Circumnavigate A Continent: This Cruise Sails All Of Africa’s Coasts

Seabourn—the ultra-luxury, small-ship cruise line—has a first-ever cruise that circumnavigates the entire continent of Africa, taking passengers to 26 countries on three continents, including an island that even your most-traveled friends will have likely never heard of.

What a way to see Africa

Called the Grand Voyage Africa, this newly announced cruise is sure to get your imagination whirling with its itinerary that has you both exploring coastal Africa and relaxing on board during the sea days in between ports.

Roundtrip from Barcelona, the 229-suite Seabourn Sojourn departs on November 30, 2024. After sailing more than 17,000 miles and visiting 44 ports, the ship returns to the Catalonian capital on February 28, 2025. The 90-day cruise circumnavigates the entire continent of Africa, visiting 26 countries on three different continents.

Seabourn’s Grand Voyage Africa

After leaving Spain, the ship’s first African port is Tunis/La Goulette in Tunisia, where guests can see the 101 ancient masterpieces in the Bardo Museum, spectacular ruins like the Antonin Baths, and the blue and white town of Sidi Bou Said on a cliff above the Mediterranean.

Before heading to Tel Aviv/Haifa and Jerusalem/Ashdod in Israel, the cruise returns to Europe for a day’s stop in Malta. Then it’s back to Africa, first to Alexandria, Egypt to see the ultramodern new library, a seaside fortress, as well as ancient catacombs that were “discovered” by a donkey. There’s time for a trip to Giza to see the Great Pyramids and the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum. After a transit through the Suez Canal, there’s more time in Egypt at two Red Sea ports before a stop in Oman. The cruise then heads across the equator before spending a few days in the Seychelles. New Year’s Eve 2024 will be spent at sea before the cruise stops in Mombasa, Kenya and then in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The next stop is one that very few of the passengers will have likely ever heard of before booking their voyage and one they’ll surely brag about to their well-traveled friends—Mamoudzou in the archipelago of Mayotte, the French overseas department that’s between the Comoros islands and Madagascar. About 300,000 people live in Mayotte. It’s surrounded by a rare double coral reef and one of the largest lagoons in the world.

Stops in Madagascar and then Mozambique follow, before several days in South Africa, including “Surf City” Durban, “Friendly City” Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha, Mossel Bay along the Garden Route, and Cape Town where passengers can take a cable car up Table Mountain and squint to see Seabourn Sojourn in port.

Traversing around the Cape of Good Hope, the cruise then heads northward, with stops in Namibia and Angola before crossing the equator again. Then the ship visits ports in Benin, Togo, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Gambia, Senegal, and Cape Verde before a stop back in Europe in the Canary Islands. Before returning to Barcelona, guests take last stops on African soil in Morocco (plus Gibraltar) and Algeria.

Should Africa tempt too much, you can also book portions of the trip so that you have more time to stay on the continent and explore its interior. For example, you could spend Christmas in the Seychelles before joining the ship on December 28 and cruising for 24 days to Kenya, Tanzania, Mayotte, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa, and then disembark in Cape Town to explore further, including seeing some of the country’s Nelson Mandela sites in Johannesburg and Soweto, and taking a safari in Kruger National Park.

As well, multi-day Seabourn Journeys excursions are available to, for example, trek with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, take a safari in Tsavo National Park, or see massive Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Life aboard Seabourn

Seabourn ships are ultra-luxury with a private club atmosphere. The all-suite fleet ranges from 458 to 600 passengers, has an almost one-to-one passenger-to-crew ratio, and includes expedition ships that go to the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. Service is intuitive and personalized and Seabourn’s ships boast the highest space-to-guest ratio in the cruise industry.

The Grand Voyage Africa cruise is aboard Seabourn Sojourn. Like her two identical sisters Seabourn Odyssey and Seabourn Quest, Seabourn Sojourn has 229 suites for 458 guests. All suites have spacious bathrooms with double vanities and a full bathtub, an in-suite bar with requested complimentary wines and spirits, and two twins or a queen-sized bed. All have have ocean views and 90 percent have verandas.

Dining is at The Grill by Thomas Keller, out on The Patio, inside in The Restaurant, in the indoor-outdoor The Colonnade, or in your suite. Fine wines and premium spirits are complimentary. The spa and fitness facilities include a Motion Studio with guided meditation, yoga, stretch classes, plus the Mindful Living Program created with Dr. Andrew Weil.