Categories: SA Cruise News

Oceania sending Nautica to Cape Town for set of roundtrip SA cruises during 2019/2020 season

Oceania Cruises will be returning Nautica to South Africa during the 2019/2020 cruise season for a second set of roundtrip Cape Town cruises.

Nautica will homeport in Cape Town briefly during the upcoming 2018/19 cruise season as well, according to cruise itinerary information released by the cruise line.

During the 2019/2020 season, Nautica will sail two identical 14-night cruises out of Cape Town. She will make port calls in Maputo in Mozambique, and Port Elizabeth, Richard’s Bay, East London and Durban in South Africa.

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Walvis Bay in Namibia will also be included in the itinerary, giving cruise passengers a truly destination-intensive taste of Southern Africa.

The first of these 14-night roundtrip Cape Town cruises will depart on January 6th, 2020. The second will depart from Cape Town on January 20th, 2020.

Walvis Bay and Cape Town are the last two ports of call, and in both Nautica will stay overnight in port, giving guests a full two days to explore both locations.

Oceania Nautica is one of Oceania Cruises’ quartet of four identical cruise ships (the others being Regatta, Sirena and Insignia). At just 180m and carrying 690 passengers, these cruise ships emphasise small-scale, personalised service and luxury at sea.

Oceania Cruises have gone for an elegant, understated and luxurious approach to cruising across their fleet, but the four R-class cruise ships are particularly special as they’re part of the cruise industry chapter before it started chasing ever-larger tonnage volumes.

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Nautica for example was built in 2000, but this 18-year-old liner feels anything but old. She’s been thoroughly refurbished throughout her service career, and in fact her two roundtrip Cape Town cruises will be one of the last chances for the South African market to see her in her current guise.

Nautica is due for her most comprehensive facelift yet a few months after her South African cruise deployment.

Oceania will completely overhaul its R-class cruise liners in a US $100-million project called OceaniaNEXT. The cruise ships will go from having a country house feel, to being uber-modern and chic.

Nautica and her sister ships will get overhauled public spaces and completely new staterooms. You can see the initial renderings and find out more about the project here.

After her two roundtrip Cape Town cruises, Nautica will cruise from Cape Town for Singapore on February 3, 2020.

The 30-night grand voyage calls in several South African ports (Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban and Richard’s Bay) as well as the exotic islands of the Indian Ocean and historic ports of Southeast Asia.

Shaun Ebelthite

Founder and editor of Cruise Arabia & Africa. I try to create the best news and information specifically for cruise passengers taking cruises to and from Dubai (where I live) and South Africa (where I was born). You can contact me at shaun(at)cruisearabiaonline.com.

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