.
Approaching Al Quantarah Bridge
Sunrise and the Great Bitter Lake
A cargo ship waiting to transit
The second half of the Sue Canal
The convoy
The end of the canal and out into the Red Sea
The city of Suez which is at the end of the canal.
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