A cruise through the Suez Canal was a surreal experience unlike any other.
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Our ship spent all Summer and the beginnings of Autumn in the Adriatic Sea, ambling out of Venice weekly to drop in to Dubrovnik, Zadar, Corfu and Bari. By October, although the density of the crowds was gradually reducing, the weather was still warm and dry- and I’d been loving every minute of exploring the winding alleyways of Mediterranean old towns and the canals of Venice away from the frantic pace of the high season.
Our last day in Dubrovnik was practically ghostly. I wandered down the old paved streets accompanied only by the odd cat- and even my favourite coffee shop had closed for the season. The empty streets signalled that clearly it was time that we said goodbye for winter, too.
That’s the weird thing about living on a cruise ship; you get to know each port as if it’s a second home, mapping out your favourite locations and finding the best shortcuts back to the mothership. And then just when you get comfortable, it’s time to move on.
Preparing to cruise through the Suez Canal
Just before we officially left European waters, extra security arrived on board and the fire hoses were rolled out as protection against any pirates we might come across once we made it to the Red Sea. No guns on board means you have to get creative, and those fire hoses are highly-powered pieces of equipment. It might seem rather dramatic, and the likelihood of a cruise ship being hijacked by Somali pirates (or any pirates for that matter) is low. But it’s good to be prepared for every eventuality, you know!?
The atmosphere on a ship changes once you start a trans-cruise, relocating for a new season somewhere new. There’s masses more work for every department, with new parties and shows and events for the guests, but each port en route to your new destination is a one-off. Meaning that everyone wants to get outside and explore as much as is possible, even with only a couple of hours to spare.
That brilliant day in Santorini: October in Santorini
We stopped in Santorini, then Crete. Our final European port was an unexpected two hours late at night in Limassol, Cyprus. I ventured up to Deck 5 at the bow of the ship to make use of the last of my free European data and say farewell to European soil- even though I could only look at the lights of the port, mountains silhouetted gently in the far distance. After a day in Haifa, Israel– during which we mostly crammed as much shawarma and pistachio-covered baklava in to our mouths as possible- it was onwards to the coast of North Africa and the next step of our journey to the Indian Ocean.
This all sounds like a gallant exploration on a galleon into uncharted territory. But in the name of keeping things in perspective, we’re talking about a cruise liner with a massive smiley face painted on the front. No wooden mermaids on the bow of the ship here, no siree.
How does a cruise through the Suez Canal work?
We had our first glimpse of Port Said, the Egyptian port at the Mediterranean entrance to the canal, in the late afternoon. And then, we just sat there. For hours and hours and hours, waiting for our turn to start the cruise through the Suez Canal. Because if you thought you could freely sail on in then you are very much mistaken my friends!
Navigating any canal takes a significant amount of planning and preparation. There are strict timetables to adhere to so that the whole operation runs like absolute CLOCKWORK. The route of the Suez Canal includes the two Bitter Lakes, where each ship’s positions in the convoy can be changed if need be. And to protect the banks of the canal from big waves, all ships have to travel incredibly slowly.
All vessels travelling along the Suez Canal have to enter in convoy and at their scheduled times. There are two Southbound convoys per day, and one Northbound convoy, and it takes around 11-16 hours to complete the journey. Ships are permitted to enter the canal one at a time, but split into different categories- so the exact time of entry is dependent on whether the ship is a passenger ship, a tanker, a war ship etc. It’s all a bit technical, but also a bit crazy to be thinking you’re travelling in convoy with a few warships for company.
Still. We work on a cruise liner, not a warship. A scorching hot day turned to a clear, warm night, and we had a blast hanging out under the stars drinking intriguing cocktails after work.
By the time we woke up the following morning our cruise through the Suez Canal would have officially begun.
What is the Suez Canal?
The Suez Canal was officially opened in 1869, stretching just over 100 miles through Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea- enabling ships to travel quickly from Europe to India and the Far East. It was a vital (and still is a vital) trade route, and whilst it’s been a huge success the canal has also at times been a huge source of conflict. (Suez Crisis, anyone?)
Unlike the Panama Canal which uses several locks to raise ships up to Gatun Lake and then back down the other side of the isthmus of Panama, the Suez Canal is completely flat. Ferdinand de Lesseps, who ran the successful Suez Canal project, was brought in to help Panama’s equivalent waterway, and awkwardly almost ended up in jail thanks to his severe mismanagement of the rather more complex situation in Central America.
How awkward, Ferdinand!
Good morning, Suez!
If you’re a crew member on a ship, you’ll already know this: it is highly unlikely that you’ll have a window in your cabin. The solution to the problem of not knowing whether it’s even day or night is to switch on your television and tune in to the live cameras of the upper decks, which is of course exactly what I did the second I opened my eyes in the morning.
It was clear that we were travelling incredibly slowly, and that the water surrounding us was almost completely still, but other than that the world upstairs looked like nothing but fog. I couldn’t feel even a slight swaying movement; the last time I’d felt a ship this still was in the fjords of Norway. Obviously I went up to investigate as soon as I could drag myself upright.
Using all of my body weight to heave the door to Deck 5 open, I was immediately hit with a wall of intense dry heat and simultaneously blinded by the brightness of the fog. What an assault on the senses. A few crew members were there already, milling around in near silence and taking everything in.
Although when I say ‘everything’ I mean, ‘almost nothing.’ I could barely see a thing. At. All.
I could only make out the edges of the waterway with some severe squinting. Travelling at a rate of about 16km per hour gave us a feeling of skimming very slowly over glass, with barely a ripple visible in the water below us.
Enjoying the nothing
Knowing that the crew would be well and truly up for a glimpse of the Suez Canal, posters had been put up all over the crew areas in the days leading up to the journey, emblazoned with the title- “ENJOYING THE NOTHING.” Unlike myself, plenty of crew members had completed a cruise through the Suez Canal before. They knew exactly what to expect. Hot chocolate and coffee was carted up to Deck 5, along with trays of pastries for everyone to enjoy while we enjoyed the ‘nothing’ going past.
I sipped on a hot chocolate whilst drifting occasionally from port to starboard, waiting for the fog to lift. It was pretty difficult to look for too long in the same direction because the light was so ragingly bright. And not only was there the blinding desert light to contend with, but something much much worse.
Flies.
Thousands and thousands of flies.
I have never in my life witnessed so many flies in one space. Massive black flies gathered on almost every available surface, including some of my colleagues. Some of us continuously swatted them away. Others admitted defeat and let the flies settle for a bit until it all got too irritating.
The only thing I could have told you about the Suez Canal at that point, is that it’s home to a sizeable fly population. Because that’s basically all I could see anyway.
Sights Along the Suez Canal
Gradually the sandy fog began to withdraw from its ship-smothering task (although the flies soldiered on with us).
On either side of the ship were the sandy canal banks, with patches of rushes here and there. It felt at first as if we were in the middle of a desert, although in reality we weren’t that far from civilisation. There was a twitter of birdsong every now and then- although I couldn’t spy the birds anywhere. The atmosphere was eerie but weirdly peaceful, especially with a mug of hot chocolate in hand.
(I’m not sure exactly why we were drinking steaming hot mugs of hot chocolate in such intense heat, but I was loving every second so it’s definitely not a bad idea in the slightest)
I made out ‘Welcome to Egypt’ written in large letters on the ground next to a military-looking building. Guard towers stood solitary amongst sand dunes, and in the distance were the smudged silhouettes of palm trees- two dimensional like the paintings of ancient Egypt.
Where we were heading: Hiking Adventures in the Indian Ocean
We passed underneath the Al Salam Bridge, a road bridge crossing the canal’s divide between Africa and Asia, and began to see more and more military buildings and soldiers milling around. At the disused El Ferdan Railway Bridge, men in camouflage uniforms stood and waved as our ship sailed by, and one ran alongside until he reached the end of the path he was on, calling out to everyone on board.
Not only could we make out the square silhouette of what looked like a cargo ship in the distance ahead, but the waters around us were dotted with tiny fishing boats from which more men flung their piles of nets overboard or cast their fishing lines outwards. As we passed some of them turned to wave up at us, waving back to them.
Surely they don’t wave to every single one of the ships that traverse the Suez Canal daily, but thanks to the gigantic smiling face painted on our bow we were probably a bit more interesting than your average MSC container ship. Also, probably a bit more likely to wave back; I’m not gonna lie, I was weirdly enthusiastic about the whole waving thing.
The Saltwater Lakes
Back to those fishing boats and the two seas that the canal connects.
Although the canal runs through the two Bitter Lakes, these were once completely dry basins, so it’s a completely man-made situation. There is no freshwater in this bad boy, oh no no no- this is a saltwater canal, filled entirely by the sea.
Not only did the construction of the Suez Canal make it quicker and easier for mankind to travel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, but it’s also made it quicker and easier for marine life to do the same. Very quickly, (compared to the normal pace of migration), species have begun to migrate from one sea to another, colonising their new found homes when it becomes clear that they can survive here.
For an idea of how the Panama Canal works: A Trip to the Panama Canal
This phenomena- the migration of species as a result of a human construction- is known as Lessepsian Migration- which is pretty darn tooting’ interesting if you ask me. De Lesseps strikes again!! Evidently he didn’t just play a part in the enabling of trade, but he had a butterfly effect on just about everything else in the area, too.
The Red Sea is far saltier and far less nutrient-rich than the Mediterranean, meaning that generally Red Sea species are far stronger. The cheeky little so-and-sos. So far there have been around 300 recorded Red Sea species which have managed to thrive in the Eastern Mediterranean, which is having a drastic impact on other species in the area. And now that the canal has been expanded and deepened in parts- to allow more traffic through, in the name of money money money– there is massive concern about the further effects it’ll have on the ecosystem here.
Boarding the ship in the Suez Canal
Ships never stop on a cruise through the Suez Canal- there’s no port to dock in- so although I spent a day sailing through Egypt, I’ve still never set foot on Egyptian soil.
But. People are allowed to board the ship as it sails through the canal.
It goes without saying that a pilot has to come on board. Every single port in the world has a pilot who knows the area well and comes on board ships making making their way into port. A little pilot boat speeds up alongside the ship, and then the pilot hops across from the tiny boat to the massive ship. Which seems heart-stoppingly terrifying to me, but these pilots are well-trained guys. In the case of the Suez Canal, there are a grand total of four pilots who come on board at different intervals of the length of the canal.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the pilots who clambered into our cruise ship home.
When I strolled in to crew mess after a rehearsal, an area had been commandeered to set up a makeshift market. A collection of Egyptian men had laid out all kinds of souvenirs on the dinner tables underneath a wall-mounted television. Strip-lighting illuminated the whole strange bazaar which had materialised in the middle of our ship’s crew, tucking into their midday meal. Incense, papyrus manuscript replicas, tiny statues of ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, beaded jewellery, paintings of the Nile, engraved pots and plenty of phone cases and selfie sticks were laid out for all to peruse.
It reminded me of when the book fair used to arrive in the school hall, except this was way more exciting.
The Great Bitter Lake and the Yellow Fleet
By the time we reached the Great Bitter Lake, the sky was bright blue and the heat was even more intense. Unfortunately I still had to squint as every time I went back downstairs I forgot to get my sunglasses. It was painful but brilliant.
We could see more and more roads and the odd city, with blocks of apartments, statues and the silhouettes of mosques punctuating the skyline.
The Great Bitter Lake is the larger of the two lakes on the Suez Canal, and it blew my mind to discover that in the 1960s a convoy of container ships became trapped in the very same place. And I don’t mean ‘delayed for a short while.’ These fifteen ships- all with crews of different nationalities- were imprisoned here for eight whole years.
Eight years is a pretty long time to be sitting ducks in the middle of a war zone. Let’s face it.
The whole sorry shebang came about in 1967 when Israel and Egypt got into a fight. Israel managed to occupy the Sinai peninsula (which is the part of Egypt to the east of the Suez Canal.) The ships had already begun their journey North when Egypt-not wanting Israel to gain access or control- decided to close the Suez Canal completely. The convoy was blockaded in to the Great Bitter Lake while for six days planes swooped overhead, dropping bombs on their opposing sides.
More ship-tales: Journey to Jamaica
Although the ‘Six Day War’ only technically lasted for six days, tensions remained high and nobody really knew what to do about the canal. After a few months, Egypt opened an air corridor between Cairo and Athens, allowing the ships to rotate their crews every four months. The ships had to be maintained so that when the Suez Canal reopened, they were ready to sail home. The fine desert sand which gradually built up on the ships gave them a yellowish tinge, leading to the nickname ‘The Yellow Fleet.’
The merchant seamen of the Yellow Fleet did a great job of making the best out of a bad situation. They formed the Great Bitter Lakes Association, held their own Olympic Games complete with lifeboat races, and created their own postage stamps for the makeshift country. The crews shared their cargos to ensure no-one went hungry, and regularly visited each others’ ships for social visits. The Swedish ship had a pool, church services were held on one of the German ships, and one of the Bulgarian ships showed movies on board.
Even today, life on a ship has its faults. But one of the best things about it is the sense of community, for sure. The seamen of the Yellow Fleet did an amazing job of creating this despite the unfortunate circumstances they found themselves in.
Leaving the Suez Canal
Eventually we reached the city of Suez and the twin minarets of the Al Badr mosque.
Suddenly the consistent straight path that we’d been on opened up into the Gulf of Suez. We made it out of the canal! I mean, we were obviously going to make it out of the canal all along. But it was still a cool feeling. Dotted across the sea in all directions were ships of all shapes and sizes, plenty of whom we’d just been travelling in convoy with.
The sun was just starting to set, burning the sky orange. The foghorn blared and we pushed on, towards Jordan.
Want to hear about more from cruise ship life and the big wide world?
Logistical Statisticals
- I was able to cruise through the Suez Canal as I was a crew member on the AidaBlu. If you’re a passenger looking to book a cruise through the Suez Canal, the best idea is to find a repositioning cruise. This will either be a ship changing its route from the Mediterranean to an Asian or African itinerary (normally around October/November) or vice versa, in Springtime.
- It’s normal for Egyptian vendors to come on board ships on this route, and on my ship- which is German- they all accepted Euros. I would guess the same goes for whatever currency your ship operates in.
- Don’t forget the flies.
Wow that must be such a cool and once-in-a-lifetime adventure! I never knew it’s even possible to do a cruise through the Suez canal. Would so love to do it one day 🙂
It looks like an adventure there! Thanks for sharing all the information it’s so useful!
That must have been a great adventure. I cruise the Nile in Egibt for a week and it was surreal as well. 🙂
OK the flies would be annoying but everything else about this sounds and looks great. Such a unique area to pass through and a big change as you make your way from Europe. The pirates though! That’s one thing I didn’t ever think about which is a little bit of a scary thought
Thanks for sharing your experience! This was one of the few routes I haven’t done as a crew member so it was great to vicariously live through your post and pictures!
What an interesting and cool experience! Although there isn’t a lot to see it seems pretty and relaxing. I’m sure those flies got annoying quick though. I’ve been to the Panama Canal and know it’s quite the production to go through booking a time slot ages before. I’d love to experience this one day!
What an enjoyable read!