Cruise lines drop Durban

HE Queen Elizabeth,
Queen Victoria and Aurora
cruise ships have dropped
Durban from their 2016 cruise
itineraries and will include calls
at Port Elizabeth and Cape
Town instead.
The Queen Elizabeth, and
Queen Victoria are operated
by Cunard, while Aurora is
operated by P&O Cruises. Both
Cunard and P&O Cruises fall
under the Carnival UK Group.
Bob Dixon, gm of EMEA
sales for Cunard & P&O
Cruises, told TNW that
bypassing Durban was “less
a vote of dissatisfaction with
previous experiences in that
port and more a reflection
of the myriad of variables
which make up a world cruise
itinerary”. According to Bob,
these include having the
biggest passenger appeal
based on past passenger
feedback and offering a
variety year-on-year. He added
that the decision also took
into consideration the cost
associated with docking in a
given port and the range of
shore excursions available.
“A substantial number of our
customers take the full world
voyage every year, so we have
to alter the itinerary. Queen
Mary 2 has visited Durban in
2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
so we need to offer something
different,” Bob added.
According to the itinerary
planners’ pre-cruise appeal
results, customers prefer Port
Elizabeth to Durban, where the
pre-cruise appeal of Durban
is 79%, and Port Elizabeth
is 85%. “From an itinerary
perspective, Port Elizabeth is
also achievable overnight from
Cape Town and thus easier to
incorporate when we are tight
for time,” said Bob.
“I want to stress
emphatically that we are
not abandoning Durban
permanently and I am
confident that it will appear
in future iterations of world
cruise itineraries both for
Cunard and for P&O Cruises.
The city and port both have
the facilities to cater for
world cruise passengers and
there are plenty of excursion
options.”
The Queen Elizabeth will visit
Cape Town on January 26
and 27 and Port Elizabeth on
January 30, before sailing on
to Australia via Réunion and
Mauritius. Queen Victoria will
visit Port Elizabeth on April 19
and Cape Town on April 21
before sailing on to the UK via
the Cape Verde and Canary
Islands. Aurora will be in Port
Elizabeth on April 5, and in
Cape Town on April 7, 2016.
Cape Town and Port Elizabeth
will be maiden calls for both
ships.