Itajai’s tourism office told the CLIA Brasil forum on August 26 that a temporary cruise terminal will open in November 2026 next to the cargo port, according to Jornal dos Bairros. Check-in, baggage, immigration, and disembarkation will move out of the Centreventos convention hall that handled those steps in recent seasons.
If you are booked on Costa Diadema or MSC Musica from Santa Catarina this winter, plan the new street address now and treat the convention center as the old fallback. For the wider Brazil itinerary, start with Deep Arrival’s South America cruise guide before you lock transfers.
- Opens: November 2026 for the 2026 to 2027 homeport season.
- Address: Rua Izabel Ramos Fabeni, Sao Joao, next to Porto de Itajai.
- Replaces: Centreventos check-in, baggage, and transit processing.
- Ships: Costa Diadema and MSC Musica on three to seven night South America runs.
- Scale: About 3,200 square meters and roughly 4,581 guests per call.
Check-In Leaves the Convention Center in November
Tourism secretary Gabriela Kelm told the August 26 CLIA Brasil panel in Brasilia that passenger processing will move to a purpose-built hall beside the berths. Jornal dos Bairros reported the same day that check-in, disembarkation, and transit will happen on site, ending the need to send guests through Centreventos Governador Luiz Henrique da Silveira.
That is the traveler change. In recent seasons, ships tied up at the cargo port while guests rode buses to a convention building for paperwork. The new hall is still not on the pier. Cruise Industry News says buses will remain, but the ride should be shorter because the building sits closer to the berths than Centreventos did.
Costa’s current embarkation page still lists the Centreventos annex on Avenida Carlos Ely de Castro as the passenger address and points car traffic to [email protected]. Treat that page as the live instruction until Costa and MSC publish the Fabeni street address for November sailings. Do not assume the app will update on its own the week you fly.
The Temporary Building Sits Closer to the Berths
The city placed the hall on a lot in Sao Joao, on Rua Izabel Ramos Fabeni, with a direct tie into local streets and a short hop to Navegantes Airport. The local report describes 3,200 square meters, 16 functional zones, separate embark and disembark flows, and rooms for check-in, inspection, bags, immigration, guest services, and arrival.
Capacity is stated two ways. Jornal dos Bairros cites about 1,560 guests at once and an average of about 4,581 people per ship call. Cruise Industry News, quoting Kelm at the same forum, said the provisional terminal can handle more than 4,500 passengers a day. Use the per-call figure when you compare it with a Costa Diadema or MSC Musica turnaround, and do not treat either number as a hard cap published in an English operations manual.
Kelm put the city investment at $4 million, or about R$20 million, according to Cruise Industry News. That money buys a stopgap, not the permanent passenger complex. Guests should still expect a bus between hall and gangway. The gain is time and a building designed for cruise processing instead of a hall that also hosts concerts and civic events.
Costa Diadema and MSC Musica Start the Season
Cruise Industry News says Costa Diadema will be joined by MSC Musica for 2026 to 2027, with three to seven night cruises to Brazilian ports plus Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Costa’s own Brazil booking pages already sell Diadema departures from Itajai beginning November 25, 2026, including four and five night South America loops.
Those dates matter more than the ribbon cutting. If your booking is a November or December Diadema roundtrip, the new hall is the processing point you should confirm two weeks out. MSC Musica guests should do the same once MSC posts an English embarkation note. The city announcement covers homeporting, not every transit call from Oceania or other lines that still use Itajai as a stop.
Itajai is Brazil’s second homeport after Santos, a rank Costa’s Brazil president repeated after the 2025 to 2026 season closed with more than 164,000 cruise visitors. That volume is why the city is unwilling to keep squeezing check-in through a convention center. For a Rio call on the same circuit, Deep Arrival’s Rio de Janeiro picks remain the better shore-day brief than any terminal FAQ.
A Larger Permanent Terminal Is Still Years Away
Do not confuse the November hall with the R$300 million, roughly $60 million, permanent cruise terminal tied to a container concession. Cruise Industry News says that project still needs an early 2027 timeline. Brazilian trade coverage in July described an ANTAQ concession path, a 25 year contract, and a passenger building of more than 20,000 square meters that would not open until later in the concession.
The November building is the one that changes this winter’s boarding day. The concession terminal is a later capacity play for larger ships. If a sales agent describes a “new Itajai cruise terminal” without saying temporary, ask which address and which season. The Fabeni hall is the 2026 to 2027 answer. The waterfront megaproject is not.
Kelm told the forum the city wants to stay a serious homeport, which is why it is spending on the stopgap while the larger file moves through federal bidding. Guests who return in 2028 or 2029 should recheck the address. Guests sailing this November should not wait for that file to close.
Navegantes Airport Stays the Closest Air Link
The local report flags proximity to Navegantes Airport as part of the site choice. That does not create a new air route. It does mean a taxi or transfer from NVT should aim at Sao Joao, not at Centreventos, once the lines publish the Fabeni address. Leave a time buffer on turnaround mornings. The buses between hall and berth are shorter, not gone.
Parking and ride-hail instructions will lag the building. Costa still publishes a Centreventos phone and email for parking. Until that page changes, screenshot both addresses and ask the line’s port agent 48 hours out. If you are meeting a ship in transit rather than embarking, confirm whether your line will use the new hall or keep a bus to Centreventos for walk-off guests.
Weather on the Itajai-Acu river can still delay a cargo-port berthing even when the hall is ready. The lighting and crane skyline you see from the water is the working port, not a cruise village. Pack for a functional transfer, not a terminal mall, and keep Rio, Santos, and Buenos Aires as the scenic days on the ticket.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Embark Costa Diadema from November 25 | Confirm the Fabeni hall address two weeks out; do not default to Centreventos. |
| Sail MSC Musica this season | Wait for MSC’s embark note, then use the same Sao Joao lot, not the convention center. |
| Fly into Navegantes | Aim transfers at Rua Izabel Ramos Fabeni once the line posts it; keep a taxi buffer. |
| Hear about a R$300 million terminal | Treat that as the later concession project, not this winter’s building. |
August 26, 2026 is the announcement date. The city said the move happens this November, not next year.
November 2026 is the first-guest window. Costa already sells Diadema homeportings from November 25.
Early 2027 is the permanent-terminal timeline. Do not plan this winter around that larger building.
When does Itajai’s temporary cruise terminal open?
The city said November 2026, in time for the 2026 to 2027 homeport season, with Costa Diadema already on sale from November 25.
Will I still go to Centreventos to board?
No for the homeport operation the city described. Check-in, bags, and immigration move to the Fabeni hall; buses then cover the short remaining gap to the berth.
Is this the large new cruise terminal in the concession plan?
No. This is a $4 million stopgap. The roughly $60 million permanent terminal is still on an early 2027 planning track.
Which ships use Itajai this season?
Cruise Industry News names Costa Diadema and MSC Musica for three to seven night South America cruises, including Rio, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo.
