MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Costa Cruises cancels its 2021/22 season in Uruguay and Argentina

Brazilian regulations only allow international cruise vessels to operate in their waters, thus impeding extended trips to Uruguay and Argentina.

As happened with MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises announced on Friday the cancellation of its 2021/2022 cruise season in Uruguay and Argentina. Last-minute differences with Brazilian officials forced the Italian cruise company which belongs to the Carnival Group, to redraft the itinerary of Costa Fascinosa that was expected in Uruguay and Argentina.

In the release Costa Cruises indicates it worked with Brazilian officials to concrete the cruise season, but last minute delays in the approval for the arrival of international cruises to Brazil, “have forced Costa Cruises to review the itinerary of Costa Fascinosa”

The inconvenient for the coming cruise season is that Brazil only authorizes the operation of cruise vessels in Brazilian jurisdictional waters. Brazilian authorities have insisted that cruise operations in Brazil are restricted exclusively to its waters, banning trips to and from Uruguay and Argentina.

Costa Cruises thus joins other companies that have suspended their summer operations. In early October MSC informed the cancellation of itineraries for MSC Sinfonia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Preziosa and MSC Splendida, which were scheduled to call at Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

Fernando Joselevich, Costa Cruises country manager for Argentina and Latin America pointed out that “Argentine officials from the ministries of Transport, Tourism, migration, the Health ministry and frontier Sanitary staff, have all been most helpful and ready to deliver all our requests”.

“Our objective has always been to ensure the start of the cruise season, guaranteed through our integral safety and sanitary protocols, the ideal conditions for our operations in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. But reasons, as displayed above, are forcing us to a domestic cruise season in Brazil”, added Joselevich.

Costa Cruises indicated that travel agencies have already been informed and the passengers affected by this decision have been given details for reprogramming future trips according to the terms and conditions of the packages.

Given this complex scenario, the company also informed that it will begin sales for the 2022/23 cruise season, “reinforcing its total commitment with Argentina, Uruguay and South America”