Seaview, this season's largest ship, brings an average of seven thousand tourists
The cruise season in Rio de Janeiro is in full swing! In the first week of December alone, from the 1st to the 7th, the forecast is for approximately 38,650 tourists to arrive at Pier Mauá. There are eight ships, and on the 5th, 6th and 7th, there will be two dockings per date. One of the highlights is Seaview, MSC Cruises' new flagship, launched last year fully equipped with new technologies specifically designed to improve passengers' digital experience on board.
Flying the Italian flag, the Costa Pacifica arrives and departs on the 1st. It left Italy and passed through Savona (Italy), Marseille (France Riviera), Barcelona (Spain), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands). In Brazil, he passed through Recife, Maceió, Salvador and after Rio de Janeiro he will continue his journey to Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Launched in 2009, Costa Pacifica is the third cruise ship in the Concordia class, with the sisters Concordia, Favolosa, Serena and Fascinosa, in addition to Carnival Splendor. This ship's itinerary program is based on cruises in the Central and Western Mediterranean.
Fun fact: in addition to the ship's staff and crew, Costa cruise passengers are also served by Peper robots – the latest cyborg technology implemented across the entire fleet in 2016. These humanoid robots greet and guide passengers upon boarding. They also help them throughout the cruise by providing information and tips about onboard dining, entertainment, enrichment program (workshops, pre-booked events), casino and shopping promotions, excursions and shore excursions. Pepper robots are mobile and communicate in three languages (English, German, Italian). They can also interpret human emotions by analyzing tones of voice and facial expressions.
On the 3rd it is the turn of the MSC Fantasia, which will make a short trip to Ilha Grande and return to Pier Mauá on the 6th. The vessel is scheduled for mini cruises of three to five nights in the Southeast, trips of up to six nights to Salvador and Ilhéus , and up to nine nights to Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
On the 5th, two giants will be docked simultaneously at Pier Mauá: the Costa Fascinosa, with capacity for 3780 passengers and the Seaview, with 5400. The current Costa Fascinosa cruise is 18 days, leaving from Savona to Rio de Janeiro, whose itinerary started last November 17th and ends on December 5th this year.
Flying the Maltese flag, MSC Seaview began its journey on November 14th, departing from Cannes (France). After passing through some cities in Spain and Italy, on the 2nd he arrives here in Brazil, in Salvador and then leaves for Ilhéus, arrives in Rio and from here he leaves for Santos, in São Paulo. The Seaside class ship design was developed for year-round operations in warm climates. It has many large outdoor areas, ropes course, water park with five slides, three walkways with glass floors, a surrounding Promenade Deck (at sea level) lined with shops, bars and restaurants (indoor and outdoor area), Walled elevators (sea view). Among the vessel's technological features are advanced water treatment and waste treatment plants, new generation scrubbers, optimized hull, antifouling paints, LED lighting throughout, advanced heat recovery technology.
For the first time at Pier Mauá, on the 6th the Oceania Marina arrives, with a 26-day trip, one way from Monte Carlo to Rio de Janeiro. The itinerary began on November 11th and ends on December 7th, however the ship will remain at Pier Mauá until December 8th, at 10pm. Launched in 2011, the ship is one of the company's newest, along with sister ship Riviera. Its itinerary program is based on luxury world cruises to exotic destinations in the South Pacific (departing from Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia), South America, Canada/New England, Europe (Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Baltic). Oceania Marina offers Panama Canal transits and transatlantic repositioning crossings.
On December 7th, Pier Mauá will have three berths: the Oceania Marina (which arrives on the 6th and departs on the 8th), the MSC Musica and the Costa Pacifica. Launched in 2006, MSC Musica is the first of MSC Cruises' Musica class ships, alongside Orchestra, Poesia and Magnifica. With Musica, MSC has captured much of the English-speaking cruise market, but the ship attracts different nationalities – Germans and Brits in the winter, Italians in the summer months and more and more Americans during the high season. Leave Buenos Aires on December 2nd, stay in the Marvelous City for a day and return to Buenos Aires.
For this season, Pier Mauá should receive around 425 thousand tourists during embarkation, disembarkation and transit, which represents an increase of 12% compared to the previous season. Between October 2019 and April 2020, there will be an increase of 12 berths and the number of international ships, from 19 to 27.
The complete program can be found on the website: https://www.piermaua.rio/programacao/
