Durban Harbour
MSC Cruises have revealed details of MSC Orchestra’s inaugural cruise season in South Africa, sailing roundtrip from Durban in the Indian Ocean between November, 2019 and April, 2020.
MSC Orchestra is a sister ship to MSC Musica, which replaced the much smaller MSC Sinfonia in the South African cruise market for the upcoming 2018/2019 cruise season.
Orchestra is a sister ship to Musica, both the largest cruise ships ever to homeport in Durban.
RELATED: Durban beachfront redevelopment progressing well says municipality
RELATED: MSC adds Pomene Bay in Mozambique to South African cruise itineraries
Orchestra will cruise a near-identical itinerary to Musica, with a slimmed down selection of cruise destinations that include MSC Cruises’ new beach destination Pomene Bay and the ever-popular Portuguese Island.
4-day Pomene Bay cruise
Pomene Bay will be included on MSC Orchestra’s 4-day roundtrip Durban cruises, while Portuguese Island will be included on all 3-day cruises.
3-day Portuguese Island cruise
If you want to visit both on the same cruise, you’ll have to book one of three 5-night cruises from Durban aboard MSC Orchestra.
One of these 5-night cruises (departing December 23rd, 2020) is the annual Christmas cruise, while on December 28th, MSC Orchestra will cruise from Durban on her 11-night New Year voyage to Mauritius and Reunion.
Pomene Bay features heavily in MSC Orchestra’s roundtrip Durban cruise season.
RELATED: MSC confident Musica will become South Africa’s “new darling”
RELATED: Best roundtrip Cape Town cruises in 2019/2020 season
After spending three days at sea, Orchestra will stay overnight in port for two nights before cruising overnight to Reunion, where she will spend a further two days, before heading home for Durban.
11-night New Year Cruise
In early January, MSC Orchestra will also cruise from Durban to Cape Town (January 8th, 2020) to cruise two roundtrip Cape Town voyages to Namibia.
5-day Cape Town to Namibia
The first is a 5-day cruise visiting Walvis Bay and Ludertiz, while the second is a 4-day voyage to Walvis Bay.
4-day Cape Town to Namibia
She’ll then cruise back to Durban to round-off the cruise season with alternating 3 and 4-day cruises to Portuguese Island and Pomene Bay respectively.
With these itineraries, MSC Cruises are betting on Pomene Bay proving as popular with the South African cruising public as Portuguese Island has for the past few years.
“The addition of Pomene Bay will give guests more reasons to cruise with MSC Cruises,” says Ross Volk, managing director, MSC Cruises SA. “Portuguese Island represents a day of fun and festivities, Pomene Bay will enhance the cruise experience with an element of tranquillity, serenity and discovery, bringing something fresh and exciting to our itineraries.”
You can find out more details about MSC Cruises’ upcoming South African itineraries here, and don’t forget to let us know what you think!
AmaWaterways has released the first images of its newest Nile river ship, AmaNubia, ahead of…
Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled the farewell voyage of Norwegian Sky as continued security concerns…
Crystal has confirmed that its contract with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for a third next-generation ocean…
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has launched a new fleetwide pastry training programme in partnership with…
Carnival Cruise Line has introduced complimentary nacho bowls at BlueIguana Cantina aboard six ships as…
Cruise Saudi, the parent company of AROYA Cruises, has launched the third edition of its…