The wager for the recovery of cruise holidays for 2021 has already begun, with the port of Piraeus once again harboring the leaders of the industry in the eastern Mediterranean, since according to industry executives the “competing” Caribbean market is still “closed” due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The effort is being made in an unfavorable environment due to the uncertainty created by the pandemic, however the love of foreign tourists for Greece remains positive.

The port of Piraeus will welcome more than 40 cruise ships with at least 450 arrivals this season, while the debut for this year’s tourist season has already been made with two cruise ships “Mein Schiff 5”, with about 1,000 passengers and “Costa Luminosa” with 600 passengers.

The port of Piraeus, in cooperation with the competent authorities, is, according to cruise operators, a model for the safe passage of passengers and the observance of sanitary measures, serving all the cruise ships that have requested to visit it.

At the same time, both in Piraeus and in other Greek ports, there is lots of activity so that everything provided for in the relevant health protocols is implemented.

By the end of the month, 12 cruise ship arrivals are expected in the port of Piraeus.

According to an announcement of the Piraeus Port Authority, three rooms within the Cruise pier have already been handed over to the Attica Region for their use as Public Health facilities, so that they can be used by the Region staff for the health supervision of cruises in the port.

More than 40 cruise ships are scheduled to visit 45 Greek ports between May and November this year, according to the data so far.

Aida, Celebrity, Costa, Hapag Lloyd, MSC, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, Silversea and TUI, along with Celestyal Cruises, have designed major Eastern Mediterranean cruise programs for this summer season.

Piraeus will be the homeport for cruise ships of Azamara Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Celestyal Cruises, Holland America Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Seabourn Cruises, and Silversea Cruises.

In fact, Celebrity chose the largest port in Greece for the world debut of its newest boat, the “CelebrityApex”.

Also, Corfu and Heraklion in Greece are ports that stand out in the plans of companies for homeporting.

The contribution of the cruise sector to the Greek economy before the pandemic reached 500 million euros in annual revenues, offering directly and indirectly almost 12,000 jobs.

What a cruise passenger should know before boarding

Captain George Koumpenas, Business Director of Celestyal Cruises, Optimum Shipmanagement Services SA and President of the Hellenic Association of Cruise Shipowners and Shipping Operators, speaking to APE-MPE, explained the process that will be followed this year by each passenger during cruise trips in Greece.

He stated that 72 hours before boarding, a passenger must have either been diagnosed negative in a laboratory test for covid-19 by the PCR method, or have a vaccination certificate from a public authority and 14 days have passed , or have a coronavirus antibody test.

He stressed that according to the directive of the Healthy Gateways program of the European Union, coordinated by the University of Thessaly, during embarkation (boarding process) each passenger will undergo an additional rapid test, while passengers must also complete the relevant health statement in which various information used for health risk assessment will be reported.

Temperature readings are also mandatory when passengers board the cruise ship. In case it is found that any of the passengers before the departure of the cruise ship is positive for covid they will not be able to travel and if they are with family they should, according to the instructions of the national health services, be taken to a quarantine hotel.

According to the general health protocols, the passengers are checked for temperature daily inside the ship through the installation of automatic thermometers. There are also warning signs and markings for hygiene measures, such as a mask and frequent hand washing, while according to sanitary protocols, reduced capacity is maintained in all ship lounges and restaurants to maintain distances and avoid overcrowding.

The service of the passengers in the buffets and in the restaurants of cruiseships, is carried out exclusively by crew members. It is also noted that there is a number of isolation cabins available as a percentage of the total number of passengers.

Mr. Koubenas added that in almost all ships in the current situation there is no recirculation of air, and specifically the natural air after cooling enters the system maintaining cooling within the cruise ship, then is released into the atmosphere. In the case of Celestyal Cruises ships, an air disinfection system known as the “ATMOS” ionization system has been installed for public spaces as well as special HEPA series (high Particle Absorption Efficiency) filters have been installed where required.

There is also daily disinfection by the ship’s crew in the cabins and in all passenger and crew areas.

The enhanced medical centers of ships with the ability to perform molecular (PCR) test and the training of all personnel are important factors for the safety and hygiene of passengers and crew.

“Bubble” and “Green” cruises

Each cruise company implements its own policy within the approved protocols, regarding the way passengers are transported in the ports they visit. According to industry executives, this summer season will start with two types of cruising: “bubble” and “green”.

On Green cruises, all passengers and crews of ships that will be vaccinated against covid-19 and will be able to move freely in the ports where the ship will dock, in compliance with all health protocols, provided.

On cruises that have adopted the “safe bubble” approach, even vaccinated passengers will have the right to “get off” at their destinations, only following organized excursions planned by the ship.

Some companies also follow an even stricter policy, which includes the mandatory vaccination of all passengers and the obligation to follow the organized excursions of the ship.

Port preparations

The preparation of the ports for the servicing of ships and dealing with any cases also plays an important role. For this purpose, ports have been divided into three categories: home ports, contingency ports and transit ports.
In case there are more than three cases on a ship that are not related to each other, then and after the examination of the issue by a special committee there is the possibility to ask the ship to return to the boarding port. Emergency ports can receive potential individual cases while contigency ports do not have the relevant infrastructure to receive any cases.

Restart of Celestyal Cruises activities

“Cruises in Greece resume on June 12. We are proceeding with the safe restart of our activities this summer and more specifically on June 12 with Celestyal Crystal that will carry out home porting from the ports of Piraeus and Lavrio with a 7-night cruise,” said the company’s business director, Captain George Koubenas. The cruise ship will visit Patmos, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, and Agios Nikolaos in Crete.

From June 28 and until August 30, 2021, the cruise ship Celestyal Olympia will start cruises under the title “Mythical Archipelago” arriving and departing from the port of Lavrio and will visit Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, Agios Nikolaos, Rhodes and Limassol in Cyprus. It will also be possible to board and disembark at the port of Thessaloniki.

From the 30th of August and for the rest of the tourist season, Celestyal Olympia will carry out the three and four night cruises entitled “Icons of the Aegean” and “Icons of Exploration” from the port of Lavrio. Those who board and disembark in Thessaloniki will have the opportunity to visit Athens.

Celestyal Cruises notes that it is the only cruise company that will visit Thessaloniki on a weekly basis, giving many options for boarding and disembarking visitors who can travel both by air from Western and Northern Europe, and by road from other Balkan countries, and Northern Greece.

Headlines