Cruise season at the Port of Santos gets new start date

So far, Corazul has released only AI-generated images; no actual photos of the ship are available (Corazul Cruceros/Disclosure)

The arrival of the Buenavista, operated by Spanish company Corazul, at the Port of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo state, has been postponed from October 20 to October 27. Due to the vessel’s delay, as of Friday (16), it was still near South Africa. As a result, the first cruise departing from the Santos waterfront is now expected to take place only on October 30, rather than the previously scheduled date of October 23. The information was provided by the press office of Concais, which operates the Giusfredo Santini Passenger Terminal.

According to the announcement, the Buenavista will remain docked at the Port of Santos and, on October 28, will welcome guests of Corazul for a ship presentation event. The first commercial voyage is scheduled for October 30, departing at 6 p.m. and calling at Rio de Janeiro and Búzios, before returning to Santos on November 2.

The debut of the Buenavista, surrounded by uncertainty, is also expected to mark Corazul Cruzeiros’ entry into the Brazilian market, in partnership with R11 Travel, a company specializing in cruises. With a capacity of 2,000 passengers, the ship is scheduled to make 39 calls at the Port of Santos throughout the season, offering itineraries of three, four, five and seven nights, with embarkation in Santos and Rio de Janeiro.

According to Concais, following the schedule update, the 2026/2027 season will now include 163 calls, spread across 102 days of terminal operations. A total of ten ships are scheduled to call at the terminal through April 4, 2027.

Expected passenger traffic remains unchanged at 418,000 embarkations and approximately 900,000 passengers, including embarkations, disembarkations and transit passengers.

Of the ten scheduled ships, six will make regular calls, with passengers embarking and disembarking in Santos, while four will operate exclusively on a transit basis. In these cases, passengers disembark to visit Santos and other destinations in the region, returning to their ships at the end of the day.

The season, which coincides with Concais’ 28th anniversary of operations, will also feature the debut of the MSC Virtuosa in Brazil. With a capacity of 6,300 passengers, the ship is scheduled to arrive on December 2 and will be the largest vessel received by the terminal since operations began.

The company

As recently as the beginning of this month, the Buenavista, Corazul’s only ship, remained docked in China. Although it has since begun sailing, it is still far from Brazil.

A newcomer to the industry, the company canceled its entire European schedule in June. European media reports pointed to financing problems and difficulties transferring the Buenavista from Asia to Europe. When contacted by A Tribuna , Corazul assured the newspaper that it is in contact with affected customers and that there will be no problems in Brazil.