Cruise ships traveling in the Eastern Mediterranean seem to be diverted to Greek and Turkish destinations, in order to keep a safe distance from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is escalating.
“Towards the end of the summer season and after the recent unpleasant events in Israel, arrivals to Greek destinations are expected to rise in 2023. The change of cruise ships’ itineraries due to the tension in the Middle East will favor the nearest Greek islands, but also Piraeus and partially Cyprus,” the director of Majestic International Cruises, Theodore Kontes, pointed out to “Naftemporiki.”
More specifically, according to Kontes, the destinations that will accept the majority of cruise ships are the Dodecanese and the rest of the Aegean islands, as well as the island of Rhodes.
Santorini, Mykonos and Heraklion will be among the main destinations, as well as Piraeus, which in some cases is used as a homeport replacing Haifa.
Kontes explained that Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, MSC, Oceania, TUI, Celestyal and other companies have already diverted their cruise ships to the ports of Greek islands, or the Turkish coast, instead of the ports of Haifa and Ashdod.
Therefore, the initial forecasts for 5.06 million passenger arrivals in Greece in 2023 have been revised to 5.24 million passenger arrivals, approaching the record levels of 2019 (5.55 million passenger arrivals).
