Corazul Cruceros is positioning its onboard product around a relaxed atmosphere tailored to the South American passenger, according to COO Camille Appeldoorn.
Operating the Buenavista, the company will launch service in Brazil during the 2026-27 season, offering cruises from Santos and Rio de Janeiro starting in late October.
“I only need two words to explain what you can expect onboard: come home,” he said in an interview with Cruise Industry News earlier this month.
“I want you to come onboard and feel like you’re at home. You drop your luggage, take your shoes off, put your flip-flops on and enjoy yourself. You don’t have to do anything; you can do whatever you want,” he continued.
“If you want to go off the ship and do a shore excursion, by all means. If you want to stay onboard, sit by the pool and have a caipirinha, please do so.”
Appeldoorn highlighted the design of the Buenavista, noting that the 1995-built vessel offers a variety of public spaces that keep passenger flow active throughout the evening, alongside newly upgraded youth facilities.
“We have the main theater, a secondary lounge, a disco, a sports bar, two shopping areas and a casino, so there’s so much to do all around the ship, and the entertainment will be everywhere as well,” he explained.
“It will not be only one show in the evening and that’s it. After the show, we will bring guests to the next venue. There’s a cinema onboard as well,” Appeldoorn noted.
Handed over to Corazul in late September, the Buenavista was last operated by Astro Ocean Cruises as the Piano Land.
The 1,806-passenger ship is being prepared for its maiden season as it repositions from China to South America.
To ensure the product resonates with the Brazilian market, Portuguese will be the primary language onboard.
“Mostly guest-facing positions will speak Portuguese because it’s important,” Appeldoorn said, noting that the company will follow a Brazilian rule requiring cruise lines to hire at least 25 percent of their crews locally.
“We also want to because we want to deliver a product that is very much catered to the market. So yes, Portuguese is a given and a mandatory language.”
“We will, of course, have an international crew onboard; you will see Filipinos, you will see Indonesians, more behind the scenes. There will be a good mixture,” he said.
