NORWEGIAN Cruise Line (NCL) – which successfully concluded its inaugural season sailing from Cape Town today (Thursday, January 26) on the Norwegian Jade – is seeing a growing demand for its cruises in South Africa.
On December 21, 2022, Norwegian Jade became the first vessel in the line’s 18-ship fleet to homeport from the South African port of Cape Town, offering international and local guests 12-day itineraries along the coast of South Africa and Namibia with an overnight stay in Cape Town and visits to Mossel Bay, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Richards Bay, Lüderitz and Walvis Bay.
Kevin Bubolz, NCL VP and MD Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa, pointed out that Americans (30.7%), followed by the UK (11.8%) and Canada were the top-three inbound source markets sailing on the 2 394-pax capacity ship.
2024 itineraries launched
Following the success of its inaugural Cape Town sailings this year, NCL has announced the deployment of Norwegian Dawn to the Southern African and Indian Ocean region for the 2023/2024 cruise season.
Homeporting from Cape Town and Port Louis, Mauritius, the 2 340-passenger ship will offer a series of Extraordinary Journey voyages between January and March 2024.
“Mauritius has long been a popular holiday destination for travellers visiting South Africa and Norwegian Dawn’s new itineraries provide for the perfect opportunity to combine a land-based vacation in Mauritius with a cruise that visits some of the most sought-after destinations in the neighbourhood, including Réunion, Madagascar and Mozambique, all while unpacking only once,” said Bubolz.
According to him, these new itineraries are amongst NCL’s fastest selling cruises for 2024.
In January. 20, 2024, Norwegian Dawn will embark on a 12-day itinerary from Port Louis, Mauritius, calling to Pointe des Galets, Réunion; Fort Dauphin (Toalagnaro), Madagascar; Pomene and Maputo, Mozambique; Richards Bay, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Mossel Bay and Cape Town.
On February 1 and March 8 it will complete 12-day roundtrip voyages through South Africa and Namibia with calls at Mossel Bay, Durban, Lüderitz and Walvis Bay before embarking on its most extensive itinerary on March 20, sailing from Cape Town to Barcelona, Spain.
The 21-day voyage along Africa’s west coast will visit ports in Namibia, Angola, São Tomé and Principe, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and Morocco.
The value of cruising
Cruise liners bring an estimated R100 million (€5.8m) in total estimated passenger spend per port visit, according to the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, James Vos.
“For every 12 cruise tourists, one job is created.”
According to Future Market Insights, the global cruising market is set to be appraised at US$17.4bn by 2032 – from the US$5.3bn recorded in 2022 – advancing at a compound average growth rate of 11.9% over the ten-year period.
