The adoption of new European coronavirus directives to be observed by passengers and crew on cruise ships in Greek ports, still does not translate into the universal opening of the cruise sector in Greece, officials cautioned on Monday.
The new rulings, which have already been announced and are expected to receive a green light within the week from the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, will be followed, but nothing in the industry can be turned around on a dime, and this may mean that it will take another month to make all the necessary changes to the fleets of ships.
Theodoros Kontes, the president of Greece’s Association of Cruise Ship Owners and Maritime Agencies, stressed in a statement to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Monday that the implementation of the cruise passenger protocols which have already been announced and are to be approved does not mean that this will translate into the immediate resumption of the cruise sector in August.
The reason for the delay is because of the length of time needed for the crews — and for the companies as a whole — to effect all the necessary changes for the scores of new modifications which must be made to the way these ships conduct their business.
Asked if there are currently any cruise ship trips scheduled for Greece, Kontes said that some small companies have announced that they can begin offering small cruises for three or four days — without reaching Greek ports — due to the enhanced measures for the protection of passengers.
Regarding the resumption of service by large cruise ship companies, Kontes said that no company has yet announced the launch of any cruises in Greece before the month of September.
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