Zambezi Queen

The Zambezi Queen boat cruises on Chobe River (Botswana, South Africa), departing from Kasane. This houseboat also offers African safari cruisetour/package deals with departures from South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town).

The vessel is owned by the company Zambezi Queen Collection Botswana (part of Mantis Collection Hotels) and seasonally chartered by international operators like AmaWaterways and Avalon Waterways.

In 2018, Mantis Collection was acquired by Accor Group (France).

Along with AmaWaterways, the riverboat is often chartered by other river cruise operators offering luxury Chobe River travel deals in South Africa. A similar design and features has the Amazon River cruise ship MV Aria (Peru, South America).

The magnificent Zambezi Queen was designed specifically for safari river cruising on the Chobe River.

The 28-passenger Zambezi Queen was launched in 2009 and features 14 balcony staterooms (ranging up to 300 ft2), decorated in a contemporary style. The top deck is air-conditioned and consists of the lounge, dining room, bar, a sundeck/sunbathing area and a pool.

What is a houseboat cruise ship?

A houseboat cruise ship is a floating vessel that combines the living accommodations of a home with the mobility and navigation capabilities of a riverboat. Houseboat cruisers are designed primarily for leisure cruising on calm inland waterways, including rivers, canals, and lakes.

Unlike larger, higher-capacity river cruise ships, houseboats are typically smaller, slower, and designed for intimate travel on sheltered waterways. They generally feature a flat-bottomed hull and a spacious superstructure, usually arranged over two decks, housing guest staterooms, public facilities, and onboard venues.

Houseboat cruisers are motorized, self-propelled vessels capable of navigating between different anchorages under their own power. Modern cruising houseboats offer a range of comfortable amenities, including air conditioning throughout, spacious accommodations, and open-air areas such as sun decks.

Ship review

The onboard service is by all African staff, attentive and highly personalized.

The dining room, located on the 3rd floor, offers unforgettable views on three sides. Guests can experience gourmet dishes such as "fillet of beef with bordelaise sauce" and "butternut and macadamia soup" paired with the perfect wine. A full English breakfast is offered in the mornings, and the afternoons provide a gourmet lunch buffet. The bar serves imported and local spirits, beers, and wine.

Complimentary beer and wine with all lunch and dinner are always available.

Zambezi Queen is also an eco-friendly vessel, built on the foundation of responsibility toward the environment. The conventional propeller system was replaced with water jet propulsion, causing no damage to the riverbed.

The latest low-emission and fuel-efficient diesel generators are run during the day. The boat runs on battery power all through the night. Hot water is assured by a solar heating system. River water is used in taps and showers, and all soaps and cleaning detergents on board are biodegradable. Energy-saving lights are used throughout the ship.

• Passenger decks: 3 (out of 3)
• Cabin grades number: 3
• A total number of cabins: 14 (of which 2 Master Suites, 12 Balcony Suites).
• Restaurants: Dining Room.
• Lounges & Bars: Lounge & Bar (open-plan), Lobby, Library, Gift Shop, top-deck (bow swimming pool with loungers, aft shaded seating area).

Zambezi Queen's cruise deals are inclusive of alcohol (at lunch & dinner) and soft beverages, safari tours (river and land excursions), airport and land transfers.

Zambezi Queen is a newly redesigned and privately owned luxury houseboat. She is the only AMAwaterways chartered ship operating African safari cruises. The onboard dining experience features a classy dining room with unobstructed panoramic views of the surroundings, delectable dishes, top wine selection, full English breakfast, a gourmet lunch buffet, and formal dining. Complimentary wine & beer are offered at lunch & dinner. Service staff is all African.

With a stylish elegance look, the Zambezi Queen houseboat features all-suite accommodations - each with a full-size private balcony. This luxury Chobe River cruise boat was built with a water jet propulsion system instead of the conventional propeller system to prevent any damage to the riverbed, along with fuel-efficient generators (only during day hours - through the night the ship runs on batteries). Another feature is that all the hot water on board is provided by solar panels. The houseboat also has sewage processing and water purification plants installed. She uses river water in showers/tap and all cleaning detergents/soaps used on board are biodegradable.

Cabins

Cabins (Types/Categories, number, location), high to low:

• Master Suites - MS (x2, deck Upper) - sizes 300ft2/28m2, with either a double or 2 single beds. Master Suites have a second, bigger balcony.
• Balcony Staterooms - SA (x8, decks Middle & Lower, size 235ft2/22m2.) and SB (x2, deck Middle, size 215ft2/20m2.

Zambezi Queen ship access information

The boat's location is 80 km / 50 mi from Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and Livingstone (Zambia) and only 3 km / 2 ml from the Kasane Airport. All three arrival points are accessible with regular flights from Johannesburg (South Africa's largest city).

Coach transfers from Livingstone / Victoria Falls to the houseboat take ~ 90 min.

Access from Namibia is possible by 30 min flight charters from Victoria Falls to Impillia Island, with 10 min tender boat ride to the ship.

Another option is a Namibian private fly charter company operating chartered flights from Kasikili (Seduda) Island covering an area of ~300 km / ~190 ml.

On Zambezi Queen African cruises, AmaWaterways offers discounted airfare deals on major airlines (without charging Flight Deviation fees).

Chobe River cruise itineraries

The luxury Zambezi Queen boat offers African safari cruises on the Chobe River in Botswana (Africa). Some of the itineraries are also inclusive of land travel package deals. Follows the list of AmaWaterways Zambezi Queen cruise itinerary themes operated by the houseboat on Chobe river, and the ones combined with South Africa departures:

• "STARS OF SOUTH AFRICA" is a 16-day (sailing 4 days) river safari cruise from Cape Town to Johannesburg, with a total of 16 complimentary land tours (excursions, visits, fishing/game watching). Also included in the Zambezi Queen cruise fares are a 3-night Kruger National Park safari lodge stay, plus 3-night Cape Town, 2-night Victoria Falls and 1-night Johannesburg luxury hotel packages.
• The "DISCOVER AFRICA" segment is 12-days (sailing 4 days) safari cruise from Cape Town to Johannesburg. There are 8 complimentary land tours (excursions and visits), plus 2-night Victoria Falls and 3-night Cape Town luxury hotel packages included in the fares.
• The "RIVERS and RAILS OF AFRICA" variation is 12-nights (sailing 3 days) combined Rovos Rail train and Chobe river cruise from Cape Town to Johannesburg. There are 19 complimentary land tours (excursions/drives/visits), plus 2-night Victoria Falls and 3-night Cape Town hotel packages, and 3-night train travel from Victoria Falls to Pretoria included in the fares.
• "GOLDEN TRAILS OF EAST AFRICA" are 18-day (sailing 4-days) Chobe River safari cruises from Johannesburg to Nairobi. An optional 3-night Cape Town hotel package is offered as a pre-Johannesburg extension. There are 16 complimentary land tours (excursions, 4x4 drives, visits). Also included in the Zambezi Queen cruise fares are luxury hotel packages (1-night Johannesburg or 3-night Cape Town /optional, 2-night Victoria Falls, 1-night Johannesburg, 1-night Nairobi) and 6-night luxury African safari lodges (6-night stay in Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Manyara Lake).

Below is the houseboat's Chobe River cruisetour itinerary map. It shows the sailing route of the houseboat's 3- and 4-day luxury Botswana voyages from homeport Kasane (round-trip departures). There are 4 land base camps along the route - three in Namibia (Cenku, Mbalasinte, and Maliwaza) and one in Botswana (Kasane).

Note: You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.