New Regent Seven Seas cruise ship Explorer to cruise roundtrip from Cape Town in 2018

Regent Seven Seas Explorer has been being billed as one of the world’s most luxurious cruise ships since her launch six month ago and now Regent Seven Seas has confirmed the 750-passenger ship will cruise roundtrip from South Africa in December, 2018.

On November, 28th 2018 Seven Seas Explorer will operate a voyage down the west coast of Africa — a rarity in the cruise world, joining Saga Cruises as one of the first cruise lines to re-embrace the region following the Ebola outbreaks.

The luxury cruise ship will visit Senegal, Gambia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo as it cruises south on a 24-night journey from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa.

This cruise will also include stops in Sao Tome and Principe as well as Namibia. The Cape Verde Islands off the African coast also are on the itinerary as is Madeira Island and two stops in the Canary Islands.

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Fares for the voyage start at $15,399 per person with top suites costing in excess of $25,000 per person.

Of particular interest to the South African cruise market will be Seven Seas Explorer’s 15-night Cape Town to Cape Town cruise, featuring stops in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique. Fares for the voyage start at US $16,199 per person. Explorer will then sail a 14-night cruise from Cape Town to South America.

Very few cruise ships sail along the west coast of Africa. One of the only vessels from a major line making such a voyage this year is Silversea Cruises’ 132-passenger Silver Explorer. On a side note, Silversea is the first luxury cruise line in the world to commit to homeporting a ship in Cape Town for the 2017 cruise season.

MSC Cruises’ ship MSC Sinfonia, which homeports annually in the South African cruise market, is also is sailing along the west coast of Africa in 2017 but making few stops.

In fact, Sinfonia’s northward bound 21-night repositioning cruise from Cape Town to Venice in May this year features a weeklong stretch of days at sea as she cruises from Walvis Bay to Dhakar, one of the longest periods of consecutive sea days of all cruise ships sailing from Cape Town this year.

Regent on Wednesday also revealed that Explorer would spend the summer of 2018 in Europe. The vessel will operate a variety of seven- to 12-night voyages in the Mediterranean, North Sea and Baltic Sea. The voyages will include maiden calls at Portimao, Portugal; Lysekil, Sweden; and Bodo and Haugesund, Norway.

Christened in July in Monaco, Explorer is the most expensive luxury ship ever built and boasts one of the highest ratios of space to passengers in the history of cruising. The vessel features some of the largest, most elaborate accommodations at sea, including a single suite measuring 4,443-square-foot — nearly 50% larger than the average home in the USA.

Explorer also has a wide range of upscale eateries including new-for-the-line contemporary French and Asian restaurants, and a newly designed version of the line’s signature steakhouse, Prime 7. A stylish spa operated by Canyon Ranch; a two-tiered, 694-seat theater; and an opulent observation lounge that evokes the 1920s are other notable features.