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a rare sight for our local waters - especially since we are at the bottom of the world
![Water Sky Mountain Azure Cloud]()
![Water Sky Cloud Water resources Mountain]()
![Boat Water Sky Cloud Watercraft]()
the most beautiful port in the world - cape town
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Agree what a beautiful port but very dangerous going ashore or coming back to the ship
I always had my female shoreside companion/bodyguard with me Tony,never any problems when she was by my side.Although I did walk back to the tanker basin once through Woodstock, had a few funny looks but came to no harm, being extremely pished might have helped.
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Not bad I suppose, especially if you've never been to Middlesbrough. Those cruise ships aren't much to look at.
John T
John T
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it never fails to amuse me - whenever one shares a post - you have a negative feedback in one way or another all be it with a element of truth - forget the " bad" and enjoy the spectacular scenery
It's January in the UK Shiploversa, we gotta moan at something. HEY HO! Anyway apologies for any offensive remarks as I know you mean well, will be in finer spirits come February. Gotta go out now for my Sunday yomp with the missus and dog in our wonderful Welsh Hills (albeit rather soggy ones).
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I have always thought of Cape Town as the most beautiful port in the world, certainly, when coming into Table Bay from the north, after a lengthy voyage on the open sea. With Robben Island on your port side, Table Mountain and the Lion's Head on your bow, surely there is no sight anywhere to match this on a clear day?
Sydney Harbour would perhaps come a distant second.
The photos of the three cruise ships dominating Duncan Dock saddened me a little bit. In the 1970s, when I was a regular caller into Cape Town aboard Union-Castle and Clan Line ships, it would not be unusual to see two or three passenger liners in the dock, but their scale was so much smaller than these ships.
Union-Castle's biggest vessel, the Windsor Castle, carried about 850 passengers and 475 crew. The three ships pictured are the MSC Sinfonia (2,546 passengers), Norwegian Jade (2,882 passengers) and the Azamara Journey which at 30,277 grt and a capacity for 781 passengers is more in line with the scale of passenger liners calling into Cape Town fifty years ago. Nonetheless, that is 6,000 passengers and probably another 3,000 crew potentially taking a stroll down Adderley Street and testing the resilience of the local resources.
It does make you wonder how smaller cities than Cape Town, particularly in the Caribbean, handle multi-cruise ship calls where each vessel often carries 5,000 plus passengers.
I know that these days Cape Town's commercial port traffic is largely centred around the container facilities in Ben Schoeman Dock, but there's a tinge of sadness when I think back to how busy Duncan Dock used to be with almost all its berths occupied by an endlessly rotating collection of sometimes beautiful, sometimes plain ugly ships destined for every corner of the earth.
Sandy G
Sydney Harbour would perhaps come a distant second.
The photos of the three cruise ships dominating Duncan Dock saddened me a little bit. In the 1970s, when I was a regular caller into Cape Town aboard Union-Castle and Clan Line ships, it would not be unusual to see two or three passenger liners in the dock, but their scale was so much smaller than these ships.
Union-Castle's biggest vessel, the Windsor Castle, carried about 850 passengers and 475 crew. The three ships pictured are the MSC Sinfonia (2,546 passengers), Norwegian Jade (2,882 passengers) and the Azamara Journey which at 30,277 grt and a capacity for 781 passengers is more in line with the scale of passenger liners calling into Cape Town fifty years ago. Nonetheless, that is 6,000 passengers and probably another 3,000 crew potentially taking a stroll down Adderley Street and testing the resilience of the local resources.
It does make you wonder how smaller cities than Cape Town, particularly in the Caribbean, handle multi-cruise ship calls where each vessel often carries 5,000 plus passengers.
I know that these days Cape Town's commercial port traffic is largely centred around the container facilities in Ben Schoeman Dock, but there's a tinge of sadness when I think back to how busy Duncan Dock used to be with almost all its berths occupied by an endlessly rotating collection of sometimes beautiful, sometimes plain ugly ships destined for every corner of the earth.
Sandy G
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no offense taken - btw you are lucky to be able to live in a beautiful country - was in the uk 1994 and saw england scotland - drove thru a small section of wales and did a ferry hop over to ireland - which to this day remains my favorite country ever
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all good john t - all good 😀😅
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Visited Capetown several times on Moss Tankers like Luminetta luminetta a.jpg
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Cape Town was my second favourite. I was first there in 1968 on Northern Star. I walked through town up to the cable car. No problems. Wonderful people and wonderful sights. The view from the top of Table Mountain is the best in the world. I went back on Canberra several times and took my late son there in 1994 on holiday staying for a few days going on tours and wandering around as well as taking my son up Table Mountain. The holiday was to visit all ports when working at sea,, America, New Zealand, Australia, the lot flying from Sydney to South Africa.
Was in Cape Town loading sugar with Strickline , Turkistan , 1973 , we had to spend 3 days in the Herongracht hotel . Maybe wrong spelling , Opposite the railway station , as the ship had to be fumigated prior to loading ,the view from the top of table mountain was fabulous . There was a record shop on the main street where you would get a free LP after you bought a certain amount , have just recently sold some LPS that were bought there at the time.
The hotel was 5 star and we turned up for dinner at night in casual clothes not known that the hotel was one where you should be suited and booted .
We were given a table in a corner where we would not be noticed , 3 eng from Amble near Newcastle ordered lobster Thermidor as he had never tried it , took one taste and decide it was not to his taste .
He would come down on watch with mug of tea and jam sandwiches.
The hotel was 5 star and we turned up for dinner at night in casual clothes not known that the hotel was one where you should be suited and booted .
We were given a table in a corner where we would not be noticed , 3 eng from Amble near Newcastle ordered lobster Thermidor as he had never tried it , took one taste and decide it was not to his taste .
He would come down on watch with mug of tea and jam sandwiches.
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I have never been to Cape Town. However, on Barber Blue Sea, the most beautiful Ports were New York, arriving around 0400, turning in the river to enter Port Elizabeth, with the Manhattan skyline backlighted by the rising sun and the Inland Sea, arriving in Japan, with Mt. Fuji rising majestically! At the end of the day, it is NOSTALGIA!!!
Rgds.
Dave
Rgds.
Dave
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