exiledowl

Hi izziwiz, our itinerary is from Hamburg to Bremerhaven via the rest of the world. We're sailing with Phoenix , a German company on a cruise lasting the best part of 5 months, if you want to see it in total look at their website, you should be able to find an English translation .It runs from the 21st of December until the 12th of May 2024. The first leg, similar to your trip, calls at Lisbon, Santa Cruz, Dakar, Banjul, Jamestown, Walvis Bay, Lüderitz and finally Cape Town (3 days there, fortunately), hence my posting of relevant questions. The MS Amera is a relatively small vessel (830 pax) and as such can reach one or two places larger ships can't. We've been scrimping and saving for some months now as you might imagine. I'll put a roll call on CC at a later date in case anyone else in Germany reads the site. We've been on the Amera twice before and in both cases I was the only Brit on board, apart from some of the entertainment crew.

Sorry bad typo Izzywiz!

Ooh thanks a lot for all that and the wonderful photos Issue is. We'll certainly have a look at the tours Red Dune have to offer, like you we haven't had much response from tourist offices and companies in the region. It's interesting to note that you say there were taxis waiting at the port exit, I'm sure if we can get a decent group organised a trip with one of them would undercut the ship's jaw dropping excursion price to Swakopmund dramatically! We're docked overnight in Walvis Bay so we've probably got chance for 2 trips if we're on the ball. Once again, thanks for all the info and pics!

Thanks again for your advice. We think we'll go to either Addo (from PE) or Hluhluwe (from Richards Bay)and the Valley of 1000 Hills from Durban all organised by the ship.

I'm looking for a similar answer too, we're visiting all those ports , except Mossel Bay!

Has anyone done the above as a day trip there and back? We were wondering if there is any local transport available as we are docking in Walvis Bay in January next year. Thanks for any advice.

We will be arriving in Dakar on the 30th of December this year , a Saturday when all the banks are closed. Did you see any safe places to change money when you were there , especially near the port?

We want to do it after seeing cruise programmes on tv where local inhabitants welcomed visitors to the township, giving them some idea what life was like under the apartheid system and what it's like now.

Hi loerie, yes I've read that it's inadvisable to visit a township alone although I was under the impression that there were tour companies in SA now who provided township tours via local guides who live in the area. Thanks for your advice.

Been to Dakar before and the Ile de Goree is indeed a poignant must see. We're cruising there again in December and hoping to visit the new Museum of Black Civilizations which is close to the port.

We are on a world cruise from December 21st and will be calling at several ports in South Africa. We are hoping to make a township visit when we are in Port Elizabeth or Durban but are having difficulty finding companies who do this. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Kaymoz, I think I was the only British person on board, apart from some of the entertainment staff but I do speak a bit of German too so managed to communicate if not follow whole conversations. If you go with Phoenix again it would help to learn a bit .I 've always found if you make the effort to speak another language, the people you talk to will be more receptive .

We're taking the Amera for a world cruise in December. Been on it 3 times before and they definitely speak English, in fact the South-East Asian crew members who do all the donkey work seem to prefer to be spoken to in English. Anyone else out there travelling with us btw? Starts in Hamburg December 21st.