3Sisters Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Has anyone cruised out of Santos (Sao Paulo), Brazil before? I'm looking into an MSC Seaview itinerary for next year, 2025, that would cruise out just before travel visas became mandatory for US citizens. I have been on MSC Seaview's sister ships and feel very confident about the ship itself. It seems the cruise line has expanded immensely in South America, and I would love to try out a new itinerary! Since I haven't been to Brazil, I'm curious about this cruise port and local airport in Santos. Thanks in advanced! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emrys Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 On 5/6/2024 at 6:07 PM, 3Sisters said: Has anyone cruised out of Santos (Sao Paulo), Brazil before? I'm looking into an MSC Seaview itinerary for next year, 2025, that would cruise out just before travel visas became mandatory for US citizens. I have been on MSC Seaview's sister ships and feel very confident about the ship itself. It seems the cruise line has expanded immensely in South America, and I would love to try out a new itinerary! Since I haven't been to Brazil, I'm curious about this cruise port and local airport in Santos. Thanks in advanced! MSC Cruises is a huge cruise line in Brazil and has some good options for sure. South America is the only continent I've never been to. Good to try something different rather than the usual Caribbean! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Sisters Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 @Emrys Thanks for your feedback! I typically cruise the Caribbean, as you mentioned. I have been itching to cruise out of South America for quite some time and plan to spend a month there exploring a few different local countries. Ideally, I would have found an itinerary that cruised out of Peru, but I was unable to find any that seemed worthwhile. I feel very confident to cruise with MSC Cruises and was a little hesitant to cruise with a foreign line since I'm unfamiliar to Brazil. It sounds like your next cruise should be to South America! I have only been to North America and South America so I have many others to explore. Trying something different is surely a step in the right direction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall James-Vargas Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Brazil is becoming more and more popular for cruising! MSC Cruises has been expanding its itinerary options there, but a few other cruise lines also visit Brazil such as Celebrity Cruises , NCL, and HAL. HAL has some Grand Voyages that depart from Buenos Aires, Argentina (another popular cruise destination). Those niche itineraries go from pole-to-pole, exploring several countries throughout the cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Sisters Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 I have noticed Brazil becoming more and more popular for cruising. I'm assuming for good reason! I would love to hear personal experiences of those who have cruised in/out of Brazil in the past. The only reason it's taken me so long to fully commit to a South American itinerary is due to the price of travel. I'm not sure why the cost of flying from the US to Brazil is so steep. Many other flights to South America are about half the cost per person. MSC Cruises has a really good variety of cruises out of South America, more than most lines. In fact, I'm pretty sure MSC Cruises is a cruise leader for that continent right now. MSC Seaview is also a super nice and new ship, one I would really enjoy cruising on. I'm very excited! Based on recent cruise news, I may consider my next cruise out of Barcelona! Now that the mayor is supporting limiting cruise guests, the opportunity to cruise there may become more exclusive. I wouldn't want to miss that opportunity! Since I speak some Spanish, I would feel really comfortable embarking from there. The biggest hesitation is really the flight cost, once again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 @3Sisters I've always wanted to go to Brazil. It looks like a stunning location. Maybe one day I will take a cruise there and explore the area. You're right about Barcelona, it's a shame cruises are being limited in the city. However not all is lost if you speak Spanish as you can speak the language in Brazil even though it's mainly Portuguese they speak. And I've been told that both Portuguese and Spanish are very similar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Sisters Posted May 30 Author Share Posted May 30 @LukeJ I'm hopeful I can make it Barcelona soon. I would love to explore many of the surrounding areas in Spain too. I'm assuming cruises to Barcelona will become more costly and exclusive, making it even harder for me to make it over there. I'm contemplating the importance to prioritize visiting that region first. Brazil is going to be requiring visas here pretty soon in mid-2025. That's another headache I wouldn't want to contend with. Checking the Brazil box will also be important before the need for visas falls into place. Yes, Spanish and Portuguese are pretty similar, but not at all the same. It's nice to be able to understand bits and pieces of Portuguese and have some reading comprehension, but I totally feel more comfortable in an English or Spanish-speaking country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 I'm sure you will get by a lot easier than someone like me who can't speak any Spanish apart from 'que?'. The only issue about wanting to go further afield is the costs. From the UK, having a cruise to Spain will be a lot cheaper than someone from US. So it's a bit of give and take on that score. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall James-Vargas Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 @LukeJ Speaking the local language is huge! I think that's why many US residents enjoy cruising to Europe, where many regions speak dominantly English. Have you done a cruise to/from Spain? Since you live much closer than I do, it makes sense you may have cruised there in the past. I also feel the urgency to cruise to Barcelona before it becomes more exclusive. It's a niche destination many dream of! Brazil or anywhere in South America are other great regions to explore! If you have the opportunity to cruise to new places, you should go for it while you have the chance! You never know when things may change. In life, there are no guarantees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 I've worked in Spain, and been on vacation several times on land but never have taken a cruise. Well, I have but didn't get off on our port stop. We sailed the Mediterranean, flying to Malta and getting on the ship then. I believe Alacante was the destination, but we stayed on board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Sisters Posted June 7 Author Share Posted June 7 @LukeJ I love that you have such tangible knowledge about Spain. Since you have explored the land, I would say cruising elsewhere is appropriate. I prefer to cruise to new locations I have yet to visit. I find myself becoming complacent because I go to the same cruise locations over and over. Those locations are convenient, practical, and familiar to me, but I'm yearning for more. When you live close to certain ports it's easy to go on the same repetitive route. It's just so close to home and convenient! Oftentimes, I have even gotten rides to the port from friends or family and not even paid for parking at the port. It's just so affordable that way, but now I'm willing to condense down to one cruise per year instead of two in order to explore new regions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 @3Sisters it's a lovely location, and very popular with residents of the UK. I've also worked in Cyprus and Greece which are also beautiful places to explore. I know most people love to go on a cruise all the time, but for me, once every year is enough. It's not that I don't enjoy, I really do, but I like looking forward to other things too, and trying other things out in its place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Sisters Posted June 10 Author Share Posted June 10 @LukeJ I love to read that! It's so valuable to get personal experiences from others who have been to foreign-to-you territory. What did you do for work at these locations? You have traveled a pretty great deal in your lifetime. Would you be interested to cruise to these regions in the future or try out other areas since you have explored these already? I'm so excited for this Brazil itinerary but I'm looking at flights and they are so much steeper than I anticipated! Every single time I find the perfect itinerary, I think the flight prices end up being steeper than another week-long itinerary. I thought flying from Peru to Brazil would cut the costs down significantly but the flight prices are still so steep even thought these countries are within the same continent. These prices are deterring me from this itinerary altogether! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Yeah prices are high nowadays. It never used to be as bad as that when I began going abroad to experience work. I remember when I went Cyprus it cost me £99, I had a vacation for a week and then went to work in the clubs. That was an eye opener as it was my first ever vacation abroad and I decided to stay for a bit, just impulse. My mother wasn't too impressed when she received that call. And then a couple of years later, when I completed university, I decided to do the same thing in Greece. I loved it, and I'm so happy I had the opportunity to do so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3Sisters Posted June 12 Author Share Posted June 12 @LukeJ I'm going to look into different flight dates and cruise options to see what I could come up with. This itinerary is super exciting for me. I really hope I can find some more reasonable flight prices. I would hate to have to skip a cruise due to flight prices, but I can't change the prices. Just for a comparison, I was looking into prices from the US to Peru and those prices were under $400 but when I look into prices from the US to Brazil, the prices skyrocket! To Brazil the prices are close to $800 pp. I feel at such a loss, but I also feel so novice because if I were to go to Europe I would be paying upwards of $1,000 pp easily. I wish flying was more affordable! Anyone who travels to a new place usually has only good things to report. It's so important to travel and travel with an open mind. You can't get time and experiences back. That's what I keep telling myself about this cruise to Brazil. I may not get the opportunity again to do something like this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeJ Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 I don't understand how they can justify the prices they charge. I'm always someone who breaks this down to make sense of the maths. And when I hear things like that, I'm thinking how is that the price, and can only think that it's mainly made up of total greed. There is a lot of that about these days, and people are forced to pay these prices because they don't have a choice. If one airline charges a certain price and people continue to pay that price, then we have a dilemma. Firstly they arent going to drop the costs as people are already paying it. Secondly other airlines now won't differ much from those costs either now because people are paying them in the first place. It really is a disgrace at how the consumer in my opinions are being ripped off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall James-Vargas Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 It's unfortunate that you would have to cancel this itinerary! Have you looked into any other options? Cruising can be costly, but it hurts when the flight prices are higher than the actual cruise prices. The pricing could also be due to flying into that particular region of Brazil. You may be able to find more affordable flights out of neighboring cities in Brazil. The only problem with that is the distance to the port. Lots of logistics can be involved in planning a cruise, but you can definitely reap the rewards of the efforts you put into it. As they say, you reap what you sow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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