Rio de Janeiro, the glitzy Brazilian city known for its nightlife and famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, has a thriving cruise-tourism industry at its Pier Mauá port, which is now gearing up for the summer high season.

The port’s 2024-25 season opened on October 27, 2024 with the expedition ship World Navigator arriving with 200 guests onboard. The ship, operated by Atlas Ocean Voyages, is one of 37 ships scheduled to call during the season, several of them more than once. 

In total, Pier Mauá, Brazil’s largest cruise port, will handle 107 ship visits, the port has announced.

Pier Mauá will see an estimated 323,000 cruise guests pass through the facility on international as well as Brazilian cruise line ships. Some vessels will spend multiple days in port, embarking or disembarking guests.

“Having an increase in the number of long-stay cruises, of up to four days, this season establishes Rio de Janeiro as one of the most sought-after destinations for national and international cruise passengers,” said Marcello Chagas, operations manager at Pier Mauá.

Several MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises ships are among those that will make regular calls to the port, including MSC Seaview, MSC Poesia, and MSC Orchestra, and Costa Favolosa and Costa Pacifica. Another MSC Cruises’ ship, the 6,300-guest MSC Grandiosa, will be the largest ship to call at the port this season.

The mega-ship will visit on December 5, 2024 and again on April 6, 2025. The December visit will be a port call on the ship’s 17-day voyage from Malaga, Spain, to Sao Paulo, Brazil, with the call to Rio de Janeiro coming at the end of the cruise.

Princess Cruises will have ships calling at Rio de Janeiro this season, too, for the first time in five years. The 2,680-guest Sapphire Princess will stop at Pier Mauá on November 25, 2024, as she makes her way south to Antarctica on a 35-day cruise from Fort Lauderdale.

The 3,560-guest Majestic Princess will visit the port on January 7, 2025, as part of her 18-day cruise from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Fort Lauderdale.

Another notable ship returning to Rio de Janeiro is Cunard’s Queen Victoria. The 2,500-guest ship will visit the port on February 5 and 6, 2025, during her 52-day “South America Discovery” voyage sailing roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale.

Other ships slated to call during the upcoming season include Crystal’s Crystal Serenity; Villa Vie Residences’ Villa Vie Odyssey; Silversea Cruises’ Silver Ray; and Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ Bolette.

Read Also: Things New Cruisers Should Always Do on a Cruise

All of the guests who visit the port will enjoy a renovated luggage area, which has been improved with air conditioning and other comforts.

Rio de Janeiro Port Call Popular on Unique, Lengthy Cruises

Rio de Janeiro’s Pier Mauá is routinely included on world and grand cruises, as ships cross the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean and circumnavigate South America, sailing west to the South Pacific, French Polynesia, East Asia, India, and beyond.

The port is included, for example, on Holland America Line’s 100-day “Pole to Pole” grand voyage onboard Volendam, departing on January 25, 2025. The ship will sail to the Arctic Circle and Antarctica, calling at Rio de Janeiro as she sails the South American coast.

All told, the 1,432-guest Volendam will visit 68 ports in 28 countries on five continents.

Oceania Cruises also has Rio de Janeiro on the itinerary of its “Exotic Atlantic Shores” grand voyage, which departs from Pier Mauá on January 27, 2025. The 684-guest Insignia will sail from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town, South Africa.

Also, many ships sailing to Antarctica will call at Rio de Janeiro as they make their way south to Ushuaia, Argentina, gateway to the Drake Passage and the White Continent.

New South Wales, a state in southeastern Australia that is home to the vibrant cruise port of Sydney, has plenty to celebrate as it looks back at the $4.4 billion industry in 2023-24. 

It was, according to data from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the Australian Cruise Association (ACA), the biggest economic boon from cruise tourism that the region has ever recorded.

In a revenue update issued in October 2024, the economic impact from cruise ships and cruise guests rose substantially compared to the previous year, when the number topped out at $3.6 billion. That, too, was a record, and reflected a 22% spike over pre-pandemic years.

Sydney, along with other New South Wales (NSW) ports in the so-called Sapphire Coast, including Port of Eden, Port Botany, Port Jackson, Port Kembla, and the Port of Newcastle, all benefited from the financial windfall.

“Cruise tourism has been thriving in Australia and the economic benefits are now higher than they have ever been,” said Joel Katz, managing director in Australasia for Cruise Lines International Association.

“Cruise tourism is now worth $8.43 billion a year to the Australian economy – billions of dollars more than previous years – and it supports more than 26,000 jobs in communities around our coasts,” added Katz.

Looking ahead to 2024-25 summer season, NSW expects 1.2 million cruise guests and crew from 312 ships will visit the region. The NSW Port Authority is expecting a “softening” of cruise ship visits, of about 5%, during the summer season, but the 2025-26 season is trending in a more positive way so far.

Sydney, of course, is the big draw, but smaller ports are also expecting to see gains in the coming year.

Twenty-five ship visits, for instance, will bring an estimated 43,000 guests and 20,000 crew members to Eden, providing the local economy with about $12 million in spending. Newcastle expects 12 ships to call and will welcome about 12,500 guests and 6,500 crew members.

The increase in cruise tourism can also be measured by passenger visit days. In 2023-24, Australia had close to 4.3 million passenger visit days, representing a spike of 27% versus the previous year. Guest visits translate into revenue for tour operators, hotels and restaurants, and retail stores, among other local businesses.

Scenic Sydney Harbor Welcomes Most Cruise Ships

The Port of Sydney, with its two cruise terminals, the Overseas Passenger Terminal and White Bay Cruise Terminal, always sees the lion’s share of cruise ships and guests. Virtually every major line and most of the world’s smaller lines will call or seasonally homeport at Sydney.

“This year we will see 23 maiden cruise ship arrivals to NSW ports, bringing hundreds of thousands of passengers eager to explore Sydney and our state,” said Jo Haylen, minister of transport for New South Wales.

Read Also: How You Can Relax and De-Stress on a Cruise

Among the noteworthy cruise ships that will be based in Sydney are Carnival Cruise Line’s 3,000-guest Carnival Splendor, which homeports year-round and offers cruises from 3 to 11 days. 

Disney Cruise Line’s 2,700-guest Disney Wonder is based in Sydney from October 2024 to February 2025, sailing a series of 3- to 6-day cruises. Some departures are offered from Melbourne and Auckland, New Zealand.

Royal Caribbean will base the 4,180-guest Ovation of the Seas in Sydney from November 2024 to April 2025, featuring 3- to 11-day cruises.

Princess Cruises also has a steady presence in Sydney. The line’s 3,080-guest Crown Princess will offer departures from Sydney between October 2024 and May 2025. Voyages range from 4 to 28 days.

Princess Cruises will also deploy the 3,660-guest Discovery Princess to Sydney starting in December 2025 and continuing to April 2026. Options include short getaway cruises of 3 days to 14-day voyages to ports in New Zealand and Australia.

A $45.7 million federal grant will enable the Port of Seward to install shore power technology for cruise ships by mid-2026, moving the facility toward its zero-emissions goal. 

The grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) means that shore power will be a cornerstone of Seward’s new, $137 million cruise port. The so-called Port of Tomorrow, announced in March 2024, will include a 68,000-square-foot terminal and a two-berth floating dock able to simultaneously accommodate two large ships.

In fact, the new pier will have capacity for Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships, which carry up to 4,900 guests with all berths filled. Royal Caribbean is among the groups that have partnered to build the new port.

Shore power technology lets cruise ships connect to the local electrical grid rather than run diesel engines while in port, substantially cutting emissions. Seward’s grant will fund the extension of the city’s electrical transmission line to the port area, switchgear technology, and a Battery Energy Storage System. Power to the port is provided by Seward Electric Services, which is owned by the city.

Cruise ships must be configured with connection technology in order to hook into the shore power system. Just 30% of cruise ships currently operating have the technology, according to Cruise Lines International Association, but cruise lines are upgrading ships with the required systems. Also, most new-construction ships are being built with shore power technology.

“The EPA Clean Ports Grant is a game-changer for us. It allows the city to implement shore power technology that will drastically reduce emissions from cruise ships in our coastal Alaska community,” said Kat Sorensen, city manager of Seward.

The total cost of the port’s shore power installation is estimated at $50.8 million, and the federal grant will cover roughly 90%. The remaining expense will be paid by the Seward Company, a public-private partnership whose members include Alaska Railroad, Royal Caribbean Group, and Turnagain Marine.

Alaska Railroad owns the land on which the Seward cruise port sits, Turnagain Marine is the construction company building the new port, and Royal Caribbean Group, by supporting the port with consistent ship calls, will enjoy preferential berthing rights for its brands, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises.

“Royal Caribbean made it easy to dream big. At today’s price tag for infrastructure projects, new ideas require long-term thinking and even more support through model public-private partnerships,” said Mickey Richardson, CEO of the Port of Tomorrow and owner of the Seward Company. 

“Without Royal Caribbean Group’s commitment to shore power, receiving this EPA grant would not be possible,” added Richardson.

Royal Caribbean’s Quantum-class ships are equipped with shore power connectivity technology, as are several Celebrity Cruises ships. All three brands routinely operate Alaska cruises seasonally, with Royal Caribbean having the most deployments.

In 2025, Quantum of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, and Anthem of the Seas are slated to sail Alaska voyages, for example. 

Read Also: Seward Cruise Port – Terminal, Getting Around and What to Do

Seward is a popular port call in southern Alaska. Located on an inlet of the Kenai Peninsula, the destination is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, and is home to the Alaska SeaLife Center.

Other Alaska Ports Move Toward Shore Power

While Seward’s new port, scheduled to debut in May 2026, will not require visiting cruise ships to connect to its shore power grid, other cruise destinations are moving in that direction.

The Port of Seattle recently became the first port in the US to mandate that 100% of all cruise vessels homeported there be shore-power capable and utilize shore power by 2027.

The port has two shore power connections at its Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91. Its Pier 66 cruise berth is currently being expanded to add shore power; when that is completed, all cruise berths operated by the Port of Seattle will have shore power connections.