Costa Cruises is to offer voyages from Cape Town for the first time.
Costa Smeralda will sail from Cape Town to Dubai in December 2024 as part of its repositioned itinerary to avoid the Suez Canal and Red Sea due to ongoing security concerns.
In March 2025, the Italian cruise line will offer a second itinerary departing from Cape Town, when Costa Smeralda returns home to Genoa following its Arabian Gulf Season.
The itineraries can be booked for the Cape Town-Dubai leg, the Cape Town-Genoa leg, or as full 36-day Genoa-Dubai and Dubai-Genoa itineraries.
The 17-day Cape Town-Dubai cruise departs on December 4 and visits Gqeberha, Port Louis and Muscat, in Oman, before arriving in Dubai.
The 20-night Cape Town-Genoa cruise departs on March 18, 2025, and visits Walvis Bay, Tenerife, Tangier, Barcelona and Corsica before arriving in Genoa.
The 36-day Dubai-Genoa itinerary departs Dubai on March 1, 2025 and returns to Genoa on April 7, 2025.