Before moving on to the description of this sea cruise, I want to explain what the Grand Voyage is. This is the passage of a cruise ship to another part of the world, another ocean on a new route. This happens approximately every six months.
Grand Voyage in most cases has a long transition, both in time and in distance. Such cruises are not circular; the ports of departure and arrival are different. Sometimes such routes are incredibly interesting and are not found, so to speak, on regular flights.
Three years have passed since my wife and I went on a cruise around the islands of the Indian Ocean. But people still ask me where to find a similar cruise. Unfortunately, the Costa cruise line has withdrawn its routes from this region.
And lo and behold! I come across a route that is even more interesting and extensive. The “Grand Voyage from South Africa to Europe” cruise covers almost all the islands we visited, with the exception of Madagascar.
An incredible journey from South Africa to Europe
To make it easier for you to understand the grandeur and scale of the upcoming cruise, in the article I will refer to previously published materials. Be patient, have some tea and soak in the atmosphere of the places you will see along the route.
This is practically a short round-the-world trip from South Africa to Italy, lasting from 24 to 28 days to choose from. Difference in cities of departure and arrival.
What interesting places does this sea cruise — offer us to see? MSC Cruises.
Departure ports Cape Town or Durban (South Africa), arrival Civitavecchia (Rome) or Genoa (Italy).
In my opinion, Cape Town and Rome are more convenient cities to fly into. It is this route that we will consider today.
And so the route:
- Cape Town, South Africa
- 2 days at sea
- Durban, South Africa
- 3 days at sea
- La Possession, Reunion
- Port Louis, Mauritius
- 2 days at sea
- Port Victoria, Seychelles
- 7 days at sea
- Aqaba, Jordan
- 2 days via Suez Canal
- A day at sea
- Heraklion, Greece
- Salerno, Italy
- Civitavecchia, Italy
- Genoa, Italy
Imagine, traveling around half the world in one trip. And what exotic islands and cities can you visit? I know firsthand, a good half of this big voyage is already familiar to me.
Cape Town
The most beautiful city in South Africa. Cape Hope attracted ancient sailors here who rounded the extreme point of Africa. Cape Town is twinned with St. Petersburg.
Reunion Island
Former French colony, now an overseas territory of France. On our last cruise we stayed for two days off the coast of Reunion Island.
Mauritius
Most likely due to the fact that we spent the longest time on the island of Mauritius, we liked this exotic world the most.
Seychelles, Mahe Island
The bad weather that accompanied us on the island could not spoil the overall picture of perception. Virgin nature, exoticism, good-natured Creoles, cuisine, Rum — left an indelible bright spot in our memory. Read more about Mahe Island in the Seychelles.
Aqaba, Jordan
After a seven-day journey, a stop in the Ancient City of Petra, near Aqaba. What you can see there was described in an article about a cruise on the Red Sea.
Egypt
Here travelers will see and take part in the passage of the Suez Canal locks. Also quite a grandiose spectacle for an equally grandiose construction by human hands.
Heraklion
The Greek island of Heraklion will delight lovers of ancient history. Due to Covid19, we were unable to get to this island. And the route was a luxurious cruise from Venice to the Greek islands.
Salerno
Province in southern Italy with all the attendant traditions of the Italians.
Rome
And finally Civitavecchia, a suburb of Rome. I am sure there is no need to sing special praises for this ancient ancient city. Everyone already understands the value of visiting this city.
There is an option to complete the “Grand Voyage from South Africa to Europe” sea cruise in the Italian city of Genoa. I also visited here as part of a Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona.
Visas
Despite the abundance of countries and states visited along the route, only two visas are needed. And then, they can be combined into one. You need Schengen for Italy and Greece, as well as a tourist visa for the French Overseas Territories (DOM/France).
And if you take the French Schengen immediately, and with it without leaving the cash register and DOM, then in fact you won’t need anything else.
Cost of the cruise “Grand Voyage from South Africa to Europe”
The price for an inside cabin for two starts from 2918 + port tax 420 euros and 10 euros for each day service fee.
Of course, on such a long route, I personally would not take an inside cabin. And at first glance this cruise may seem expensive, but I booked it for $5000 for just 7 days and nothing. And here I’ve been traveling for almost a month. So everything is learned by comparison.
What’s more, you can reserve a cabin right now for only 50 euros per person. And pay the rest of the amount in installments. The repayment deadline is 30 days before the departure of the ship. You can book the Grand Voyage from South Africa to Europe on the MSC Orchestra cruise ship through the largest tour operator in Russia.
Departure date April 17, 2023 from Cape Town
And once again about the fact that you will visit — South Africa, Reunion Islands, Mauritius, Seychelles, Jordan, Suez Canal, Heraklion, Rome.
“Essentially, these are several cruises in one, and if you do the math, it’s much cheaper to go this route on one route”!
— Sergey Buslaev, blog author.
That’s it now, the decision is yours.
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