Hapag-Lloyd Cruises reveals Cape Town and wider African itineraries for 2027/28

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises has unveiled 28 new itineraries for the final quarter of 2027 and early 2028, with an expanded African programme, including new routes from Cape Town and through the Indian Ocean. 

The newly announced voyages span the company’s fleet of five luxury and expedition vessels, offering an expanded footprint in both warm-water and polar regions.

A key highlight is HANSEATIC nature’s new 16-day sailing from Cape Town to Mahe, Seychelles, departing November 22nd, 2027. The itinerary calls at several South African ports, including Hermanus, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), Durban, and Richards Bay, before visiting Nacala in Mozambique and continuing through the Indian Ocean with calls in Mayotte and the Seychelles. 

The route explores some of the continent’s most remote and ecologically rich coastlines, offering Zodiac excursions and expert-led landings in areas often inaccessible to larger vessels.

The voyage is part of a broader series of HANSEATIC nature expeditions operating between West Africa and the Indian Ocean. 

Departing from Hamburg and sailing via Madeira and Ghana, these cruises offer opportunities to explore cocoa farms in Takoradi, mangrove ecosystems in Mozambique, and the atolls and wildlife of Madagascar and the Seychelles. 

The African expedition series represents a growing interest in warm-water exploration in regions that are traditionally underserved in the global cruise industry.

MS EUROPA also returns to African waters with a six-cruise series that links West and South Africa with Indian Ocean islands. One itinerary traces a course from Hamburg to Mallorca and Tenerife, before arriving in South Africa and continuing on to Mauritius. 

A Christmas cruise follows from Mauritius to Sri Lanka via Reunion, the Seychelles and the Maldives.

Further afield, MS EUROPA 2 will make its debut in Galveston and Tampa as part of its Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico programme. 

After exploring the fjords of Norway and northern Scotland, the ship will cross the Atlantic to North America and cruise between Nassau and Miami from November 21st to December 7th, 2027.

In polar waters, HANSEATIC inspiration and HANSEATIC spirit will continue the line’s Antarctic operations, offering four expedition voyages of up to 22 days. 

These include visits to the Weddell Sea, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, with landings by Zodiac and lectures by biologists, glaciologists, and historians.