Following a long full-day transit of the 120-mile, sea-level canal linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, your ship passes Port Said and enters the European realm. Water at this end of the canal typically flows northward from the Great Bitter Lake in winter and southward in summer. As your ship leaves the canal, you begin to detect the barely perceptible motion of the great sea beneath the hull, and the engine sound may accelerate slightly, heightening your anticipation. Raise your glass the another milestone passed, and to the exciting adventures that lie ahead.