Cruised through that canal 3 yrs ago coming from Dubai........The cruise ship, along with a 20 mile long line of other ships came through single file from the south headed to the Mediterranan. Ships coming from the other direction have to all be timed to meet in the middle of the canal where it is wide enough for all to pass. On the Egyptian side, guards in small huts lined the bank every 1 mile---armed with what looked like MP5 automatic weapons. At the same time, Egyptian helicopters hovered over head--- all to make sure there was no one "jumping ship". Believe it or not, I guess it happens. Captain would only tell us the toll was "several hundreds of thousands of dollars"---payable by wire in advance.
