Norwegian Cruise Line Celebrates First Cruise Season in South Africa and Namibia
Norwegian Jade - Cape Town © Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator in global cruise travel, celebrates a new milestone today having successfully concluded its inaugural season sailing from Cape Town, South Africa.
On Dec. 21, 2022, Norwegian Jade became the first vessel in the line’s 18-ship fleet to homeport from the South African port, offering international and local guests 12-day Extraordinary Journeys along the coast of South Africa and Namibia with an overnight stay in Cape Town, South Africa and visits to Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) and Richard’s Bay, South Africa; and Luderitz and Walvis Bay, Namibia.
The international cruise line is building on its successful inaugural season in South Africa and has recently announced the deployment of Norwegian Dawn to the region in winter 2024. Homeporting from Cape Town, South Africa and Port Louis, Mauritius, the 2,340-passenger ship will offer a series of Extraordinary Journey voyages between January and March 2024.
“As part of our Guest First philosophy we are focused on enhancing our destination offerings, providing our guests with more immersive itineraries that are designed to create memories of a lifetime. Our new Africa voyages are a testament to that, combining bucket-list locations such as Cape Town and Mauritius with hidden gems like Pomene and Maputo in Mozambique or Fort Dauphin in Madagascar. With an average of almost 12 hours in each port, allowing more time to fully experience these unforgettable destinations, the new voyages are already amongst our fastest selling cruises for 2024 and are attracting guests from almost 60 countries worldwide.”
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, comments: “Cruise tourism generates R300 million in economic impact for the Western Cape and supports thousands of jobs in the province. Positioning Cape Town as a homeport for international cruising and a gateway to Africa is a key growth opportunity for our region, and we welcome NCL’s commitment to sailing from Cape Town.”
On Jan. 3, 2024, Norwegian Dawn will embark on her 17-day repositioning cruise to the region, sailing for the first time in the Company’s 56-year history from Doha, Qatar to Mauritius. The itinerary provides for a unique combination of calls to the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Seychelles, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar.
On Jan. 20, 2024, she will then cruise a 12-day itinerary from Port Louis, Mauritius, calling to Pointe des Galets, Réunion; Fort Dauphin (Toalagnaro), Madagascar; Pomene and Maputo, Mozambique; Richard’s Bay, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), Mossel Bay and Cape Town, South Africa.
On Feb. 1 and March 8, 2024, Norwegian Dawn will complete 12-day roundtrip voyages through South Africa and Namibia with calls to Mossel Bay and Durban in South Africa, and Luderitz and Walvis Bay in Namibia, before embarking on her most extensive itinerary on March 20, sailing from Cape Town, South Africa to Barcelona, Spain. The 21-day voyage along Africa’s west coast will visit ports in Namibia, Angola, Sao Tome and Principe, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and Morocco.
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