Upscale cruise line Oceania plans first voyages to Africa

mercedes · September 17, 2009

Oceania Cruises announced plans Wednesday for sailings to yet another far-flung destination, Africa.

The line's first voyages to the continent will take place on the 684-passenger Nautica over the winter of 2010-11 and include a 30-day circumnavigation dubbed "Enchanted Africa" that begins in Istanbul and ends in Cape Town.

Also planned: A 35-day voyage from Cape Town to Singapore that includes stops in the Seychelles, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The cruises are among seven completely new itineraries the line will offer on the Nautica as it sails around Africa and Asia through the winter of 2010-2011. New ports of call included in the itineraries include Cape Town; Walvis Bay, Namibia; and Rangoon, Myanmar.

The voyages are part of what Oceania is calling its most extensive and exotic winter line-ups ever. Also announced Wednesday: New seven- to 22-day South America itineraries for 2011 on the 684-passenger Insignia that will include stops in coastal villages along the Brazil coast as well as Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. The ship also will sail a 22-day Antarctica & the Fjords voyage that takes in the Antarctic Peninsula, Falkland Islands and Chilean Fjords.

The line says the 684-passenger Regatta will spend the winter of 2010 sailing to such places as the Amazon (on a 24-day roundtrip cruise out of Miami) and the Caribbean.

Customers who book soon are eligible for free air and bonus savings of up to $3,000 per cabin off already discounted 2-for-1 fares, dropping the price on some voyages as low as $1,499 per passenger.