From Piraeus, which will be a homeport for the next two years at least, Norwegian Cruise Line starts cruising after 500 days of hiatus due to coronavirus, in a season that will utilize up to seven ships, while from September it will have a second home port in Greece.
In particular, apart from Piraeus, which will be a home port for cruises to the Greek islands, it will operate as announced yesterday, as a home port and Katakolo, with the aim of cruises that will “connect” Greece and Italy (Naples, Rome, etc.).
Norwegian Cruise Line, one of the largest cruise companies based in Miami, is investing this year and in the coming years in Greece. It is starting today with seven-day cruises in the Greek islands, which are in great demand, as Kevin Bubolz, Vice President & Managing Director Europe of Norwegian Cruise Line, told ot.gr on the sidelines of an event that took place yesterday in view of today’s first cruise. The first six cruises are sold out, he pointed out, while the rest are expected to “close” in the coming days.
Aim for 2,500 passengers per trip
He added that in a normal period, the trip will target 2,500 passengers, but now in the current situation, each trip will cover about 70% of ship capacity.
In terms of nationalities, more than half of the passengers are Americans, but there are also Europeans and Israelis. If the borders are opened, Australians will also come and in general, he stressed, cruises in Greece will be international, with the obvious benefit for the Greek economy.
As he emphasized, all safety measures are being taken as all passengers as well as crews are fully vaccinated. Before boarding they will again be tested.
He stated that the company has always wanted to cruise in Greece as the Greek islands are attractive, but had not been able to do so in previous years. We were always talking, said Mr. Bubolz, with our colleagues in Miami and the headquarters that we wanted to send ships to Greece. We would have done it last year, but then came the pandemic. So this year we start from Piraeus for the first time this year. We will be present throughout the season. We started a little late due to the pandemic with the first trip taking place today on July 25 and this year we will have a short season until November, but next year we will return for the whole season and Piraeus will be a permanent port for us. We want to return every year for a full season from spring to autumn from Piraeus.
He also cited the prospects of Europe and especially the Mediterranean as a cruise destination, noting that “when I started with the company, 16 years ago, we had a ship in Europe and it only did the Western Mediterranean and Barcelona. And now we have seven ships in Europe and in two years we will have nine ships in Europe. Therefore, we are always looking for growth ”
Mr. Bubolz speaks the best about the cooperation with Greek authorities, the Greek government and the Ministry of Tourism as he had a very close cooperation with the cruise industry with the aim of the safe opening of the industry.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the report of Mr. Harry Sommer, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, who underlined that Greece said that it would open the cruise and kept its promise! The Norwegian Cruise Line has 17 ships and for 500 days everything had stopped and now they are starting from Greece, he stressed!
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