Azamara returns to South Africa for 2022/23 cruise season out of Cape Town

Azamara Cruises will be coming back to South Africa for the 2022/23 cruise season for the first time since the pandemic disruptions of the 2020 cruise season.

Azamara Journey will begin a series of six roundtrip 14-night voyages from Cape Town from December 20th, 2022.

These extended cruises will feature port calls at all of South Africa’s main cruise ports, as well as in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.

Shore excursion options include visits to the Addo Elephant National Park in Port Elizabeth, the beaches of East London and a few rounds on some of South Africa’s most luxurious golf courses with Azamara’s partner, PerryGolf.

The South African ports on these Cape Town itineraries include Port Elizabeth, East London, Richard’s Bay, and Durban. In Cape Town, the ship will spend two nights in port at the end of the cruise.

Azamara was forced to cancel its 2020/21 cruise season in South Africa due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while it tried again to sail a 2021/22 cruise season out of Cape Town the following year, but was forced to cancel again due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The variant was first reported in South Africa, leading major cruise source markets around the world to impose travel restrictions that forced most major cruise lines to pull out of the country. Only MSC Cruises was able to operate a season from Durban.

“With the travel and cruising industries continuing to take significant steps forward, we are thrilled to bring our guests deeper to explore even more hidden gems of the world on our four ships,” said Michael Pawlus, Azamara’s director of strategic itinerary and destination planning.

“Both South Africa and many South American countries are bucket-list travel destinations for travellers, and we look forward to our guests discovering the rich culture and local life of these unique destinations with Azamara,” he added.

Pawlus was referring to Azamara’s South American itineraries, which have also been revealed this week.

Azamara Pursuit arrives in Rio de Janeiro on December 16th and will then take in the city’s famous Carnival festivities before visiting various ports on South America’s picturesque coast.

Azamara’s South America itineraries will sail along the Antarctic Peninsula, the Beagle Channel and the Strait of Magellan, with stops in the Falkland Islands.