Norwegian Cruise Line ‘thrilled’ to be back in African waters as 2023/24 season kicks off

Norwegian Cruise Line has expressed its joy at returning to South Africa for the tail-end of the 2023/24 cruise season, with Norwegian Dawn arriving in Cape Town from Mauritius on February 1st, and sailing a roundtrip voyage in SA waters.

Norwegian Dawn departed Cape Town on February 1st for a 12-night roundtrip cruise visiting Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richard’s Bay, and Durban in South Africa, as well as Luderitz and Walvis Bay in Namibia.

She’ll then sail an open-jaw itinerary to Mauritius on February 13th, followed by a return cruise to Cape Town, and then another roundtrip itinerary on March 8th. On March 20th, she’ll then depart for Barcelona up the West Coast of Africa.

Norwegian Cruise Line’s return to South Africa and the Indian Ocean comes after its first cruise season during 2022/23. This season is even longer, reflecting the growing demand for South Africa as a cruise destination. 

“We are thrilled to set sail once again in African waters after NCL’s successful 2022-23 cruise season out of Cape Town,” said Gary Anslow, Regional Vice President and Head of UK and Ireland. 

“For 2024, we’ve elevated our deployment to new heights,” he added. “We are offering not one, but two seasonal homeports, a myriad of roundtrip and jaw-dropping sailings and new-to-NCL destinations across the continent.”

“This cements NCL as the only contemporary cruise line to provide such a rich selection of destinations, ports, and homeports in the region,” he added.

During the 21-day repositioning sailing along Africa’s West Coast, Norwegian Dawn will visit Luanda, Angola; Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Banjul, Gambia and Dakar, Senegal for the very first time in the cruise line’s history.

Norwegian Dawn will return to homeport from Port Louis, Mauritius and Cape Town, South Africa in winter 2024/25 and 2025/26 with a similar set of itineraries.

Norwegian Cruise Line joins MSC Cruises, and luxury lines Silversea and Azamara in homeporting regularly in South Africa for the annual summer cruise season, although MSC Cruises primarily homeports out of Durban.

AIDA Cruises also homeported in Cape Town prior to the pandemic, but has not yet returned to the country, making Norwegian Cruise Line the only mainstream brand after MSC Cruises to homeport in the country during the annual cruise season.