Cunard and Cape Verde.

[Winifred 22]

8 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Yes, sorry, on reflection, I meant next year and 2025. It is indeed a most attractive cruise, except for being in, I think, November.

Yes I am going there in QV end of October  2024

[rog747]

Yes, it's nice to see Tangiers as a ''new'' stop once again - I like it there but not been for donkeys years.

Also hope to see St Helena on Cunard's 'map' again....

Re V.V. explanation for Exlondoner...
'Vis-a-vis' means 'face to face'. For example: The warrior found himself vis-a-vis a menacing dragon. (Or as I used it in my post above: Cunard facing security issues at it's ports...

Best R.

Edited November 9, 2023 by rog747
edit

[exlondoner]

3 hours ago, rog747 said:

Yes, it's nice to see Tangiers as a ''new'' stop once again - I like it there but not been for donkeys years.

Also hope to see St Helena on Cunard's 'map' again....

Re V.V. explanation for Exlondoner...
'Vis-a-vis' means 'face to face'. For example: The warrior found himself vis-a-vis a menacing dragon. (Or as I used it in my post above: Cunard facing security issues at it's ports...

Best R.

Thank you. I do know what vis-à-vis means. It was the abbreviation which was unfamiliar. I should have thought it stood for vice versa.

 

In any case the calls at Tangier seem to show a softening of security concerns about Morocco.

[rsquare]

On 11/8/2023 at 6:54 AM, Ocean_Liner_Traveller said:

More than two dozens of cruise ships are scheduled to call at Cape Verde in the near future. Some ot them, like MSC Magnifica or Island Princess, are approximately as big as QV or QE, so the port can accommodate the Cunard Vistas.

Plenty of room for a Vista class ship, as you can see in this photo taken 30 April 17 on the Cape Town to Soton segment of QE's World Cruise.  We took a tour bus up into the hills, but neither there nor in in town was there really much to see.  May be a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there.

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

2 hours ago, rsquare said:

Plenty of room for a Vista class ship, as you can see in this photo taken 30 April 17 on the Cape Town to Soton segment of QE's World Cruise.  We took a tour bus up into the hills, but neither there nor in in town was there really much to see.  May be a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there.

 

Thanks for the photo - seeing is believing. I guess Cunard did not have much favourable passenger feedback, so they did not repeat the visit there. Nevertheless, the island is of a certain historical significance and I would like to visit it, at least once. I still continue to believe that this and St. Helena, for example, would make nice and plausible supplements to the Soton - Cape Town itinerary.

[WantedOnVoyage]

Whilst there is simply no feasible way to land the number of passengers of a QE/QV or QM2 on St. Helena (how FRANCE managed in 1969, I am amazed), it would be a worthwhile and enjoyable close-cruise by or better still, circumnavigation. It is a wonderful sight.  We did the first ever circumnavigation of the island in RMS ST HELENA (I) in 1990 and the first ever of Tristan da Cunha, including Inaccessible Island... including seeing what a distance looking like a black and white stripe along the shoreline which turned out to be thousands of penguins. It was sleeting... that's how far south it is. Ascension is another remarkable destination but again, not feasible for mass cruising.  St. Helena Shipping Co. owned the one "tour bus" on the island, that accommodated about 16 people and the Purser was the driver.  

 

I'd love if QM2 would be rotated on an annual winter Southampton-Cape Town voyage via the S. Atlantic Islands and her long Southampton-West Indies (with no New York) itinerary. 

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

21 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Whilst there is simply no feasible way to land the number of passengers of a QE/QV or QM2 on St. Helena (how FRANCE managed in 1969, I am amazed), it would be a worthwhile and enjoyable close-cruise by or better still, circumnavigation. It is a wonderful sight. 

 

I have the impression Cunard has called at St. Helena in the past. QE2 perhaps?  @bluemarble perhaps can enlighten us - if so, thanks in advance.

 

Close -bys, wonderful as they are, do not match an actual landing, IMHO. And St. Helena, once there, has much to offer in matters of natural beauty and history.

 

And oh, how wondeful would be to sail on FRANCE in 1969... A legend close to Cunard's.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Ocean_Liner_Traveller

[bluemarble]

44 minutes ago, Ocean_Liner_Traveller said:

I have the impression Cunard has called at St. Helena in the past. QE2 perhaps?  @bluemarble perhaps can enlighten us - if so, thanks in advance.

 

Yes, QE2 called regularly at St. Helena on her Southampton-Cape Town itineraries. Once again @Lanky Lad helped us out with this photo of one of QE2's calls to St. Helena during 2000 on our "Where in the World?" thread.

 

 

More recently, QM2 called at St. Helena on 30 March 2010 during a segment of her 2010 world voyage from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. I've mentioned that segment before because Cunard apparently does not count that as one of QM2's transatlantic crossings even though it's technically a crossing, albeit of the South Atlantic. I have to omit that one in order to match the counts Cunard has advertised to mark QM2's various milestone transatlantic crossings over the years, including her upcoming 400th crossing next August.

 

I also have St. Helena listed on QE's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 21 January 2016 and on QV's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 27 April 2016. There's a post on this forum indicating QV's call to St. Helena was just a cruise-by call though. Not sure about QE's call there.

[Lanky Lad]

10 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Yes, QE2 called regularly at St. Helena on her Southampton-Cape Town itineraries. Once again @Lanky Lad helped us out with this photo of one of QE2's calls to St. Helena during 2000 on our "Where in the World?" thread.

 

 

More recently, QM2 called at St. Helena on 30 March 2010 during a segment of her 2010 world voyage from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. I've mentioned that segment before because Cunard apparently does not count that as one of QM2's transatlantic crossings even though it's technically a crossing, albeit of the South Atlantic. I have to omit that one in order to match the counts Cunard has advertised to mark QM2's various milestone transatlantic crossings over the years, including her upcoming 400th crossing next August.

 

I also have St. Helena listed on QE's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 21 January 2016 and on QV's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 27 April 2016. There's a post on this forum indicating QV's call to St. Helena was just a cruise-by call though. Not sure about QE's call there.

Seeing that picture has brought back happy memories. As @WantedOnVoyage will know, that is the RMS St Helena in front of QE2.

[WantedOnVoyage]

That's the second RMS ST HELENA (1990), yes.  Not "The RMS", the first (and one and only!), of 1977-90. 

 

Given how timid Cunard seems to have gotten about any tender ports of late (well ones using their own boats), I cannot imagine them offering Jamestown as a landing port now.  The weather conditions would have to be absolutely perfect.  We had a few days when you'd get soaked at "The Steps" as would luggage and the mails. 

 

FRANCE, I think, had "only" 800 passengers on her Imperial Cruise but managed to get all who wished ashore.  On the occasion of the 200th birthday of Napoleon, they could not be denied!  

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

15 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Yes, QE2 called regularly at St. Helena on her Southampton-Cape Town itineraries. Once again @Lanky Lad helped us out with this photo of one of QE2's calls to St. Helena during 2000 on our "Where in the World?" thread.

 

 

More recently, QM2 called at St. Helena on 30 March 2010 during a segment of her 2010 world voyage from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro. ...

I also have St. Helena listed on QE's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 21 January 2016 and on QV's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 27 April 2016. There's a post on this forum indicating QV's call to St. Helena was just a cruise-by call though. Not sure about QE's call there.

 

Again, many thanks  @bluemarble. I, too, can confirm that QV made only a cruise-by to St. Helena during her 2016 World Cruise, in April 27, as did of Ascension two days later. Incidentally, in this cruise she made her maiden call to St Vincent, Cape Verde (May 3), although she stayed there only for half a day. Nice itinerary, pity that she did not repeat it, as far as I know.

 

On the other hand, QM2 made a full stop in St. Helena in March 30 2010, time appear to be 09:00 to 16:00, on her voyage from Cape Town to Rio. Incidentally, as many here certainly remember, her 2010 World Cruise was her first one not circumnavigating the globe and the penultimate one that called to Rio. We were lucky to visit RIo on her World Cruise the year before.

[roscoe39]

On 11/16/2023 at 8:57 AM, bluemarble said:

 

I also have St. Helena listed on QE's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 21 January 2016 and on QV's 2016 world voyage itinerary for 27 April 2016. There's a post on this forum indicating QV's call to St. Helena was just a cruise-by call though. Not sure about QE's call there.

Hi John, yes we did call to St Helena during the world cruise 2016

http://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.com/2016/04/st-helena.html

was a terrific sail past and Im sure the whole ship would have gotten off if it could.

We also went to Ascension - 

http://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.com/2016/04/blog-post.html

another cruise-by but with the added advantage from a biologist from the island who 

gave a commentary about the island as we said past.

 

 

ps.. apologies, I see that Ocean liner had already responded...

 

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by roscoe39

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

14 hours ago, roscoe39 said:

Hi John, yes we did call to St Helena during the world cruise 2016

http://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.com/2016/04/st-helena.html

was a terrific sail past and Im sure the whole ship would have gotten off if it could.

We also went to Ascension - 

http://exitviathegiftshop.blogspot.com/2016/04/blog-post.html

 

Many thanks Roscoe for the beautiful, knowledgeable narrative and amazing photos! A joy to read.

[rolfecms]

This is good enough reason to stop in St Helena

https://people.com/prince-edward-meets-192-year-old-tortoise-who-met-queen-elizabeth-1947-8548335

[WantedOnVoyage]

I first "met" Jonathan when he was a youngster of only 151 years of age, back in 1983 aboard RMS CENTAUR, on the front lawn of Plantation House.  

 

St. Helena is wonderful and I've been privileged to visit there, gosh, it must be five times. Not sure what, if any effect, having an airport will have on its unique charm. And it wouldn't be the same not visiting there on "The RMS."