For the first time ever, four cruise lines will be homeporting in South Africa for the 2019/2020 winter cruise season, sailing roundtrip out of Cape Town and Durban.

While South Africa has been a popular seasonal cruise destination and source market for MSC Cruises since the 1990s, next year will mark the first time that it has been joined for a full cruise season by another line.

AIDA Cruises – AIDAmira

AIDA Cruises are deploying their new cruise ship AIDAmira out of Cape Town, cruising 14-night roundtrip cruises with a destination-intensive itinerary that takes in Port Elizabeth, East London, and Durban in SA, and Walvis Bay and Luderitz in Namibia.

AIDAmira is the first cruise ship AIDA Cruises has ever homeported in SA

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AIDAmira will cruise from Cape Town on 14 of these cruises, each of them with an identical itinerary, between December and March.

Oceania Cruises – Nautica

Oceania Cruises are sending their luxury cruise liner Nautica back to South Africa for a second set of roundtrip Cape Town cruises in January.

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Nautica will sail two identical 14-night cruises out of Cape Town. These cruises will be similar to AIDA Cruises’, but with Maputo in Mozambique included, as well as port calls in Port Elizabeth and Richard’s Bay, in addition to Cape Town, East London, Durban, and Walvis Bay.

Azamara Club Cruises – Azamara Quest

Azamara Cruises will be sending their luxury cruise ship Azamara Quest to South Africa as well, cruising roundtrip from Cape Town three times in January and February, 2020.

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These 10-night roundtrip Cape Town cruises are actually marketed by Azamara as ‘South African intensive’ voyages, and they aren’t kidding.

Azamara Quest will visit Port Elizabeth, Richard’s Bay, Durban, and East London and will spend two nights in port in Cape Town at the end of the cruise. It’s worth noting as well that all of these port calls are early morning late night departures, apart from East London, which is a 1pm arrival and 7pm departure.

MSC Cruises – MSC Orchestra

MSC Cruises will of course be homeporting in South Africa again for the 2019/2020 cruise season, with MSC Orchestra replacing MSC Musica on roundtrip cruise itineraries out of Durban.

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MSC Orchestra will sail a variety of 2-night cruises to nowhere, 3-night cruises to Portuguese Island and 4-night cruises to Barra Lodge and MSC’s new cruise beach Pomene Bay.