MZANZI ISSUE 16

Sea Travel
It’s summer, which means it’s cruise season along South Africa’s
2,800km-long coastline and onwards to Namibia, Mozambique and
the Indian Ocean islands beyond. So, for the ultimate getaway this
summer, get on board any one of a number of fabulous cruise ships
for an unforgettable experience.
If you have never before experienced the let-your-hair-down, nonstop-fun-in-the-sun
treat of a cruise on board a giant floating 5-star
hotel, this summer may be the time to do so. A number of cruise
ship companies each year send a number of their ships this way for
the South African summer cruise season. This season they will offer
dozens of different cruise packages providing thousands of tourists
with the opportunity to enjoy a holiday option that has become one
of the most popular in the world.
The South African cruise ship season runs from November until
April. As part of the local tourism sector, the demand for cruise
ship holidays has grown in leaps and bounds, in line with the cruise
sector’s phenomenal growth worldwide. So popular has this become
with South Africans that the brand-new Durban Cruise Port Terminal
costing more than R200-million is currently being built. It is scheduled
to open in 2021. The Port of Cape Town already upgraded its passenger
ship terminal in 2017, with most ships now docking at this terminal
in the world-famous V&A Waterfront section.
Floating hotels
These giant multi-storied floating hotels with their multiple decks,
swimming pools, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, deck games, theatres,
boutiques, non-stop entertainment and staff that cater for your every
whim, are criss-crossing the oceans with stops at the most exotic
locations. And that will be their mission in local waters too this summer.
During the local season the ports of Cape Town and Durban serve as
home ports for a number of cruise ships that offer cruise packages
ranging from three to fourteen nights. These can take you anywhere
from going on a trip to nowhere (out to the middle of the ocean and
back), or just up the coast to the next port of call. Alternatively you
can travel all along the South African coast to the Namibian ports of
Luderitz and Walvis Bay, or up along the Mozambican coast visiting
various little islands, or across to the islands of Madagascar, Reunion,
Seychelles or Mauritius. There are also much longer cruises that go,
for instance, all the way to Croatia.
To give you an idea of its popularity, the Port of Cape Town was host to
22 passenger liners this past season, while Durban and Port Elizabeth
both welcomed 15, Richards Bay and East London had seven each,
and Mossel Bay had four visiting cruise ships. For this 2019/2020
season, some 30 vessels are expected to make 49 stops in Cape
Town, with even more ships scheduled for the following season.
Gone are the early days of cruise ship tours in South African waters
when the ships were generally old and tatty, and sometimes not so
safe, as the sinking of the Greek-owned Oceanos in 1991 and the
Itialian-owned Achille Lauro in 1994 attested. Being 39 and 48 years
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