The islands of the Indian Ocean, from Mauritius and Reunion to the Seychelles and the Maldives, play a huge part in the popularity of cruises from Cape Town, South Africa.
Most cruises from Cape Town (apart from the roundtrip ones offered by MSC Cruises each season) are part of a world cruise leg or grand voyage offered by one of the world’s luxury cruise lines, with the Indian Ocean islands as one of the key destinations on routes spanning the African coast and Southeast Asia.
The Seychelles (top left), Mauritius (top right) and Maldives (bottom) are the three key Indian Ocean cruise destinations for cruises from Cape Town and Dubai.
The appeal of the Indian Ocean islands is primarily the water, not only the sparkling lagoons, private beaches, and coral reefs, but also the role that these waters have played in the history of some of the world’s mighty ancient empires, from the British to the French and the Persians.
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The Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius and Reunion attract people from all over the world. Underwater, you can spot sea life such as manta rays and giant whale sharks during a snorkel or dive trip, and on land you can meet locals of some the friendliest of island nations and discover how these little land masses shaped history.
Here are our top selections of the best cruises from Cape Town, South Africa, and Dubai in the UAE, to the islands of the Indian Ocean in 2018 and 2019. (All cruise itinerary pictures below are courtesy CruiseTimetables.com)
Cruises from Cape Town to Mauritius, Maldives or Seychelles in 2018 and 2019
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Date: 4 November to 16 November (2018)
Cruise Line: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises
Cruise Ship: Europa 2
Number of Nights: 12
Name of itinerary: Cape Town – Mauritius (From one paradise to the next)
Ports of call: Cape Town, South Africa (04 Nov d2000); Port Elizabeth, South Africa (06 Nov 0800-1800); Durban, South Africa (07 Nov 2100(+1)2000); Richard’s Bay, South Africa (09 Nov 0700(+1)1300); Fort Dauphin, Madagascar (13 Nov 0700-1700); Saint-Denis, Reunion (15 Nov 0700-1800); Port Louis, Mauritius (16 Nov a0600)
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Date: 14 November to 28 November or 14 November to 23 December (2018)
Cruise Line: Phoenix Reisen
Cruise Ship: Amadea
Number of Nights: 15 or 39
Name of itinerary: 15 Nacht Sudafrika intensive
Ports of call: Cape Town, South Africa (14 Nov embark(+1)d1700); Mossel Bay, South Africa (16 Nov 1300(+1)1700); Port Elizabeth, South Africa (18 Nov 0800-1800); East London, South Africa (19 Nov 0700-1300); Durban, South Africa (20 Nov 0800-2200); Richard’s Bay, South Africa (21 Nov 0700-1800); Maputo, Mozambique (22 Nov 1100-2000); Fort Dauphin, Madagascar (25 Nov 0700-1700); Saint-Denis, Reunion (27 Nov 0800-1800); Port Louis, Mauritius (28 Nov a0700(+1)disembark)
Optional extension: This cruise itinerary can also be booked as a 39-night voyage departing Cape Town on the same day, arriving in Villefranche (Nice) on December 28th. Ports of call on this itinerary after Port Luis, Mauritius include Saint-Denis, Reunion (01 Dec 0700-1700); Diego Suarez, Madagascar (03 Dec 0900-1700); Mahe, Seychelles (05 Dec 0900(+1)1800); Praslin Island, Seychelles (06 Dec 2300(+1)); La Digue, Seychelles (07 Dec d1700); Salalah, Oman (11 Dec 1200-1800); Aqaba, Jordan (16 Dec 0900-2300); Eilat, Israel (17 Dec 0600-2200); Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (18 Dec 0700-1230); Villefranche (Nice), France (23 Dec a1000)
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Date: 20 January to 19 February (2019)
Cruise Line: Oceania Cruises
Cruise Ship: Nautica
Number of Nights: 30
Name of itinerary: Safaris, Sands & Splendors Cape Town to Singapore
Ports of call: Cape Town, South Africa (20 Jan embark(+1)d1800); Port Elizabeth, South Africa (23 Jan 0800-1800); East London, South Africa (24 Jan 0700-1700); Durban, South Africa (25 Jan 1000-2100); Richard’s Bay, South Africa (26 Jan 0600-1600); Maputo, Mozambique (27 Jan 0800-1600); Nosy Be, Madagascar (30 Jan 1200-1800); Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (01 Feb 0900-1900); Zanzibar, Tanzania (02 Feb 0800-1800); Mombasa, Kenya (03 Feb 0800-1900); Mahe, Seychelles (06 Feb 0800-1700); Male, Maldives (09 Feb 1400(+1)1800); Colombo, Sri Lanka (12 Feb 0500-1600); Phuket, Thailand (15 Feb 1200-1900); Langkawi, Malaysia (16 Feb 0800-1700); Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia (17 Feb 0900-1900); Singapore (18 Feb a1300(+1)disembark)
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Date: 5 March to 25 March (2019)
Cruise Line: Seabourn Cruises
Cruise Ship: Seabourn Sojourn
Number of Nights: 20 or 93
Name of itinerary: African Nights & Indian Ocean Isles
Ports of call: Cape Town, South Africa (05 Mar embark(+1)d2300); Mossel Bay, South Africa (08 Mar 0800-1800); Port Elizabeth, South Africa (09 Mar 1000(+1)1900); Durban, South Africa (12 Mar 0800(+1)1700); Fort Dauphin, Madagascar (16 Mar 0800-1700); Saint-Denis, Reunion (18 Mar 0800-1800); Port Louis, Mauritius (19 Mar 0800(+1)1700); Male, Maldives (25 Mar a0800)
Optional extensions: This cruise itinerary by Seabourn from Cape Town Male, Maldives, can be booked as a much longer voyage of 93 nights, from Cape Town to Vancouver. That cruise itinerary includes the following destinations after the Maldives: Colombo, Sri Lanka (28 Mar 0800-1900); Hambantota, Sri Lanka (29 Mar 0800-1800); Yangon, Myanmar (02 Apr 0800(+2)1200); Phuket, Thailand (06 Apr 0800-1800); Langkawi, Malaysia (07 Apr 0700-1500); Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia (08 Apr 0800-1800); Singapore (09 Apr 1200(+1)1700); Kuantan, Malaysia (11 Apr 1000-2000); Sihanoukville, Cambodia (13 Apr 0800-1800); Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (15 Apr 0900(+1)1600); Da Nang, Vietnam (18 Apr 0800-1800); Sanya, China (19 Apr 0800-1800); Hong Kong, China (21 Apr 0700(+1)2300); Magong, Penghu Islands (24 Apr 0800-1700); Keelung, Taiwan (25 Apr 0800-1800); Ishigaki, Japan (26 Apr 0800-1800); Shanghai, China (28 Apr 0700-1700); Zhoushan, China (29 Apr 0900-1700); Yantai, China (01 May 1000-2000); Dalian, China (02 May 0700-1700); Tianjin, China (03 May 1000(+1)2300); Incheon, South Korea (06 May 0800(+1)2300); Busan, South Korea (09 May 0800-1800); Kanazawa, Japan (11 May 0800-1800); Sakaiminato, Japan (12 May 0800-1700); Kitakyushu, Japan (13 May 0900-1800); Hiroshima, Japan (14 May 0700-1800); Takamatsu, Japan (15 May 0800-1800); Kobe, Japan (16 May 0700-1700); Aomori, Japan (19 May 0800-1700); Otaru, Japan (20 May 1000-2300); Petropavlovsk, Russia (24 May 0500-1800); Kodiak, Alaska (29 May 0800-1800); Glacier Bay, Alaska (31 May 0700-1800); Sitka, Alaska (01 Jun 0800-1700); Wrangell, Alaska (02 Jun 0800-1800); Ketchikan, Alaska (03 Jun 0700-1500); Vancouver, Canada (05 Jun a0700)
This 93-night grand voyage can also be booked as the following shorter cruises:
From Tue 5 Mar 2019 (To Thu 16 May 2019) – 72 Night Africa & Asia Exploration
From Tue 5 Mar 2019 (To Sun 28 Apr 2019) – 54 Night Indian Ocean & Asia Exploration
From Tue 5 Mar 2019 (To Wed 10 Apr 2019) – 36 Night Indian Ocean Exploration
Date: 22 October to 6 November (2019)
Cruise Line: Phoenix Reisen
Cruise Ship: Albatros
Number of Nights: 16
Name of itinerary: Sudafrika, Sansibar & Seychellen
Ports of call: Cape Town, South Africa (22 Oct embark(+1)d1700); Port Elizabeth, South Africa (25 Oct 0700-2000); East London, South Africa (26 Oct 0700-1300); Durban, South Africa (27 Oct 0700-2200); Richard’s Bay, South Africa (28 Oct 0700-1800); Ilha de Mozambique, Mozambique (31 Oct 0800-1700); Zanzibar, Tanzania (02 Nov 0900-2000); Mombasa, Kenya (03 Nov 0700-2000); Praslin Island, Seychelles (06 Nov a0800); La Digue, Seychelles (06 Nov d2000); Mahe, Seychelles (06 Nov a2300(+1)disembark)
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Cruises from Dubai to Mauritius in 2018
Date: 4 November to 21 November (2018)
Cruise Line: Hapag-Lloyd
Cruise Ship: Europa
Number of Nights: 18
Name of itinerary: Dubai – Mauritius (Where dream holidays come true)
Ports of call: Cape Town, South Africa (22 Oct embark(+1)d1700); Port Elizabeth, South Africa (25 Oct 0700-2000); East London, South Africa (26 Oct 0700-1300); Durban, South Africa (27 Oct 0700-2200); Richard’s Bay, South Africa (28 Oct 0700-1800); Ilha de Mozambique, Mozambique (31 Oct 0800-1700); Zanzibar, Tanzania (02 Nov 0900-2000); Mombasa, Kenya (03 Nov 0700-2000); Praslin Island, Seychelles (06 Nov a0800); La Digue, Seychelles (06 Nov d2000); Mahe, Seychelles (06 Nov a2300(+1)disembark)
Categories: Cruise Lifestyle, Middle East Cruise News, SA Cruise News
