Costa Cruises to sail from Cape Town for first time in 2024 on Dubai repositioning
Costa Cruises will offer a voyage from Cape Town, South Africa for the first time aboard one of its newest vessels in 2024 when Costa Smeralda s ails for Dubai in the UAE in November.
Costa Cruises is sending its 182,000 gross ton mega-ship Costa Smeralda to Dubai for the 2024/25 Middle East cruise season but will be repositioning via South Africa instead of the Suez Canal due to ongoing security concerns in the Red Sea.
The Italian cruise line will be offering another Cape Town departure in March, 2025 when Costa Smeralda repositions home to Europe following her Arabian Gulf season.
Both the November and March repositioning voyages are also bookable as full 36-day Genoa-Dubai and Dubai-Genoa itineraries.
These voyages will mark Costa Cruises’ first time sailing the coasts of Africa, and it has designed healthy programmes in partnership with Technogym, multi-day land experiences, two opportunities to observe equatorial and southern stars, as well as dining and entertainment experiences.
The first cruise departs Genoa on November 15th, 2024, and arrives in Dubai on December 21st, 2024. The second departs Dubai on March 1st, 2025, and returns to Genoa on April 7th, 2025.
The 36-day itinerary will circumnavigate Africa, sailing the West African coast, visiting Namibia (Walvis Bay) and South Africa (Cape Town and Port Elizabeth), as well as the Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), Mauritius, and Oman (Muscat).
The 17-day Cape Town-Dubai cruise aboard Costa Smeralda departs December 4th, 2024 and visits Port Elizabeth, Port Louis in Mauritius and Muscat in Oman before arriving in Dubai.
The 20-night Cape Town-Genoa cruise departs March 18th, 2025 and visits Walvis Bay in Namibia, Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Tangier in Morocco, and Barcelona and Corsica before arriving in Genoa.
The port-lean African portion of the itinerary reflects the lack of adequate cruise infrastructure on the West and East African coasts for large cruise ships such as Costa Smeralda, which is why most repositioning voyages of this kind, particularly by AIDA Cruises and MSC Cruises between Dubai and Europe, have been conducted without passengers.
Costa Cruises, however, is innovating, and has designed two ‘Sea Destinations’ events during the repositioning voyages dedicated to stargazing when the ship reaches the deepest, darkest parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The captain will introduce this experience, allowing the planets and constellations to be admired from a unique vantage point.
During her port calls in Walvis Bay, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and other destinations on the cruises, Costa Smeralda will also be offering a range of overland adventures to try and make up for the lack of ports of call.
These shore excursions include the usual day-long tours and experiences, as well as exclusive tours that extend over several days, with guests returning to the ship at the next port of call.
An example is a three-day experience on South Africa’s iconic Garden Route, the most famous scenic route on the African continent, which connects Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, among paradisiacal beaches, colourful lagoons, and lush forests.
There is also the option of a three-day safari to explore the wild heart of Southern Africa and observe the ‘Big Five’, the five great animals of the African savannah (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, and African buffalo), with an overnight stay in the wilderness.
Another option is a two-night exploration of the 7,500-hectare Lalibela Game Reserve near Port Elizabeth or a three-day tour of the Namibian desert out of Walvis Bay, staying in a luxurious 1920s-style safari camp.
In terms of the onboard experience, Costa Cruises will bring its ‘Costa Voyages’ experiences to the ship, offering guests on these special edition repositioning cruises similar entertainment and dining to its Grand Voyages.
Guests will enjoy desserts created exclusively for ‘Costa Voyages’ cruises by Costa’s pastry chefs in collaboration with Iginio Massari, the world-class master of Italian patisserie. During three elegant dinners in the main restaurants, guests will also be treated to a unique menu included in the fare and crafted by three distinguished chefs known for culinary excellence on Costa cruises: Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darroze and Ángel León.
Another event not to be missed is the traditional Banquet Night Party, a buffet accompanied by ice sculptures, carved by master ice carvers, and live DJ sets. ‘Costa Voyages’ also offer the opportunity to dine with the captain during a special formal night.
In terms of activities and entertainment during the cruise, there are dance lessons, art & craft workshops, photography lessons, behind the scenes guided tours of the ship, gala nights, fashion nights, glamour evenings, and production shows produced in collaboration with Rolling Stone magazine.
These record-breaking cruises from Cape Town mark the first time Costa Cruises has sailed from a South African port. While the cruise line has visited the country before, particularly on its World Cruise itineraries prior to the pandemic, Costa is one of the major brands that has never sailed regularly from South Africa.
These new itineraries therefore reflect the extent to which the Red Sea security crisis is positively impacting Cape Town, and helping the city re-claim its position as a historic shipping hub and modern cruise destination and departure port.
