Seychelles to record increased number of cruise ship calls this season |28 October 2017

With October signalling the start of the Seychelles’ cruise ship season, the island destination has started to welcome visitors from all over the world who prefer a little slower and leisurely travel adventures.

Costa neoRiviera and MSC Sinfonia were the first to dock in Port Victoria over the weekend, carrying 1,900 and 1,400 guests respectively, most of them hailing from Europe.

The Seychelles’ cruise ship season lasts from October to around April, and the 2017/2018 season is expected to see an increase in the number of cruise passenger arrivals to the islands.

A total of 36 cruise ship calls are expected this season, with cruise liners including those belonging to Costa Cruises, a popular worldwide cruise operator, lining up to grace the archipelago’s shores. This represents an increase over last year, when around 30 cruise ship calls were recorded.

This in itself supports accolades won at the 2017 World Travel Awards earlier this year, where Seychelles bagged the Indian Ocean Leading Cruise Destination title, while Port Victoria was voted the Indian Ocean’s Leading Cruise Port.

The chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), Sherin Francis, has reiterated the fact that Seychelles is an ideal cruise destination given it is an archipelago surrounded by secluded powder-white beaches and clear turquoise ocean.

“We are encouraged the Seychelles is becoming more and more popular among the cruise liners. The various cruise ship calls this season will give the Seychelles islands the chance to showcase itself to potential visitors with the hope that their short experience will wet their appetite for future visits. That is why it is of paramount importance that their short stays are as real and enriching as possible,” said Mrs Francis.

It is to be noted that there’s been increased efforts to promote cruise tourism in the region.

The development of a new concept -- Cruise Africa – for example was largely discussed as representatives of the Port Management Association for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Cruise Indian Ocean Association and the Seychelles Ports Authority got together in July.

A lot of efforts in recent years have also been geared at enticing more cruise liners to include the vanilla islands on their itinerary.

Already MSC Sinfonia has left for Mauritius after visiting Seychelles, while Costa neoRiviera is heading for La Reunion and is expected to head back to Seychelles after embarking a new group of tourists in Mauritius on October 27.

The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Ambassador Maurice Loustau-Lalanne said: “Our marketing efforts and that of the Vanilla Islands are bearing encouraging results for the 2017/18 Cruise ship season. We are delighted to have Costa Cruises back again with a strong Seychelles programme and the return of a number of new cruise liner companies. This year is special as we will be welcoming a number of smaller expedition cruise-vessels visiting both our inner granitic islands and the coralline outer islands.”

The majority of cruise ships to Seychelles dock in Port Victoria on the main island, Mahé, while others also call at the other islands of the Indian Ocean archipelago.