We did Rome to Dubai so pretty close to the same itinerary. The main hook for us were the two stops in Egypt, Alexandria to get to Cairo and Safaga to get to Luxor, and a stop in Aqaba to get to Petra. I agree with 747FC that the slow cruise through the Suez Canal was fascinating. Having been through the Panama Canal I can now say I’ve done them both.

We transited the Suez in late November and the weather was perfect. Not too hot but we live in San Antonio, Texas so pretty used to warm. We spent probably 10+ hours on the pool deck playing gin rummy and just enjoying the transit. Kind of interesting was the starboard side had views of relatively lush farm land while the port side view was mostly desolate desert. There are guard stations up and down the canal and often the guards would rush out and take selfies with our ship in the background. I also enjoyed identifying the points where certain Israeli-Egyptian battles or canal crossings took place. Our on-ship lecturer would occasionally get on the loudspeaker system and point out points of interest. It was pretty balanced and he didn’t go on and on. You can see some of the canal on our website: Egypt Cruise 2017 - The Ship

I don’t think Silversea or Seabourn, or any other cruise line for that matter, do Rome or Athens to Dubai or vice versa on a repetitive basis during a season. These are usually are bookable segments of “world” cruises and typically happen in the Med shoulder months either in the early spring or early fall. In our case we were on Silversea’s Spirit in late November/early December and caught her exiting the Med to the east for what would be her partial winter season in the Indian Ocean and western Asia. Even that was a bit of a strange and one-off season as the Spirit made the reverse trip about 80-90 days later. She was coming back into the Med in basically the off season for the Med for an extensive renovation that included cutting the ship in half and adding a 50-foot section.

We did see the Celebrity Constellation at a number of our stops and she eventually was docked behind us in Dubai. Not being interested in Celebrity or any large ship line I didn’t research their itinerary so don’t know where they started, stopped, or how long was the cruise. Actually what struck me at the time was me wondering how they darkened that large ship to get through the Somali pirate zone. On our ship all external lights were turned off except those required for navigation. All the drapes were closed and the decks were basically off limits from sunset to sunrise the next day. Our ship didn’t but I know some cruise lines go as far as to hire SWAT-like security teams for transmitting the pirate zone. We might not have as just before sunset I saw an Indian Navy destroyer take up position a couple hundred yards to our starboard aft. I assume they stayed there through the night but were gone early in the morning.

I see Celebrity does have a cruise but the itinerary I saw this morning did not stop in Egypt which was a major driver for us picking the Rome to Dubai cruise. I think it stops Aqaba so at least a trip to Petra is possible.

It certainly could be the larger ships feel safer just in terms of size. The Constellation was about a day behind us so no eyes on to see if she went dark. Our captain said the captain of the Indian destroyer advised or directed we go dark. I think the Constellation has a higher top speed than the Spirit which may also be a factor. I know the Spirit took on security guards on her return trip through the pirate zone so maybe didn’t have the close by naval support. I’ve heard of other ships doing the going dark routine. One thing was we had a heck of a organized on deck “We Survived the Pirates” party the next night. A band, dancers, singers, most of the senior staff, food, and of course the alcohol flowing freely.....it is an all-inclusive line. 👍😀

I used “world” in quotes because I was lazy this morning and didn’t have the energy to research exactly what ship and cruise lines were doing the Suez. I agree some are probably doing the transit as part of a true world cruise while others it’s just a cruise as part of a seasonal repositioning.