Port of Volos: First cruise ship in Greece for 2022 docks

The first cruise ship of 2022 docked at the port of Volos on Friday morning.

The Norwegian-flagged Viking Sky arrived at Volos port at 07:00 from the port of Piraeus.

The luxurious cruise ship has 308 passengers, mostly American and British nationals, and 436 people staff.

During the 11-hour stop at Volos, the passengers will visit monuments and archaeological sites in the area.

According to the president of the port of Volos Vicky Mitrou, roughly 55 to 57 cruise ships are expected to stop in the port of Volos this year.

She said that this number may increase, depending on the course of the pandemic.

The cruise ship will depart at 18:00, bound for Thessaloniki.

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Meanwhile, Greece is betting on cruise tourism as part of its campaign to extend the tourism season.

According to Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias in an interview to SKAI television this week, Greece is expecting a 300% increase in Thessaloniki alone.

Kikilias said 2022 would be a year of all-time cruise arrivals as Piraeus and Thessaloniki will be serving as home ports.

The minister referred to the first cruise ship set to arrive in Thessaloniki on Saturday (cruise ship Viking Sky of Viking Cruises) where check-in and luggage transport services for passengers will be included, adding that scheduled cruise arrivals at Piraeus are also on the rise.

Other destinations to benefit from cruise ship calls are Crete, Corfu, Santorini and Mykonos. The tourism minister added that there was huge demand compared to other years.

“We are sending out a message to the whole planet that Greece will remain open. Greece will welcome tourists earlier,” he said, adding that summer destinations should be ready on March 1.

“There is no doubt that whatever problems there are in the unstable global context of the pandemic, we will overcome them and succeed,” he said.

READ MORE: Greeks will travel with Covid-19 ‘passport’ until 2023.