Cape Town, often called South Africa’s “Mother City” because it is the site of the first European settlement by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, is an awesome, marquee port on world cruises. My husband Humberto and I were very excited that our 2026 circumnavigation on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner spent time there.

On several of our previous visits to Cape Town we had concentrated on safaris to see Africa’s fabulous fauna, so this visit we devoted our time to the “Mother City” herself and surroundings.

We started exploring via an included shore excursion that took in Cape Town’s stunning coastal areas all the way to Chapman’s Peak. The drive on M6 (Victoria Road), one of the most beautiful in the world, took us past the scenic suburbs of Seapoint, Bantry Bay, Clifton, and sheltered, white sand beaches on the Atlantic Seaboard, including Maiden’s Cove, Rocky Cove and Hout Bay. Some of the beaches, including Mouille Point Beach, offer views in the distance of Robben Island where anti-apartheid activist, Nobel laureate and former president Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

The tour proceeded to affluent hubs like Camps Bay, where Leonardo DiCaprio has a home, at the foot of the breathtaking mountain formation of the Twelve Apostles (where there are actually 18 peaks and where part of Table Mountain, which rises to 3,558 ft., can be seen at the end of the chain). The panorama of peaks, coast and beach is picture-postcard-perfect!

Humberto and Georgina, Twelve Apostles

After a stop for photos at the Twelve Apostles, our tour started the drive to Chapman’s Peak, a 5.5-mile stretch with 114 sharp curves carved into the near vertical towering cliffsides, offering sights of sheer drops to the turquoise Atlantic and views of rocky bays and the Sentinel Mountain across the bay. Chapman’s Peak itself, another gorgeous picture postcard locale within the Table Mountain National Park, is a rugged mountain that rises to 1,946 ft. and has near-vertical cliffs that plunge into the Atlantic.

Georgina and Humberto, Chapman's Peak

Waterfront ferris wheel in Cape Town

After all that eye candy, the second tour we took offered sights but added gastronomical delights as well.

Also an included excursion, this one took us to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, a picturesque area near the cruise pier with shops, restaurants and a popular Ferris wheel, where our guide Iga told us locals can go on their birthdays each year and get a free ride.

The tour afforded views of Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain, one of the oldest mountains on earth, estimated to be 240 million years old, and with so flat a top that it resembles a gigantic table.

Then the excursion proceeded to lovely, pink, iconic, colonial-style Mount Nelson Hotel for its legendary high tea. 

The Mount Nelson, known locally as “The Nellie”, opened in 1899 and has hosted a long list of celebrities including John Lennon, who reportedly liked to meditate in its gardens, Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton. When Clinton came, the hotel famously refused to honor his security team’s request to chop down its mature palm trees.

Table Mountain

The three-course high tea (the menu changes seasonally) is served in the hotel’s elegant Lounge and Terrace/Garden Veranda to live piano selections. Our table in the Garden Veranda had views of Lennon’s favorite spot to meditate. We meditated ourselves, as we gazed at the garden, and thanked our lucky stars as we were offered flutes of Moet & Chandon champagne or a non-alcoholic sparkling selection.

High tea at Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town

High tea at Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town

Wait staff brought tiered trays of goodies to our table (the menu changes seasonally).

Our goodies included such savories as chilled pea soup, salmon mousse and local specialties like smoked snoek pate on cucumber (snoek is a long, slender species of snake mackerel).

Sweets included strawberry and basil sable Breton and Valrhona dark chocolate and hazelnut choux buns.

We had more than 60 teas to choose from – curated by a tea sommelier.

The hotel also has a Mount Nelson blend which is a mix of Darjeeling, Kenya, Assam, Keemun, Yunnan and Ceylon infused with rose petals.

I selected a hibiscus tea – which had a vivid red color and a hint of citrus and was the most delicious tea I have ever had.

After the savories and sweets came baskets with blueberry yogurt loaf slices and scones with clotted cream, strawberry jam and butter curls. We were also invited to partake of the cakes, cupcakes, petit fours and other goodies displayed on the Windsor Table in the Lounge. The Windsor Table is so named in honor of the British royal family, many members of which have stayed in the hotel, including Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrated her 21^st birthday at The Nellie. The experience was like being whisked for a couple of hours to another sumptuous, glorious era. Sadly, the hotel’s permanent resident, Nellie, a black cat, did not make an appearance during our visit. He is often spotted in the Lounge and other areas at teatime as he is partial to salmon, but he must have been taking, well, a cat nap.

Cakes for high tea at Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town

Greeter at the World Cruise Event in Cape Town

As if all this were not enough, we had another big treat while in Cape Town: the third of Regent’s world cruise exclusive events.

Held at Crossley & Webb, a vintage car company in the heart of town, we were welcomed by a local band playing festive music and ladies in traditional attire greeting us.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were passed around and we were invited to shop at an onsite artisan market, with 800 Rand certificates (about $50) per person so we could shop for a local souvenir.

Fun, convenient and appreciated.

Afterwards we sat down to an elegant, three-course dinner – the beef fillet, with garlic and thyme potato fondant, cauliflower and white bean puree, seasonal greens and a truffle and black pepper and café au lait jus was delicious. 

The South African Cape Choir performed traditional songs, and a violinist played Nessun Dorma and other classical pieces. A jazz quartet also delighted us with contemporary music. We were thoroughly entertained and enchanted with our memorable visit to Cape Town.

Local band at the World Cruise Event in Cape Town

Some quick superlatives of our visit to Cape Town:

·       Most scenic: the drive to Chapman’s Peak, which we feel is on a par to the Amalfi Drive.

·       Most delicious: the sweet and savory treats and the hibiscus tea at the Mount Nelson.

·       Most culturally enriching: the performance from the South African Cape Choir.

·       Most anticipated: Visits to European islands and the Iberian Peninsula as our world cruise progresses.

Follow along with Georgina and Humberto:
Preparing for a World Cruise | The Adventure Begins | Amazing Americas | Crossing the Pacific | Hawaiian Islands | French Polynesia | Venturing to New Zealand | Australia | Bali | Vietnam | Singapore | Seychelles | Madagascar | Thailand | Richards Bay | Cape Town | Europe | Conclusion

By Cruise Specialists client, Georgina Cruz

Georgina Cruz is a freelance travel writer specializing in cruises. Her work has appeared in national magazines and regional publications as well as on travel websites. She has been on more than 200 voyages including seven circumnavigations, all booked through Cruise Specialists.

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