2018 will represent a year of great leaps for the Maritime Cruise sector. The arrival of 16 ships and, consequently, 34 thousand new beds, shows the capacity of growth of the segment, which expects a total of 90 new vessels by 2023, with more than $ 55 billion in investments.

These new builds will come with many cutting-edge features that include environmental breakthroughs such as the first fully equipped LNG cruise ship (AIDAnova) and an expedition ship (Roald Amundsen) that can navigate for short periods of time with power from silent fuel cells and without emissions of gases.

One of the most anticipated ships of the year is the Celebrity Edge that will bring environments, facilities, services and programming, converging into a concept of transformation, mutation: a space is day in a way and night takes on another conception. Its first exits are scheduled for December 2018.

Another long-awaited ship is the Symphony of the Seas, which is 362 meters long and capable of receiving about 8,704 between cruisers and crew. With a tonnage of more than 227,000 GT, it has 17 decks and 2,745 cabins and suites in 43 categories.

Brazil continues to seek a share of this growth, which can bring great benefits to the national economy, such as the generation of jobs, since every 12 cruzeiros, a new job is generated in the country. “We have a lot of work to do in 2018 in search of competitiveness so that we not only keep the ships here, but also attract others. We need to reduce the costs involved to international average levels. Not to mention investment in infrastructure, new destinations and changes in regulation. Finally, we are dealing with taxes, which are very high, but a few actions to reduce the tax burden are compensated by the increase of ships on our coast, “said Marco Ferraz, president of CLIA Brazil.

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