MSC Cruises is planning a significant capacity change for the 2018-2019 season in Brazil, including the new MSC Seaview, which will homeport in Santos.
The 154,000-ton ship will replace the smaller Preziosa and will also interport in Salvador.
A second MSC ship will also be in the market, as the Magnifica will homeport in Santos.
In Rio, the plan is for the MSC Fantasia to replace the smaller 1,900-passenger MSC Sinfonia.
“We are evaluating all the possibilities. There can still be changes, but the idea to boost capacity,” Adrian Ursilli, MSC’s general director in Brazil.
MSC is building up Rio as a fly-cruise port for Brazilian guests, recently announcing air-sea package deals from various Brazilian cities.
A fourth ship, the MSC Orchestra, will also be in the market, sailing from Buenos Aires.
“In the last 15 years, we’ve seen a huge spike in the cruise sector that peaked with 20 ships here in the 2011-2012 season. We knew, however, that this was going to change at some time, as the necessary measures were never taken by the government,” Ursilli told Cruise Industry News.
But he now believes the market dip is done and resurgence is in order.
“We are trying to create a more sustainable environment that would allow the cruise sector to grown again and MSC has all the interest in investing even more in the country,” Ursilli added.
