The Scenic Eclipse opened the 2025-26 cruise season in the Brazilian state of Bahia earlier this week, according to a press release.

Offering a repositioning cruise to Antarctica, the expedition ship docked at the Port of Salvador on Wednesday.

Guests were welcomed with a special event held by Bahia’s State Secretary of Tourism, which included dance and cultural presentations.

A tourism information desk was also available with professionals to assist English-, Spanish-, French-, Italian- and German-speaking guests.

After welcoming the Scenic Eclipse, the state expects to host 61 cruise calls this season, which extends through April 2026.

Over 260,000 guests are expected to arrive onboard the vessels, visiting Salvador, Ilhéus, Porto Seguro and Itacaré.

“Our expectation is very positive because we had a very good season last year,” said Bahia’s Coordinator of the Tourist Service, Patrícia Seabra.

She noted that Bahia will be the state in Northeast Brazil with the highest number of cruise visits during the 2025-26 season.

“This highlights tourism in the state, which has been growing more and more among Brazilians and foreigners,” Seabra added.

In addition to welcoming transit calls, Bahia also serves as a homeport for cruise ships at the Salvador Cruise Terminal.

The state’s Tourism Secretary, Maurício Bacelar, said that over 13,000 passengers started their cruises at the port during the 2024-25 season.

“This season, our expectation is for an increase of over 30% in passengers embarking, which means a longer stay in the city and more revenue,” he stated.

Bahia’s Port Authority is also said to be making investments to improve operations for large ships in its main destinations.

“We are organizing the infrastructure of the ports of Salvador and Ilhéus for large ships and have reduced the waiting time for cruises. This will give us a larger number of tourists this year,” said Manager Marivalda da Silva.