Norwegian Jade to return to Cape Town for 2023 summer season

Norwegian Cruise Line is returning Norwegian Jade to Cape Town again in 2023, marking its second South African cruise season from the Mother City if the 2022 plans go ahead.

Norwegian Jade will sail four cruises from Cape Town in December, 2022 and January, 2023, three of which will be roundtrip itineraries.

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Norwegian Jade is also scheduled to homeport in Cape Town in January, 2022, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dampened expectations of those cruises going ahead.

Norwegian Jade was meant to sail a similar South African cruise season in 2021, but the pandemic scrapped those plans.

The first cruise of the 2022/23 season will be on December 21st, 2022, a 12-night itinerary visiting Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richard’s Bay and Durban in South Africa, as well as Luderitz and Walvis Bay in Namibia.

She’ll stay overnight in Cape Town on the first night of the cruise, and in Richard’s Bay, giving passengers more time to experience the wildlife and nature reserves of South Africa’s Zululand and Maputaland regions.

Norwegian Jade will sail the same itinerary again on January 2nd and 14th, 2023, before departing Cape Town on January 26th bound for Dubai in the Arabian Gulf.

This 18-night deep ocean voyage will call in Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth and Richard’s Bay on the South African coast, as well as the Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles and Madagascar.

Once she reaches the Arabian Gulf, the ship will call in Muscat, Khasab and Abu Dhabi before arriving in Dubai on February 13th, 2023.

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Norwegian Cruise Line hasn’t confirmed whether Norwegian Jade will be back in South Africa again for a similar set of itineraries in 2024, but its highly likely, given the growing appeal of South Africa as a cruise destination.

During an interview in mid-2021, Nick Wilkinson, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Vice President and Managing Director for the UK and Ireland, the Middle East and Africa, said demand for the South African cruises came from a wide variety of markets.

“You know, the great thing about those itineraries is they have global demand,” he said. “So it’s a real mix ofAmericans, Australians, Japanese, British and European, as well as South African guests of course.”

“It’s a cruise itinerary with real international demand,” he said.