The 2019/2020 East London Cruise Season grows

On 26 October 2019 we saw the start of the 2019/2020 East London Cruise season when the Port of East London welcomed the MS Albatros for a half day visit.  This successful season has been extended with the AIDAmira increasing her visits to our city.

This kicked off the start of the 2019/2020 Cruise Ship Schedule.  As always, local photographer/videographer and East London enthusiast, Andre Oosthuizen, was there to capture their welcome.  These cruise ships bring thousands of foreign tourists into our city every season, who spend their ‘very welcome’ foreign currency, visiting local tourist attractions in and around our city.

2019/2020 Cruise Schedule

This season is expected to be one of our best yet, with a number of cruise liners planning to make our city one of their port stops.

While there are quite a few in the pipeline pending confirmation, here are the 8 ‘confirmed’ cruise liner stopovers that will be bringing international visitors to the Port of East London between now and end February 2020.

MS Albatros – 26 October & 22 November 2019

Operated by the Germany-based travel agency Phoenix Reisen, the MS Albatros cruise ship was built in 1973 for the Royal Viking Line, and was known as Royal Viking Sea.  Over the years her name has changed on numerous occasions and she has sailed under the names Royal Odyssey, Norwegian Star and Crown.  Known for her QE2-esque funnel, MS Albatros is the second Albatros for phoenix Reisen and she replaced the original SS Albatros.

With a capacity of 812 passengers, this 28,518 ton, 205,46m stunning cruise liner sails under the call sign (C6CN4) and reaches a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h).

AIDAmira – 28 December 2019

The AIDAmira belongs to AIDA, Europe’s largest cruise line and targets younger and more active travellers.  She was launched in 1999 for Festival Cruises under the name MS Mistral.  In November 2013 she joined the Costa Cruise Fleet and sailed as Costa neoRiviera until 1 December 2019 when she will join the AIDA group and sail under her new name, AIDAmira.

This 20 year old ‘young and vibey’ cruise liner weighs in at 48 200 gross tonnage and has a capacity of 1248 – 1498 passengers, housed in 624 cabins.  At 216m in length, she achieves speeds of 20 knots (37 km/h).

MS Nautica (13 & 27 Jan 2020 + 7 Feb 2020)

The MS Nautica is a R class cruise ship, originally built for Renaissance cruises in 2000, before they went under as a result of the 911 attacks.  She sailed for Pullmantur Cruises from 2002 – 2004 before  being taken over by her current owners, Oceana Cruises.

On 30 November 2008 while sailing in the Gulf of Aden, The Nautica came under attack by Somali pirates, but was able to get away, with no injuries to passengers or crew.

Operating under the call sign V7DM4, the Ms Nautica weighs 30277 gross tonnage, is 181 meters in length and has a capacity for 824 passengers and 386 crew.  She reaches a speed of 18knots (33.34km/h).

MV Artania – 20 January 2020

Built in 1984, the MV Artania, currently chartered since 2011 by Phoenix Reisen, a German-based travel agency, was originally built for Princess Cruises.  In November 1984, she was officially named Royal Princess by the late Diana, Princess of Wales.  In 2005, control of this cruise liner was taken over by P&O Cruises, and she was renamed Artemis, before being charted by Phoenix Reisen in 2011.

Weighing in at 44,348 gross tonnage, the MV Artania has a capacity of between 1188 – 1260 passengers with a crew of 537.  At 230.61 meters in length, she achieves speeds of 22 knots (41 km/h).

MV Azamara Quest – 27 January 2020

The MV Azamara Quest is an R-class cruise ship that was built in 2000 for Renaissance Cruises as an R Seven.  Following the collapse of Renaissance Cruises in 2001, she was laid up for two years until Germany-based Delphin Seereisen chartered her under the name of Delphin Renaissance. Renamed Blue Moon in 2006 when she was sold to Spain-based Pullmantur Cruises, she sailed under that name until 2007, when she was transferred to Azamara Cruises.

Carrying up to 710 passengers plus 410 crew, the MV Azamara Quest weights 30,277 gross tonnage, is 181 meters in length and reaches speeds of 18 knots (33km/h).

Article:  Sandy Loppnow

Photographs & information sourced from Wikipedia.