Norwegian Cruise Line celebrated the completion of its inaugural season sailing from Cape Town, South Africa, according to a press release.

On December 21, 2022, the Norwegian Jade became the first ship in the cruise line’s fleet to homeport from the South African port, offering 12-day voyages along the coast of South Africa and Namibia. The voyages include an overnight stay in Cape Town, South Africa and visits to Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) and Richard’s Bay, South Africa; and Luderitz and Walvis Bay, Namibia.

“As part of our Guest First philosophy we are focused on enhancing our destination offerings, providing our guests with more immersive itineraries that are designed to create memories of a lifetime,” said Gary Anslow, head of UK business at Norwegian Cruise Line.

“Our new Africa voyages are a testament to that, combining bucket-list locations such as Cape Town and Mauritius with hidden gems like Pomene and Maputo in Mozambique or Fort Dauphin in Madagascar. With an average of almost 12 hours in each port, allowing more time to fully experience these unforgettable destinations, the new voyages are already amongst our fastest-selling cruises for 2024 and are attracting guests from almost 60 countries worldwide.”

Additionally, the cruise line has recently announced the deployment of the Norwegian Dawn to the region in the winter of 2024. Homeporting from Cape Town, South Africa and Port Louis, Mauritius, the ship will offer a series of Extraordinary Journey sailings between January and March 2024.

On February 1 and March 8, 2024, the Norwegian Dawn will complete 12-day roundtrip voyages through South Africa and Namibia with calls to Mossel Bay and Durban in South Africa, and Luderitz and Walvis Bay in Namibia. This will be followed by a more extensive itinerary departing on March 20 sailing from Cape Town, South Africa to Barcelona, Spain.

Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said: “Cruise tourism generates R300 million in economic impact for the Western Cape and supports thousands of jobs in the province. Positioning Cape Town as a homeport for international cruising and a gateway to Africa is a key growth opportunity for our region, and we welcome NCL’s commitment to sailing from Cape Town.”