Phoenix Reisen to cruise West Africa voyage from Cape Town in 2023

The German cruise line Phoenix Reisen will cruise a grand voyage up the coast of West Africa from Cape Town in 2023.

The vintage cruise liner Artania will depart Cape Town on February 26th, 2023 bound for Dakar, the bustling capital of Senegal.

The nearly-30-year old cruise ship offers a relaxed, laid-back cruise experience more akin to the ocean liners of old than today’s resort-at-sea cruise ships, and the itinerary features 10 ports of call, including 4 in South Africa.

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On the first night of the cruise, Artania will stay overnight in port in Cape Town, departing the following evening at 9pm for Durban, spending three nights and two days cruising up the South African Wild Coast.

After Durban, Artania will cruise back the way she came, calling in East London the following day, and Port Elizabeth the day after that.

She’ll then head up the coast of Africa toward Namibia, calling in Luderitz and Walvis Bay, both former German colonial territories.

After another three nights at sea, Artania will arrive in Luanda, Angola, before cruising through the night and following day to reach Principe in Sao Tome and Principe.

Banjul in Gambia, the smallest country in Africa, is the penultimate stop of the cruise before the ship arrives in Dakar, Senegal on March 20th.

While Artania was launched back in 1984, she was fully renovated in 2017, so she’s a grand old lady, but has been kept in reasonable shape by Phoenix Reisen.

This 44,500-gross ton, 1,200-passenger ship offers all-outside cabins with a panoramic window or private balcony, and several dining options across her half dozen cafes, bars and restaurants. Lunch and dinner are also served on the sun terrace or at outside pool area.

Afternoon coffee and tea is served daily, along with a variety of seets and pastries in the lobby cafe. Dinner service is assigned seating for the duration of the cruise, with two seatings as is tradition. Speaking of tradition, Phoenix Reisen also carries on the tradition of the midnight buffet.

There are also a variety of entertainment options and activities throughout the day, and an evening theatre performance every night, but as Phoenix Reisen is a German cruise line, everything onboard is geared to the German cruise market, with German the primary language spoken onboard.