SEATTLE — It's not every day that an opportunity to take an unforgettable trip to Africa comes available. The Grand Africa Voyage with Holland America is an extended exploration of the content. "It's pretty amazing when you think about it," said AAA Travel expert Lisa Anciaux, "You go there you unpack once." The cruise is 74-days round-trip from Fort Lauderdale or 79-days from Boston to Fort Lauderdale. "Look at all the places you are going. These are some places that not the easiest to get to, and being able to do it the comfort of a cruise ship ... what a way to see this beautiful area."
Passengers will ride on the Amsterdam, which is a mid-sized ship that will dock at several major cities including Luderitz, Cape Town, Maputo, and Casablanca.
"What's amazing about Casablanca is it's kind of got this mystique to it," says Lisa. It's one of Africa's largest cities and houses the beautiful Hassan II Mosque which holds up to 105,000 worshippers. That makes it the fifth largest mosque in the world. The minaret is the tallest in the world and has a retractable roof. "Between the marble and the tile work, it's absolutely gorgeous."
It's a great shopping destination, and guests can opt to go on a shore excursion to Marrakesh where you can see snake charmers work their magic.
You'll also get the one-of-a-kind experience to transit the Suez Canal, which goes 120 miles from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. It's a sea-level canal which means it has no locks. "It's a straight level waterway -- very narrow in areas where most of the time your ships are going one by one through the area," Lisa explains.
The Voyage also stops at the Seychelles, which is a beautiful archipelago of 115 islands in East Africa. "When people think of Africa we think of the elephants, the giraffes, the safaris," says Lisa, "We don't think of the lush lands and the beautiful beaches. And that's the Seychelles."
Lisa says this is where Prince William and his family go for the holidays.
The cruise will go off Madagascar, which is also known as the scented island because they grow coffee, cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon. It's filled with palm trees and colorful plants like bougainvillea.
Cape Town is another beautiful metropolitan city passengers will visit, and according to Lisa, many South Africans refer to it as the "Mother City."
"It's got great restaurants, great boutiques, and a great downtown shopping area." If you head an hour and a half in one direction, you'll find Africa's beautiful wine countries. In another direction, you can go on a safari where you'll see lions, elephants, and even penguins.
Luderitz, Nambia is another colonial-looking city home to beautiful beaches and crystal clear water. "But what's amazing is, they say is you're met by oom-pah bands, wiener schnitzel, and bratwurst," Lisa says, "You kind of think did the captain make a wrong turn? Are we in Bavaria or are we really in Africa?"
Lisa says the Grand Africa Voyage is scheduled to depart in October of 2020 and it's already nearly half sold out. It's also a rare opportunity because this cruise is not offered every year as many other cruises.
If you're not interested in touring Africa, Holland America also hosts several other Grands including Grand World, Grand South America, and Grand Antarctica which all depart in January 2021. If you book before February 2020, you'll get special early booking bonuses like $1,000 cruise ship credit and prepaid gratuities.
Interested parties can visit AAA's website or give the AAA agents a call at 1-800-829-5448.
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