Swan Hellenic promises unique experiences in destinations that many times no other cruise line visits, so we embarked on the SH Vega to find out.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 65 – June 2023
We boarded the SH Vega in Dakar, a modern and stylish vessel of just 10,700 gross tons with a capacity for 150 passengers, attended by a crew of 120. Built at the Helsinki Shipyard Oy, it is the second ship in the Swan Hellenic fleet, which has just taken delivery of its third, the slightly larger SH Diana, to complete its trio of vessels.
The company opted for a Scandinavian design, commissioned from the Swedish studio Tillberg Design, which gives the ship a modern and airy feel, with soft colors in both the wood and textiles. There's no trace of materials more traditionally associated with luxury, such as marble, dark woods, or chrome. The overall feeling is one of warmth and light, and the holographic fire fireplaces in both the cabins and the Club Lounge surely contribute significantly to that warmth.
The SH Vega has three main areas: the Observation Lounge at the top of the bow, the Club Lounge at the stern, and the main Restaurant, already on deck 4.
The Observation Lounge is a bright and airy lounge for social activities. It features a giant high-definition LED screen where, each day, the expedition team presents a photo summary of the morning's excursions and updates on the following day's plans. It also hosts enriching lectures on the natural and cultural aspects of the places visited, as well as other topics. On our cruise, the bartender led a martini-making activity, the chef a cooking demonstration, and the housekeeping team showed how to make towel figures.
At night, the Observation Lounge is the ideal place to have a drink while the pianist plays the notes of great international pop hits.
On the same deck, but at the stern, the Club Lounge is the ship's buffet, used primarily for breakfast and lunch, though it also serves as a café at any time. It has many tables for four people, because on an expedition voyage with just over a hundred passengers, it's inevitable that you'll make friends with whom to share your experiences at each destination.
The Club Lounge provides direct access to the aft pool, a truly fantastic space for sunbathing and cooling off during our cruise around the warm islands of Macaronesia. The pool is heated, so it can be enjoyed even in cooler weather.
There is a bar with a grill by the pool, and definitely, on the last night of the cruise, we experienced one of the best moments we remember on board a ship, dining on lobster outdoors while the sun turned the stern of the ship orange with La Gomera under its rays.
Since space at the aft pool is limited, the Vega has two additional upper decks for sunbathing. Deck 8 houses important facilities such as the gym, equipped with various stationary bikes, treadmills, rowing machines, and other equipment. Opposite the gym are not only the changing rooms but also a sauna with a window, which must be a real treat to use in polar regions. For the more adventurous, just beyond the window, outside, there is a jacuzzi.
At the bow is the bridge, which is sometimes open for passengers to visit and discuss any aspect of navigation with the officers, although there is no need to make an effort to meet the captain, as he often makes himself known to the guests.
The treatment is very close with both the captain and the hotel manager and all the staff, as they interact with the passengers continuously.
On deck 4 is the main restaurant and reception, where two crew members offered a cool drink and cold wipes every time a guest came aboard after the hot excursions around Cape Verde and the Canary Islands.
In the aft pool we experienced one of the best moments we remember on board a cruise ship, dining on lobster outdoors while the sun bathed the SH Vega in orange light with La Gomera under its rays.
The restaurant, also decorated in warm, light tones, can be used equally well as a breakfast or lunch buffet, thanks to counters that can be concealed behind wooden slat panels. At night, the soft lighting creates a sense of intimacy, further enhanced by strategically placed shelves that create cozy spaces. Many tables feature sofa-style seating, adorned with leather straps reminiscent of the clasps on luxurious suitcases of yesteryear.
On deck 3, there's an interesting library with beautiful books on geography, nature, and tourist destinations, so it's well worth a visit to enrich your knowledge with its images and information. This deck also houses the massage room and the self-service laundry, very useful for doing laundry on long cruises and avoiding having to carry enormous suitcases with countless items of clothing.
Finally, on deck 3 there's something very important: the Bootcamp. This is the room where you prepare to disembark and board Zodiacs in destinations that don't have sufficient port infrastructure for the ship to dock. Two water dispensers will allow us to refill our bottles before leaving the ship, and if it's one of the polar regions, we'll change our shoes for disinfected boots provided by the company to avoid carrying seeds, fungi, or any organism on our feet that could disrupt the ecosystem.
Finally, we would like to point out that, although the cruise line's official language is English, many of our crew members spoke Spanish. This included everyone from the most important person in terms of comfort, the hotel manager Marcelo, to the spa manager, one of the receptionists, and even one of the expedition guides.
The route: volcanoes and landscapes we never even imagined
We began our expedition cruise on the SH Vega in Dakar, Senegal. Swan Hellenic provides a pre-cruise hotel night and transfers to the ship, ensuring a smooth and predictable journey to the vessel. Therefore, someone was waiting for us upon arrival at the airport and escorted us to the vehicle that would take us to the hotel.
The van wasn't exactly the latest in luxury and comfort, but we must remember that these were expedition trips in remote or underdeveloped places, so in that context, it fulfilled its purpose and dropped us off at the, indeed, wonderful Radisson Blue Hotel in Dakar.
We were able to visit Dakar on a tour, and it was a better experience than we expected. Dakar boasts some very interesting monuments and buildings, such as the enormous "Rising of Africa" statue, which truly impressed us, and the Mosque of Divinity. Dakar has upscale areas that rival those of Southern Europe, with modern office buildings. We loved the way the locals dressed; the colorful traditional Senegalese costumes give the women a polished and striking presence, and the men are equally stylish, also taking care of their appearance.
Besides visiting a local market where we saw fascinating varieties of fish, seafood, fruit and tubers, we couldn't resist the temptation to leave without buying some colorful dresses, with passionate haggling included, to remember the trip in Spain.
We set sail from Dakar leaving behind the infamous Gorea Island, better known as Slave Island, a beautiful but sadly historic enclave because for three centuries millions of forced deportations of slaves took place there to provide cheap labor for the development of the colonies in America.
All the excursions that we will describe below were included in the price of the cruise, with some more exclusive paid alternatives offered.
The following day was spent sailing, which helped us recover from the trip to Dakar and the hectic day of excursions and boarding. We enjoyed some exceptional moments of relaxation in the pool under the warm African sun. In the afternoon, the expedition team explained the procedures and safety rules for boarding the Zodiacs the next day.
Thus, we arrived at Ilha do Fogo, in Cape Verde, an island that is essentially a large volcanic cone, where tourism is still undeveloped. The SH Vega dropped anchor a few hundred meters from the small local port, and we boarded the Zodiac for a fun-filled transfer, complete with excitement and splashes from the crosswind that was blowing at the time.
Several small vans (in our experience, the standard in Africa) took us to Fogo National Park, the enormous 9 km diameter caldera that crowns the island, making a few stops along the way to see the local crops and landscapes.
The caldera that makes up the Fogo National Park is incredible, because inside it is the enormous Pico do Fogo, formed in the eruption of 1680, and which has continued to be active ever since, with two recent eruptions through new vents in 1995 and 2014.
The landscape is breathtaking, with enormous lava flows from 2014 where it's easy to see the roofs of buildings swallowed by the lava. Buildings in the caldera near an active cone? Yes, about 1,000 people live permanently in this caldera, in the villages of Bangaeira and Portela. Furthermore, they cultivate grapes and produce Chã wine, which we were able to taste at the winery, located right below the impressive caldera wall.
Excited by what we had seen, we returned to the ship to visit Porto Novo on Ilha de Santo Antão the following day. A modern pier accommodated the SH Vega without any problem, so there was no need to disembark by Zodiac. The excursion took us to the mountaintop, to a crater called Cova de Paul, which left us speechless. Again, an exceptional circular space, this time viewed from above, but quite unlike the previous one, it wasn't covered in lava flows. Instead, it was completely tamed by humans, its surface divided into fields and its slopes covered in trees. A spectacle for the eyes and perfect for taking memorable photos.
Seeing the lava flow from the Tajogaite volcano that emerged in La Palma in 2021 from just a few meters away was an exceptional and very exciting experience.
The hike continued down the opposite slope, offering us the chance to see the incredible valleys nestled between sheer cliffs, covered in lush tropical vegetation. We were tempted to stay for several days to hike through such breathtaking scenery, an experience offered on an optional paid excursion.
Finally, we returned to the SH Vega via the coastal road, which would leave us with other impressive images of cliffs falling into the sea at the Fontes Lighthouse.
Two days of relaxation and sailing passed before we reached the Canary Islands, where our first stop would be in La Palma.
It's an island well-known for its beauty. In contrast to the Cape Verde islands, La Palma boasts much more vegetation, as well as towns and infrastructure more typical of the West. Also famous for the recent eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, with its new cone named Tajogaite, we didn't think the excursion would include a visit to that area, but to our surprise, we were wrong.
After visiting the Silk Museum in El Paso, we headed straight to the road blocked by the lava flow, and we were overcome with emotion. Seeing the enormous new volcanic cone and the immense devastation caused by the flow, which stretches down the hillside for miles all the way to the sea, is breathtaking.
Once the recent eruption had been assimilated, the excursion headed to the Caldera de Taburiente, a spectacular natural space formed 2 million years ago that impresses with its size and the great verticality of its walls, generously covered with Canary pine, forming a dreamlike landscape.
We returned to Santa Cruz de la Palma, stopping at the Mirador de la Concepción viewpoint, perched atop a small caldera whose swell created the space for the city's founding. We still had time to stroll along Santa Cruz's beautiful Calle Real, lined with traditional Canarian and colonial buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries. The colorful traditional wooden balconies of the Avenida Marítima were the last thing we saw before returning to the SH Vega.
The next day we woke up entering La Gomera. Just like in La Palma, the SH Vega docked at the modern pier in the Port of San Sebastián de La Gomera, since Spanish law prohibits foreign vessels from using their auxiliary boats for anything other than an emergency.
In La Gomera, the excursion took us to Garajonay National Park, high on the island, where a humid laurel forest greeted us shrouded in mist. We were still able to admire its trees covered in mosses and lichens, indicators of the high humidity. Returning to San Sebastián de La Gomera, we stopped at the Roques viewpoint to admire and photograph these enormous rock formations that rise above the landscape.
We finished our cruise in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, sad to see such an enriching experience come to an end, and declaring ourselves admirers of the volcanoes and their incredible landscapes.
Expedition cruises offer a very different experience from large cruise ships. Small groups, exciting destinations, exclusivity, and unforgettable experiences—we've definitely become addicted to this way of traveling and will definitely be back.
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