Africa emerging as new cruise hotspot amid Red Sea security concerns
As the security situation in the Red Sea prompts cruise lines to rethink their routes, Africa is growing in popularity as an emerging cruise destination.
From MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises and Princess, to Cunard Line, Silversea and Holland America Line, more and more cruise lines are choosing to cruise via Africa when repositioning between east and west, rather than through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
This has been driven by the deterioration in the security situation in the Red Sea since October last year, and looks set to continue into 2025, with Houthi rebels in Yemen showing no signs of letting up in their attacks on international shipping in the region. With a growing number of cruise lines calling in Africa for the first time, the continent is getting its time in the sun with the international cruise industry.
From the vibrant cities along the West African coast to the exotic shores of Madagascar and beyond, cruise tourists now have more opportunities than ever to explore the continent by sea. With new cruise terminals, increasing port calls, and ambitious itineraries, Africa is poised to claim a bigger slice of the global cruise market, and key destinations such as Cape Town in South Africa are wasting no time in taking advantage of the situation.
Westgro, the official tourism, trade, and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, has launched a Cruise Cape Town partnership with local business and government to harness and promote the immense potential of Cape Town and the Western Cape as a premier cruise destination.
The Western Cape is one of nine provinces in South Africa, which offers truly unique and diverse cruise tourism experiences from six ports along the South African coastline, and cruise tourism is seen as a way to bolster the local economy and promote broader exploration of Africa’s vast and diverse offerings.
Cape Town redeveloped the Cape Town Cruise Terminal several years ago, while Durban, the country’s second-largest port city, this year redeveloped and launched the Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal, which is primarily used by MSC Cruises on its annual summer homeporting season in the Indian Ocean.
South Africa has already benefited from 65 ship visits during the 2023/24 summer season, with more than 166 cruise calls scheduled for 2025. Other nations are also looking to diversify their tourism portfolios away from tourism safari income. Kenya opened a new cruise terminal in Mombasa in 2023, and is looking to cash in as cruise lines operate more voyages around the continent.
One of the most impressive itineraries featuring Africa this year is Seabourn’s Grand Africa Voyage in November, which will visit 42 destinations in 20 countries from Morocco to Madagascar during a 90-day grand voyage roundtrip out of Barcelona. This is a similar itinerary to Holland America’s own Grand Africa voyage in 2025, which features Cape Town as an embarkation port option.
The vast majority of the cruise itineraries featuring calls to or from African ports, however, call almost exclusively in Cape Town. This is because there are a number of hindrances to quick growth in the continental African cruise sector. Many African ports have inadequate tourism infrastructure, and visa and vaccination requirements can be onerous, while cruise tourism immigration procedures can also be problematic for many passengers, as exemplified by Norwegian Cruise Line’s recent season sailing alternate voyages between Cape Town and Mauritius.
Security is also a concern in many parts of Africa. Expedition companies such as Hurtigruten have pulled out of West Africa citing safety concerns in remote places, although Variety Cruises has resumed on the Gambia and Senegal rivers, and Swan Hellenic is expanding its West African itineraries out of Cape Town during the 2024/25 season and onwards, despite challenges due to security and inadequate infrastructure.
However, with the Red Sea a no-go zone for all major cruise lines, Africa is the only alternative when repositioning between Africa and Asia. As a result, more cruise ships are visiting an increasing number of mainstream cities along the West African and East African coast.
Oceania Cruises has a 27-day voyage departing from Barcelona in November 2024 that visits Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia, Ghana, Togo, Sao Tome and Namibia before arriving in Cape Town. The ship then sails onwards to Asia from the Mother City, calling in Madagascar and Tanzania along the way. Oceania is returning for an even more significant 2025/26 season, when its ship Sirena will sail a 25-day Africa voyage, and Nautica will homeport in Cape Town, sailing a series of five African voyages ranging from 11 to 30 days.
Azamara also sails the West African coast, where it visits similar ports of call. One itinerary in February 2025 makes a detour out to St Helena in the mid-Atlantic for those who want another unusual destination experience. The company also operates South Africa Intensive itineraries annually out of Cape Town, alongside Oceania and Norwegian Cruise Line.
South Africa is taking the lion’s share of the increase in cruise tourism around Africa as a result. MSC Cruises expects eight per cent growth a year in Africa over the next few years, largely driven by South Africa’s loyal home market, which has been sailing aboard an MSC ship annually since the 1990s. The company is by far the biggest cruise operator in Africa, accounting for a third of all African cruises thanks to its annual homeporting season in Durban.
Norwegian Cruise Line too operates an extensive African season, which earlier this year included a 12-day sailing between Port Louis and Cape Town with visits to Reunion, Madagascar and South Africa, and 12-day round-trip sailings from Cape Town to South African and Namibian ports, with a repeat performance scheduled for the 2024/25 season.
Smaller cruise lines such as Ponant are also now offering in-depth cruises that focus on Madagascar or the Tanzanian coast and Seychelles, while Viking has a new voyage this year, round-trip from Barcelona but taking in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, providing a new angle on the Mediterranean.
