The Brazilian town of Ilhabela welcomed over 12,000 cruise visitors between Jan. 17 and Jan. 20, 2026.
According to local authorities, the passengers and crew members arrived onboard three vessels, including the Costa Favolosa, the MSC Fantasia, and the MSC Sinfonia.
The first ship to arrive was the Costa Favolosa, which is currently offering cruises departing from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The vessel anchored off Ilhabela on Jan. 17, 2026, as part of a nine-night cruise that also included visits to other destinations in Uruguay and Brazil.
Offering a similar nine-night itinerary from Buenos Aires, the MSC Fantasia visited Ilhabela on Jan. 18, 2026.
The vessels brought approximately 7,700 guests and over 2,700 crew members to the destination, local authorities said.
Ilhabela also welcomed the MSC Sinfonia on Jan. 20, 2026. The 65,542-ton vessel visited the town with 2,500 passengers as part of a seven-night cruise to Brazilian destinations.
According to estimates from Ilhabela’s Secretariat of Economic Development and Tourism, the 2025-26 cruise season is expected to bring over R$ 80 million into the city’s economy.
The operation is said to bring direct benefits to restaurants, bars, retail stores, tour guides, transportation providers, shore excursion organizers and general service providers.
After starting in October 2025 with a visit from the Scenic Eclipse, the season in Ilhabela runs through April 2026.
The town is expected to welcome 50 calls from a wide range of cruise lines and more than 217,000 passengers during that timeframe.
In addition to regular visits from Costa and MSC, Ilhabela is hosting calls from Celebrity Cruises, Silversea, Azamara, AIDA Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and more.
In related news, Ilhabela recently welcomed two unscheduled visits due to adverse weather on Brazil’s southern coast.
As reported by Cruise Industry News, the MSC Sinfonia and the Costa Favolosa changed their itineraries to include the destination, which is said to be naturally protected from weather and sea conditions.
