After our early wakeups on our safari, we enjoyed sleeping in past 5 am.  Check out time was noon, but we were ready to go around 11 am.  We headed to the Zuiderdam on foot which was moored within a 1/4 mile.

Our room at the Radisson Red Hotel

This was the start of a new segment so there were some people who were joining the ship for the first time.  Once we entered the terminal it was easy to bypass the new check in lines and head directly to the ship.  Returning aboard was no more difficult than if we were returning from a daily’s shore excursion.

Cape Town overview map showing places we visited over two days

Close-up map of the Cape Town port area with a detailed inset for the cruise terminal

We left the hotel at 11:30 am, and we were back in our cabin by noon.

Entrance to the Cape Town Cruise Terminal

Table Mountain was visible from our cabin.  The sky over the mountain was clear – not a cloud in the sky – and we decided to take the cable car to the summit as we did in 2018.

All clear on Table Mountain at 11:30 am

We bought our $19 USD tickets online to save time once we arrived at the Cable Car station.  As it turned out, there wasn’t any line, but we didn’t know that in advance.  If you know it will be crowded, you can pay extra for a head-of-the-line cable car ticket – which might be worth it if you are in the high season and have limited time.

We planned to use Uber, but there was a taxi outside the terminal.  The taxi quoted us a price of $16 versus $5 for Uber.  We decided to stick with Uber and walked to the street to meet our driver.

Here is a screenshot of what address to select to get to the Table Mountain lower Cableway using Uber. Do not select the one that says “Table Mountain”

Uber is widely available in Cape Town, and I recommend using it here.  If you are new to Uber – take a trip in your home town so you have a little experience with the APP before using it in a different country.

Twenty minutes after we left the terminal, we arrived at the Cable Car station and walked over to the station entrance.  You will see where the queue if it is crowded, but today it was empty, and we headed up to the Cable Car platform via an elevator, several floors above the street.

The covered area in the lower left of this picture is where the queue begins on busy days.  The concrete structure on the left side is the actual cableway station, with the cars located on the top floor.

The ride to the top takes about six minutes.  The wind was intense as we exited the upper station, and we could see that the clouds were starting to cover the summit.  We had to hurry before our view was obscured and scrambled to the edge to take some quick pictures.  For the next ten minutes, the clouds would come and go, before they completely obscured the ground for the rest of the day.

When we first arrived it was clear

Ten minutes later it looked like this – but after thirty seconds it would clear again for another thirty seconds

We managed to get a clear picture before the clouds rolled in for good

With our picture-taking complete, we checked out the gift shop and snack bar.

In a few minutes, an announcement was made that the mountain was closing due to high winds and everyone had to proceed down the mountain.  We joined a long line in the wind and were pretty cold until we finally entered the upper station.

After one hour, we reached the front of the cable car line and headed down the mountain, reaching the lower station around 4:30 pm.

We browsed the lower station gift shop for a few minutes before heading out to the street to catch an Uber to Tashas’ restaurant at the V&A Waterfront, the drop-off spot for the HAL shuttle bus.  The V&A Waterfront is a modern, sprawling indoor mall with dozens of shops and restaurants.

Tashas’ is the location for the HAL shuttle stop at the V&A waterfront

Willoughby & Co, a nice Japanese and Seafood restaurant inside the V&A Waterfront, caught our eye, and we decided to enjoy an early dinner.  The food was terrific and moderately priced.

After dinner, we walked the one mile back to the ship crossing the pedestrian bridge and enjoying the pleasant weather and buskers.

Buskers are prevalent in the V&A waterfront

The pedestrian bridge from the V&A waterfront to cruise terminal

We will remain in Cape Town overnight