Page 5 - 2024 Brazil Cruise Report

Brazil Market Report

BIG SEASON

he biggest market in the region, After introducing Itajaí and Maceió as Also sailing from Argentina and Uru-
Brazil, is also set for a huge cruise a homeport for its local itineraries, MSC guay, Costa Cruises will see two of its
Tprogram, which is also expected Cruises is set to debut in Paranaguá in Brazil-based ships, the Costa Favolosa
to be the largest in the last decade. late 2023. and the Costa Fascinosa, interporting in
With ships sailing from various home- Located on Brazil’s Southern coast, Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
ports, the country is scheduled for a big the cargo port will serve as the home- Other parts of South America play a
domestic program that includes two port for the MSC Lirica during the entire key role in the cruise season, including
brands: Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises. 2024-25 season. Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Mostly
Brazil plays an important but seasonal Other coastal cities, including São served by U.S.-based cruise lines, the
role for both companies, absorbing sig- Francisco do Sul, Penha and Itaparica, area is traditionally an important win-
nificant winter capacity. are also working with cruise line asso- ter destination for premium and luxury
The offering from MSC includes ciations and other key players to work brands.
one of the company’s largest ships, the their way onto itineraries. Along with Holland America Line,
4,888-guest MSC Grandiosa. Sailing do- Over the years, the Brazilian market Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line
mestic cruises in Brazil for the first time, has ebbed and flowed, and has seen oth- and Silversea Cruises, Celebrity Cruises
the vessel will become the biggest ever er operations such as Iberocruceros and is one of the operators with the most ca-
to sail in the region. Pullmantur, plus Royal Caribbean, with pacity in the region.
Five additional MSC ships are sched- seasonal capacity. Other brands offering seasons in Pata-
uled to sail in South America this season, Challenges include the economic en- gonia and Tierra del Fuego include Oce-
such as the 4,140-guest MSC Seaview vironment, local rules for crewing and ania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises,
and the 3,500-guest MSC Preziosa. Com- the fact it has always been a seasonal Viking Ocean Cruises and Azamara.
pleting the lineup, the MSC Armonia, the market. For ships to deploy to Brazil Most of these cruise lines also offer
MSC Lirica and the MSC Musica are also seasonally, they must generate more occasional itineraries to the Central and
set for local seasons. yield in South America than they would Northern Andean region, which compris-
Costa is the other big Brazilian oper- elsewhere. es of northern Chile, Peru and Ecuador,
ator and recently said that Brazil is its Argentina and Uruguay continue to and serves as a popular destination for
second most important market. see consistent business with a few ships repositioning voyages to/from North
The Costa Diadema, the Costa Favo- homeporting in the ports of Buenos Aires America.
losa and the Costa Fascinosa make up and Montevideo, while Ushuaia serves With Pullmantur out of business, the
the company’s 2023-24 local program, as the key homeport for Antarctica op- northern part of South America has been
which is scheduled to be the largest and erations. left without a dedicated homeported op-
longest of its 75-year history. MSC Cruises is sending the MSC Mu- eration.
Not only growing in capacity, Brazil sica to serve these local markets, while Aimed at the local market, the Spanish
is also seeing its cruise operation expand the MSC Lirica is also set to interport in brand offered a series of cruises to the
to different regions, with new homeports Argentina during its domestic operation Caribbean and Central America in the
and ports of call debuting. in Brazil. past. 

Cruise Industry News: 2024 Brazil Market Report 9