Le Jacques Cartier, Napoleon Cruise ex Cape Town to Dakar
Cruise Line Ponant
Ship Le Jacques Cartier
Destination Africa - South & Central
Nights 18
Departure Date 26 Apr 2021
Description 18 Night cruise departing from Cape Town to Dakar onboard Le Jacques Cartier.

In partnership with the magazine Point de Vue, with the exceptional presence on board of Jean Tulard and Franck Ferrand.

PONANT is organising an exceptional 19-day cruise to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte on 5 May 1821.

Embark onboard Le Jacques-Cartier in South Africa, in Cape Town, mother-city of the country, dominated by Table Mountain, and reach Walvis Bay, at the heart of the Namib desert.

Then your ship will chart a course towards the island of Saint Helena to arrive the day before the official ceremony, which will be held on 5 May 2021. Although this British territory, the site of his last exile, houses his tomb, it remains above all the place where Napoleon dictated his memoirs and sealed his legend. Offering an intimate and moving testimony of his last moments on the island, the Longwood Residence and the Emperor’s furniture have been preciously maintained and preserved by the French authorities and the Fondation Napoléon. During your visit, you will travel through history in a luxuriant and bucolic setting, far from the sombre image of the island.

You will then call at Ascension Island, some 1,000 km off the coast of Saint Helena. On this desert island, the British created a garrison to counter any hope of escape by the Emperor. Today the island is a veritable sanctuary for birds, marine mammals and green turtles.

You will then sail north along the maritime route taken in 1815 by the Northumberland, the ship that escorted Napoleon to Saint Helena and will enjoy a few days at sea before reaching Dakar, the lively capital of Senegal, which will be your port of disembarkation.

Highlights of this cruise:

CAPE TOWN
Dynamic and peaceful, cosmopolitan and hip, Cape Town offers its visitors a most unique mix. Here, the locals like to say that their city is “the quintessential melting pot of South Africa”. Located in the heart of one of the most beautiful bays in the world and dominated by the famous Table Mountain, it is graced with extraordinary landscapes including sheer cliffs that plunge into the Atlantic Ocean and vast whitesand beaches. We invite you to discover this incredible city, the South African capital of fashion, the art of living, and gastronomy. Further on, the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve awaits you and is home to a wide variety of endemic fauna and flora.

WALVIS BAY
On the wild coastlines of Namibia, you will feel the force of the encounter between the infinite dunes of the oldest desert in the world and the tempestuous waves of the Atlantic Ocean. A natural port in the curve of a bay formed by an old river delta, Walvis Bay is protected from the whims of the ocean by the natural barrier of Pelican Point. It is a real refuge for migratory birds, where thousands of pink flamingos and Cape cormorants mix with one of the largest Cape fur seal colonies in the world. On the Namibian coastline, the seals make the most of the Benguela Current, cold and full of fish, which comes up from the Antarctic.

JAMESTOWN, SAINT HELENA ISLAND
Nestling in the hollow of a volcanic valley, Jamestown retains the charm of a small English village in the tropics. A centre of Napoleonic legend, the French authorities preciously conserved evidence of the Emperor’s exile on the island, including the Briars and Longwood House pavilions, the “valley of the tomb” and Bertrand’s Cottage. Escorted to Saint Helena by the British aboard HMS Northumberland in 1815, Napoléon died there in 1821. Far removed from the arid hell he described in the memoirs dictated to his faithful companions, you will discover that this natural fortress offers a very diverse landscape, from steep cliffs to fertile lands covered with lush nature.

GEORGETOWN, ASCENSION ISLAND
Lost in the heart of the Atlantic, this arid island with a lunar landscape is not as deserted as we may believe. Its position has made it a military base and strategic air bridge for the British and the Americans. The first garrison was established in 1815 to prevent any escape attempt by Napoleon, who was exiled nearly 1,000 kilometres away on the island of Saint Helena. The forts and barracks of the Royal Navy from those times can be visited. Intense marine biodiversity surrounds this island. It is one of the most important breeding sites for tropical marine birds and green turtles , which leave their footprints on the island’s magnificent beaches before heading to the Brazilian coastlines.

DAKAR
On the tip of the African continent, the buzzing capital of Senegal stretches along the narrow peninsula of Cape Verde. You may be overwhelmed by its sheer size, but Dakar will win you over with its richly diverse districts, appealing cultural scene and rich natural surroundings. In the historic centre, you'll enjoy the pell-mell of colours and tasty delights in Kermel market. A visit to the island of Gorée is deeply moving; for several hundred years this island was the largest slave trading centre on the African coast. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you are looking for pristine, unspoilt nature, the wildlife in the heart of Madeleine Islands' national park will not disappoint.
Sailing Dates
  • 26 Apr 2021
Itinerary

Cruise Itinerary

DayDateActivityArriveDepart
1 26/04 Cape Town, South Africa 12:00 PM
2 27/04 At sea    
3 28/04 Luederitz, Southern Namibia
4 29/04 Walvis Bay, Namibia overnight
5 30/04 Walvis Bay, Namibia
6 01/05 At sea    
7 02/05 At sea    
8 03/05 At sea    
9 04/05 St Helena, United Kingdom overnight
10 05/05 St Helena, United Kingdom overnight
11 06/05 St Helena, United Kingdom
12 07/05 At sea    
13 08/05 At sea    
14 09/05 Ascension Island, United Kingdom
15 10/05 At sea    
16 11/05 At sea    
17 12/05 At sea    
18 13/05 At sea    
19 14/05 Dakar, Senegal 07:00 AM
All itineraries and ports of call at the discretion of the cruise line subject to local weather conditions and may change without notice.

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