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Brazil Says Cruise Is A Go, 2021-2022 Season Is On

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With government permission now granted, cruise ships are returning to Brazil in November.

After months of negotiations, the green light for the country’s domestic cruise restart was announced on Saturday.

“We’ll have cruises this year: the cruise season is authorized,” Brazil’s Minister of Tourism, Gilson Machado Neto said in a social media video.

The government was committed to bringing the ships back, he added, as the cruise industry “generates 42,000 direct and indirect jobs in Brazil.”

The country is now working with local authorities in homeports and ports of call, in order to create an operational plan for the cruise ships.

Specific health rules, protocols and quarantine definitions are also in the works and set to be published soon, the government said in a press statement. 

Preliminary protocol plans call for ships operating with reduced capacity, COVID-19 testing for all passengers prior to boarding, vaccinated crew, use of face masks onboard and more.

Shore excursions will need to be organized by the cruise lines in a bubble format, following the protocols implemented by, not only the ships, but also of the cities being visited.

The government expects calls in several destination around the country, including Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Angra dos Reis, Búzios, Fortaleza, Maceió and Ilhabela.

Popular in the region, itineraries to Argentina and Uruguay are out of the plans for the time being. So are transatlantic crossings and other international itineraries.

Seven Ships, 570,000 Berths

After a 20-month gap, the country is set to host seven vessels for the local 2021-2022 season.

The highlight is the 2019-built Costa Smeralda, which is set to become the biggest ship ever to sail in the country.  

According to the government, 566,000 berths are being offered during the season; 35,000 up on the 2019-2020 season.

In total, 130 cruises and 570 cruise calls are set to take place between November 2021 and April 2022.

“The cruise sector is essential for the development of the nautical tourism in our country … we congratulate our partners for this victory,” said Carlos Brito, Executive Director of the Brazilian Tourism Board (Embratur).

Norwegian CEO Frank Del Rio: ‘Let Us Cruise’

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“Just let us cruise, CDC,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), on the company’s Thursday earnings call, expressing his frustration with what he called ridiculous regulations and overreach by the agency.

“But is it not just the CDC (holding the industry back),” Del Rio added. “To be fair, the rest of the world has to open up as well – Europe, Asia and South America.

“How quickly we can return to normal will depend on travel restrictions being lifted and borders being opened.

“There are 50 million people who have not been able to cruise for the last year and a half and now want to cruise. There is pent up demand setting us up for a beautiful scenario to improve pricing.”

Forward bookings and pricing are up compared to 2019 which was a record year, Del Rio said. 

Part of Del Rio’s frustration comes from Norwegian submitting an “ironclad proposal” to the CDC on April 5 and has not yet received an answer, which also puts the mid-July return to service in jeopardy.

Among the impractical and onerous requirements, the CDC has released is that passengers must wear face masks onboard all the time, only lifting the mask to take a bite of food or a sip of a drink, according to Del Rio. He said he was hoping these requirements would not be applicable to fully vaccinated ships.

NCLH will require 100 per cent vaccinations of passengers and crew wherever the ships are sailing and do not plan to participate in the simulated sailing program of the CDC, Del Rio noted.

He said he was outraged that the cruise industry is being treated differently than airlines, casinos, etc. and said that cruise ships will be the safest place on earth.

“We will have 100 per cent vaccinated passengers and crew in addition to our SailSAFE program,” he said.