A Brazilian company that turns entire cruise ships into floating music festivals has just locked in its biggest season yet. PromoAção Events, which organises theme cruises for the Brazilian market, sent its top brass to MSC Cruises' Geneva headquarters for talks with the line's global leadership, including CEO Gianni Onorato and Brazil managing director Adrian Ursilli.
The headline news from the meeting: for the 2026-27 southern hemisphere summer, PromoAção will charter the MSC Divina — a 3,500-passenger ship — for 47 days and run 15 theme cruises around South America. More than 200 music acts are booked to perform onboard, and the company expects the season to bring in close to $70 million in revenue.
It's also stepping beyond Brazilian waters. The newly announced Navio Laura Pausini sailing, billed as the company's first international theme cruise for Brazilian travellers, is set for early 2027. The three-night trip centres on two performances by the Italian pop star, with a full onboard programme built around her.
There's history here. PromoAção pioneered the Brazilian theme cruise concept 16 years ago and has since run 95 chartered sailings, departing from both Brazil and Florida, carrying more than 400,000 passengers in total. That scale explains why MSC is happy to hand over a ship for the better part of two months.
On the business side, the company has hired Gustavo Barbosa as account and business executive, tasked with building a direct line to Brazilian travel agents. He brings roughly 25 years of cruise industry experience from stints at Costa, MSC and CVC, and describes PromoAção's product as having no direct competitor in Brazil.
Why should a traveller care? If you're Brazilian — or happy to join a Portuguese-speaking ship — these sailings are a very different proposition from a standard cruise: the entertainment line-up is the whole point, with big-name artists playing multiple shows at sea. The 2026-27 season on MSC Divina and the Laura Pausini cruise in early 2027 will both go on sale through agents and the company's own channels, and the most popular departures historically sell fast. Cabin categories and pricing haven't been detailed yet, so anyone keen should watch for the official opening of bookings.
For the broader cruise market, it's another sign that South America's summer season is becoming a serious playground for chartered, entertainment-led sailing — not just the big lines' regular itineraries.