Cunard Line has made history in South Africa with its first ever double port call on the continent when Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria both docked in Cape Town this week.

Queen Mary 2 arrived in Cape Town on April 11th, concluding her 30-day one-way trip from Hong Kong to Cape Town, with Queen Victoria arriving a day later as part of her 55-day one-way trip from Sydney to Southampton, England.

The double port call is seen as a major milestone for Cape Town and the South African cruise industry, and is another example of the ways in which SA is drawing indirect benefit from the ongoing Red Sea security crisis.

Cunard Line were forced to change Queen Mary 2’s voyage back to Europe by avoiding the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks on international shipping. This is the second time in three months that the ocean liner has docked in Cape Town.

Queen Mary 2 called in Cape Town earlier in the year as part of her World Cruise, she was due to sail for Europe via the Suez Canal and Dubai, but Cunard were forced to cancel her Dubai call and re-route the ship back to the UK via South Africa.

Queen Mary 2 will leave Cape Town on Saturday on a 16-day voyage back to her homeport of Southampton, while Queen Victoria will depart Friday on a similar itinerary via Walvis Bay, Namibia.

The double cruise calls by Cunard, and the wider increase in cruise calls in Cape Town during the previous two cruise seasons, brings major economic benefits to the Western Cape.

Wesgro CEO and official spokesperson for Cruise Cape Town, Wrenelle Stander, said: “We are immensely proud to welcome both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. This historic occasion underscores Cape Town and the Western Cape’s growing stature as a premier cruise destination, reflecting the efforts of all our partners in fostering the growth and sustainability of the industry.”

Cruise Cape Town is a private-public partnership to bolster competitiveness, drive economic growth, and generate employment opportunities within the cruise sector for Cape Town and the Western Cape.

The alliance includes Wesgro, the Western Cape Government, the City of Cape Town, Transnet Ports Authority, the V&A Waterfront, and the South African Maritime Safety Authority.

Each cruise ship visit generates a cash injection of several million rands, while officials estimate every 30 passengers coming ashore create a new job in the province.

Economic growth mayco member, James Vos, said the cruise tourism injected R1.2 billion into the provincial economy between November 2022 and May 2023.

The current 2023/24 season has seen 65 confirmed ship visits, attracting an estimated 90,000 two-way passengers and 38,000 crew members, an almost doubling of activity compared to pre-pandemic levels.

“This is great news because more tourists mean more jobs in the Province,” said Provincial MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Mireille Wenger. “With an expected 90,000 passengers in the 2023/24 cruise season, and based on Wesgro’s estimates, we know roughly 3,000 new permanent jobs have been created in this season alone.”

“As the Western Cape Government, we will continue to partner with the private sector to continue on our path to enable the kind of breakout economic growth we need to help create many more jobs across this wonderful and sought after province we proudly call home,” she added.