Tag Archives: MSC Opera

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 29/30 October

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*    Cape Town harbour does not appear to be able to cope with the influx of tourists coming off cruise ships.  Earlier this week about 2000 passengers on the MSC Opera were stuck on board as there were only four customs officials to deal with the passengers who wanted to go on land to explore Cape Town, and those that wanted to board for the next leg of the cruise.  Provincial Minister of Tourism Alan Winde described the incident as a ‘major setback for cruise ship tourism in the city‘.  The departure time of the ship was delayed by two hours.

*   The price of petrol is expected to drop by at least 40 cents per liter and the price of diesel by about 56 cents per liter next Wednesday, predicts the Automobile Association.  Another petrol price decrease can be expected in December.

*   The Department of Transport is attempting to prevent Emirates from adding a fourth daily flight between Continue reading →

Cape Town bids royal welcome to majestic Queen Mary 2!

Queen Mary 2 Ruan BuysWestern Cape Tourism Minister Alan Winde impressed this weekend when his office sent a media release (on a Sunday!) to welcome the Queen Mary 2 and its 2300 passengers to Cape Town.  The majestic ship entered the harbour to picture perfect weather yesterday morning, and anchored at Duncan Dock, before leaving for Durban tomorrow, and thereafter to Australia and the Far East.

In its ten years of operation, the visit to Cape Town by the Queen Mary 2 is its fifth.   It weighs as much as a 23-storey building, it has 2000 bathrooms, 3000 telephones, 5000 stairs, and its staff and passengers use one million tea bags in a year, the media release informed.

The Minister announced that the city welcomes ‘10000 (cruise) visitors to the Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 12 November

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   One of the most interesting wines to be launched recently must be the Hidden Valley Shipwreck Shiraz 2009, for which the wine barrels were placed in the ocean at Cape Agulhas during maturation.  (received via Manley Communications)

*   Heston Blumenthal is opening a restaurant in the new terminal in Heathrow, due to open in June next year.

*   Graham Beck’s The Game Reserve wine range is dedicated to conservation, and each of the wines in the range is associated with one of the indigenous animals and plants on their wine estate in Robertson.  For each bottle sold in the range a contribution is made to the Wilderness Foundation, neck labels sharing this support of nature, wildlife, and wilderness, and its conservation. ‘The Game Reserve range of wines symbolizes our unwavering commitment to restoring balance. The symbiosis between our wines, our people and the earth is the golden thread which runs throughout all our actions. Leaving a lasting legacy for tomorrow means we’re duty bound to take fundamental and far-reaching steps today – a responsibility we’re deeply passionate about’, says the Waterford Communications media release on behalf of Graham Beck.

*   Emoya Luxury Hotel & Spa in Bloemfontein is offering its clients a unique ‘Shanty Town Experience‘,  whereby one can stay in a shanty with underfloor heating and wifi, in their game reserve!   The writer’s definition of a shanty town (with ‘poor people’) is insulting!

*   The first cruise liner of the season, MSC Opera, arrived in Cape Town Continue reading →