The cruise ship “Mein Schiff 6” departed from Piraeus last night and the disembarkation/ embarkation of the passengers was successfully completed under strict safety measures, in compliance with all the relevant protocols. The “Mein Schiff 6” was the first ship to restart cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean calling Piraeus after 6 months suspension in Greece. The ship was welcomed by representatives of the port, exchanging complimentary gifts and expressing thereby their thanks and support for the restart of the cruise in Greece with the Captain of the ship, the CEO of TUI Cruises and the CLIA Europe representative.
After a six-month cruise stop, the first cruise ship with passengers will approach a Greek port and especially the Port of Heraklion. Cruise ship ‘’Mein Schiff 6’’, is expected on September 11, 2020. The passengers will come to Heraklion with charter flights from Germany as the cruise ship will start cruise trips every Sunday from Heraklion, including Piraeus and Corfu as the next ports. The procedures agreed on the contingency plans in the event of a communicable disease case of covid 19, both in the Port and on the ship, will strictly follow the health requirements as defined by the European and National Health Protocols. Based on the reservations so far, it is expected that about 600 passengers will travel on the ship (capacity of 2,534 passengers), while according to protocols the upper limit will be 1,520 people. The arrival of Mein Schiff 6, one of the largest cruise ships in the world, of the colossal company TUI, is a vote of confidence in the Management and the executives of the Port of Heraklion SA, been the first homeport of the Greek cruise in a time of pandemic. For all of us in the port of Heraklion, the mooring of Mein Schiff 6 from tomorrow Friday 11/9/2020, is at the same time the maximum certification and distinction for the strict health protocols, which were consistently prepared and implemented, so that the port of Heraklion is in practice the first and at the same time safest cruise port in Greece. We welcome the ship and all passengers and crew on board, hoping that all her arrivals that will take place on 20/9, 27/9, 4/10, 11/10, 18/10 and 25/10, will make Greece a safe cruise destination and at the same time the port of Heraklion a high level homeport.