Itajaí is building a temporary cruise terminal ahead of the 2026–27 Brazilian cruise season, with the new facility scheduled to receive its first passengers in November 2026.
The R$20 million project will have capacity to process more than 4,500 passengers a day and will include 16 check-in desks. It is intended to improve embarkation and disembarkation arrangements as the southern Brazilian port expands its homeport operation.
Details of the development were presented by Itajaí tourism and events secretary Gabriela Kelm during the eighth CLIA Brasil Forum, held in Brasília in late August.
Temporary terminal to improve passenger handling
Cruise passengers currently complete terminal formalities at Itajaí's Centreventos convention centre before travelling by bus to or from their ship.
The temporary terminal will continue to use buses for the transfer between the passenger facility and the quayside. However, its position outside the Port of Itajaí will place passengers closer to the cruise berths and should reduce transfer times.
The facility is under construction and is expected to be ready for the start of Itajaí's 2026–27 homeport programme in November.
Its planned daily capacity of more than 4,500 passengers is designed to support simultaneous embarkation and disembarkation activity. The 16 check-in desks should also provide a more purpose-built processing environment than the arrangements used during previous seasons.
Costa Diadema and MSC Musica to homeport
Costa Diadema and MSC Musica are scheduled to operate from Itajaí during the 2026–27 season.
The ships will offer cruises ranging from three to seven nights, with destinations expected to include Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
Itajaí has developed into an important embarkation port for cruise passengers in southern Brazil. Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises both used the port during the 2025–26 season, when Costa Diadema and MSC Sinfonia operated homeport programmes.
The new temporary terminal will therefore support an existing cruise operation while giving the port additional capacity to handle its next phase of growth.
Permanent terminal remains the longer-term plan
The temporary building is intended as an interim solution while work continues on plans for a permanent cruise terminal at Itajaí.
The larger project is expected to involve investment of approximately R$300 million and include dedicated cruise berths. It forms part of wider discussions surrounding the concession of the port's container terminal.
A definitive timetable for the permanent development is expected in early 2027. Until that project advances, the temporary terminal will provide a dedicated passenger-processing facility for the port's cruise operation.
The two projects differ substantially in scale. The temporary facility addresses the immediate requirements of the approaching season, while the proposed permanent terminal would create longer-term infrastructure for cruise ships and passengers.
New facility due to open in November
Construction is expected to continue during the weeks leading up to the 2026–27 season. The first cruise passengers are due to pass through the temporary terminal in November, although an exact opening date has not been announced.
The investment, capacity and opening timetable were confirmed by Kelm and have also been promoted through an official City of Itajaí social-media announcement.
The development adds to continuing cruise-port investment across Brazil as destinations seek to make passenger handling more efficient and attract additional homeport calls.