Gran Canaria to Cape Town

[KennyMandy]

We are newbies to Azamara and looking to book a cruise between Gran Canaria and Cape Town (or vice versa).  This looks to be a repositioning cruise, with some interesting stops in West Africa, but also a lot of sea days.  The price at the moment seems high for such a repositioning cruise (compared to other Azamara cruises), but I guess if it's a popular cruise, then the law of supply and demand comes into play.  For us, visiting Saint Helena would be a highlight, and there are not many cruise lines going there.

 

Has anyone done this cruise, and if so, what feedback do you have?  

 

[blag]

I think this is similar,  but different, to the Lisbon - Cape Town/ Cape Town - Lisbon cruises. I don't think Azamara have offered this exact itinerary previously.

We're due to go Cape Town - Lisbon on March 4 (27 days from now!).

I'll give you feedback after, but these cruises are popular.

We booked several years ago, almost as soon as it became available, and the current price for our category N1 suite (one still available, I think) is more than twice what we paid!

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, KennyMandy said:

We are newbies to Azamara and looking to book a cruise between Gran Canaria and Cape Town (or vice versa).  This looks to be a repositioning cruise, with some interesting stops in West Africa, but also a lot of sea days.  The price at the moment seems high for such a repositioning cruise (compared to other Azamara cruises), but I guess if it's a popular cruise, then the law of supply and demand comes into play.  For us, visiting Saint Helena would be a highlight, and there are not many cruise lines going there.

 

Has anyone done this cruise, and if so, what feedback do you have?  

 

I have done Cape Town to Montecarlo some years ago on the now bankrupt Crystal Cruises. It was quite interesting. I am not sure if there are the same ports. We were in Walwis Bay, Luderitz, Ghana, Santa Helena, Cape Verde and then the Canary Islands. I have enjoyed it. 
Ivi

[irvington]

I was looking at this primarily because of the St. Helena stop, but yes a lot of sea days.

[englishlee]

I have not done this exact itinerary (but will be doing Cape Town to Gran Canaria in Feb 2024) but we have been to St Helena on a previous cruise. Be aware that St Helena is one of those ports of call which can often get cancelled due to weather as it's a tender port with little shelter.

We got ashore and had a great and interesting time but getting back to the ship was an adventure in it's own right. The weather had changed which meant that the ships tenders could not get to the dock and so we had to catch local boats mid way to the ship and then transfer to the ships tenders en-route, fine for us but difficult for some. So if you're planning this trip specifically to visit St Helena be aware that you may end up disappointed.

[irs101]

On 2/14/2023 at 8:51 AM, englishlee said:

Be aware that St Helena is one of those ports of call which can often get cancelled due to weather as it's a tender port with little shelter.

 

Sorry to go all the way back to this old post, but thought people might be interested to know that St Helena now has a wharf that, if needed, can be used by cruise tenders to provide shelter. It's in Rupert's Valley, the industrial port in the next valley to Jamestown, so not the nicest way to 'arrive' - but it's now much more likely that you'll get ashore and be able to go on your tours at least.

[englishlee]

Good to know. Although it'll be a pain getting a shuttle to Jamestown (assuming they put them on) the original tender point was a pleasant stroll to the main strip.

[Grandma Cruising]

Just had a look at the itinerary on the website for the Capetown to Canaries in February 24 and it says we are docked in St Helena, rather than tendered.

[beatnix]

Also for our cruise Gran Canaria to Capetown St. Helena is announced docked. 

[Lazy Sailor]

We did Lisbon to Capetown last year and it was all a bit chaotic with respect to ports of call, visa and vaccination requirements (at the sub-Sahara African ports that is) and a port pilots strike in Lisbon delaying the start! So the different itinerary this year is no surprise - and it looks better. That said, we ejoyed the cruise and the experience. A great voyage to talk about when you get home . ( Check carefully requirements for Senegal and the Gambia - they seem to change quite frequently in that region, and last year Azamara were not well prepared, especially with respect to Yellow Fever requirements, vaccination exemption letter requirements etc.. Hopefully they have learned the lessons, but check then check again.)

[irs101]

On 7/31/2023 at 6:43 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

Just had a look at the itinerary on the website for the Capetown to Canaries in February 24 and it says we are docked in St Helena, rather than tendered.

 

Very unlikely - it's really only built for relatively shallow draft cargo ships. Most cruise ships are longer and deeper than the wharf can take (think it's about 120m long). Might be possible for one of the smaller expedition ships, but even the RMS St Helena would only have been able to get in there at high tide. 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, irs101 said:

 

Very unlikely - it's really only built for relatively shallow draft cargo ships. Most cruise ships are longer and deeper than the wharf can take (think it's about 120m long). Might be possible for one of the smaller expedition ships, but even the RMS St Helena would only have been able to get in there at high tide. 

Thanks for the heads-up

[tiggertom]

On 2/5/2023 at 10:07 AM, KennyMandy said:

We are newbies to Azamara and looking to book a cruise between Gran Canaria and Cape Town (or vice versa).  This looks to be a repositioning cruise, with some interesting stops in West Africa, but also a lot of sea days.  The price at the moment seems high for such a repositioning cruise (compared to other Azamara cruises), but I guess if it's a popular cruise, then the law of supply and demand comes into play.  For us, visiting Saint Helena would be a highlight, and there are not many cruise lines going there.

 

Has anyone done this cruise, and if so, what feedback do you have?  

 

If this is November 2024 we’ll be sailing with you. I have to say that St Helena was a selling point but not the be all and end all. Also, after 12 years of sailing with Azamara, we finally get to board Quest! We enjoy the sea days and do many transatlantic crossings and Azamara provide plenty of activities to keep us entertained.