Greek authorities made a decision that cruise ships coming from Turkish ports can visit the country. The decision was made so that the tourism industry in the cruise sector can be leveled up. Making the Turkish ports available will motivate cruise companies to intensify their presence in Greece in 2022, because they will be able to plan a complete cruise product for the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. 

This decision was announced in Article 5, paragraphs 4 and 5: -Cruise ship voyages regardless of the flag are allowed to arrive in Greek Territory, provided they come from countries for which no specific restrictive measures apply and if they meet the terms and conditions set out in the instructions of the Ministry of Health, which are posted on the website of the Greek Ministry for Naval Affairs..

Maritime connections with Turkey are temporarily limited. The ban does not apply to the transport of goods by ships, pleasure boats regardless of flag, as well as cruise ships arriving from the ports of Galata in Istanbul and Ephesus (Kusadasi). There is an optimistic prognosis about the cooperation between cruise companies for Greece next year. So far, 715 ships is the planned number of planned arrivals for 2022 in the port of Piraeus, so if everything goes according to the plan with the Covid-19 and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, this largest port will double the number of cruise ships from the pre-pandemic period in 2019, although with a smaller percentage of passengers, from 25% to 40%.