Passengers on the Navio da Xuxa are frustrated with little contact with the presenter

Fabio Falcão, 30, an intern from Fortaleza, got up early last Sunday (26). At 7 am, he was the first to arrive in line to try to stay close to the stage where Xuxa would perform the show in celebration of her 60th birthday, held on a themed cruise that went from Santos (SP) to Búzios (RJ). The presentation would only start around 22:30 that day.

But Fabio didn’t want to risk it. This might be the only time he got to see the birthday girl up close. It’s just that being on the MSC Fantasia, which received the Navio da Xuxa between March 24th and 27th, was no guarantee of finding her on board. Apart from the show, which was previously scheduled, there were no guarantees that it would be possible to find the presenter, who left a mark on most Brazilians who were born in the 1980s and 1990s and was called the “queen of the little ones”.

“I was going to sleep here, I didn’t because they didn’t let me,” says Falcão. “Xuxa is a love passed down from generation to generation, I grew up being indoctrinated by my mother and grandmother, who loved her, but couldn’t come. I even brought her a present and I really wanted to be able to give it to her. It’s very frustrating, a expectation.”

The cearense ended up managing to take a photo with the presenter and deliver the pillow in the shape of a heart with an image of her and Dona Alda, Xuxa’s mother. However, not all passengers were so lucky. To meet her on the ship, only being drawn.

But how many photos can a single person pose in a day? The MSC Fantasia ship has capacity for 4,363 passengers, and PromoAção, the company that organized the cruise, said all cabins were sold. Per day, Xuxa would take a photo with 500 people, the first day being restricted to guests and the others in a cabin raffle scheme, in which all travelers participated.

Even so, more than 2,000 people left without the desired registration. Some could be seen daily at the door of the theater where the pictures were taken. Disgusted, some protested with the security guards or were moved to tears for not being able to enter. O F5 he heard a report that the wristbands that gave access to the place were distributed to those who were on duty at the door —a kind of xepa of the wristband—, but also that the object was sold for around R$3,000.

Renan Coutinho, 39, an engineer from Barra Mansa (interior Rio), says he has been a fan of the gaucho singer since he was born and that he was frustrated with the experience. “I expected more magic, that Xuxa would appear at some point, I think I created an expectation because I thought the interaction would be greater”, he laments. “It’s like I went to a Xuxa concert, not on one of her ships.”

Even so, he asks the report not to speak ill of the presenter. “I would have liked to take a photo with her, yes, but I understand, she has no obligation to take a photo with everyone”, he says. “That doesn’t change anything, I still like Xuxa, but I wish I had more time with her. She didn’t have to hide from us, we were there to see her.”

A resident of London, England, flight attendant Rafael Pierdi, 34, came to Brazil to attend the party and says he loved everything, the only thing missing was being able to get close to the presenter who has accompanied him since he was a child, when his parents put on her record to play . “I really wanted to, but I don’t think I made the effort either”, he laments. “As Xuxa says, wanting is power, if I had done it, I think I would have succeeded. But everything was amazing, I saw her coming down from the ship, I just didn’t touch her.”

He says that if, instead of a draw, the photos were organized in a Meet & Greet scheme, very common among international artists, he would be willing to pay extra to have the record. This was also the wish of the couple David Cardoso, 46, commercial manager, and Nicholas Lekitsch, 39, financial manager.

Not included in the lottery, they think there was a lack of another option for those willing to open their pockets to complete the experience. In addition, Nicholas says that the presentation was very formal. “It was a show for Multishow, not for the ship”, he complains, referring to the paid channel that showed the party a day later.

Regarding the presentation, there were also complaints regarding the height of the VIP area in front of the stage, much higher than the runway, right behind. When Xuxa entered the stage, several people climbed on the railing to try to see her coming down from the nave and, who stayed behind, complained — water and ice were thrown at those who blocked the view.

Delays in programming were also the reason for complaints. On Saturday (25), the concerts by the band KLB and Ana Carolina started about 2 hours later than initially announced. The audience of the latter began to boo asking for the presentation to start soon. Actor Eri Johnson took to the stage to try to entertain them until the singer started – as she went on stage, she said she was feeling nauseous and waiting for the medication to take effect.

The malfunction of the internet sold on board was another issue for some passengers. At sea, the 3G, 4G and 5G signals do not work, so it is the only option to stay connected with one of the packages, which cost US$ 29.99 per day (almost R$ 155). O F5 witnessed a queue of people asking for the money invested back and showed that the stories they had been trying to post since the day before were not being published.

Other frequent complaints among passengers were about the quality of the food (often served cold) and about the elevators, which took a long time and often had the indication of “out of service” (not working). There were also reports of a group being trapped for at least half an hour inside one of them.

Cousins ​​Bruno Afonso, 43, a journalist, and Janaína Graciele de Brito, 47, a businesswoman, from Brasília, had a problem inside their own cabin, one of the most luxurious that were commercialized, with an external balcony and bathtub. According to the report, the bathroom flooded on the first day.

On the second day, the water continued to trickle and wet the carpeted floor. They say that they tried to solve it at the reception, but that an employee equipped with only a squeegee was sent. He drained the water that had already pooled, but there was no definitive solution while they were on board.

Bruno claims that he was not offered to change the cabin and posted a video of the flooded bathroom on social media. “The biggest frustration was for my cousin, who is a fan and was late for the show because she couldn’t take a shower”, he laments. He also says he intends to file a lawsuit against those responsible for the ship and ask for compensation for material and moral damages. “I know that Xuxa is not to blame, but it is her name that is at stake,” he says.

WHAT THE ORGANIZATION SAYS

wanted by F5, MSC, owner of MSC Fantasia, says that the ship was chartered for the realization of Navio da Xuxa. “Therefore, the assembly of structures such as the stage and VIP area, programming, organization, dissemination, as well as providing information to customers are the responsibility of the charter company”, says the company in a note.

“On the reports referring to the elevators and the internet, MSC Cruises informs that they were isolated cases and that the ship’s maintenance team solved the problems mentioned”, continues the text. “The company regrets that guests have experienced reported experiences that do not reflect our high standards of quality and guest satisfaction.”

PromoAção, which chartered the vessel to carry out Navio da Xuxa, commented on the points raised by the report through its press office. About those who were frustrated at not being able to take a photo with Xuxa, the company replied: “Our queen Xuxa served approximately 2,000 people during the cruise, a larger number than had been agreed. Unfortunately, it was not possible to serve everyone, more than 4 thousand passengers , her entire team and ours mobilized to do the best possible”.

The company also said it had no knowledge of selling wristbands to take a photo with Xuxa. “If it happened on board, it was through a passenger who took advantage of it”, he laments. “We are willing to investigate this matter.”

Regarding the low view of the stage, the explanation was structural. “The track is set up in the ship’s pool area, which is closed for the shows to take place. Naturally, there are some variations in height on the deck as it is a ship, but they do not significantly alter the experience on board”, he says.

As for the delays in the schedule, PromoAção says that all the schedule changes were notified on board so that passengers could reschedule. “In the case of Ana Carolina’s show, the artist needed some time to recover, as she had not been feeling very well since her departure, on Friday”, says the note.

The company also says that food on board is available for 24 hours for passengers. “Snacks, full meals, pizza, desserts, salads are served daily, and specifically on Navio da Xuxa, we also had vegan options”, comments the company. “There are countless options offered throughout the experience on board”.

Regarding the elevators, PromoAção recalls that there are more than 20 elevators on the ship and claims that only one of them had a breakdown, which made the door open more slowly, but which would soon have been resolved.

For the company, complaints about the internet may have been generated by the package chosen by passengers at the time of purchase. “Some options are available divided into two plans, one with access to videos, video calls, in addition to messages and calls, which is a more complete package and a simpler one that only gives access to messages at a lower price”, he explains the tex. “Possibly, at the time of purchase, they chose the plan that did not give access to the full package.”

Contacted, Xuxa’s advisory did not respond until the last update of this text. During the show on the ship, the presenter commented that she took pictures with more than 600 people a day and that she regretted not being able to take pictures with everyone.