Filenews 1 July 2023 - by Natasha Christoforou
The ship Crown Iris, which arrived on Friday afternoon from Haifa with 1,600 passengers, is the first arrival for this year of a large cruise ship at the port of Larnaka, which started the tourist season on its right.
The cruise ship will make ten itineraries to the port of Larnaka and five to the port of Limassol and will carry over 40,000 passengers from Israel.
The managing company warmly welcomed the passengers of the ship, who enjoyed Cypriot dances and local dishes. Then some made excursions and some others toured the city. The ship spent the night at the port and will depart late in the afternoon.
The general manager of Kition Ocean Port, Paris Demetriou, said that this is the first of 25 cruise ship arrivals at Larnaka port this year. "Our company is trying in this area to develop the product and bring as many tourists and passenger ships as possible, which will strengthen both the city's tourism product and tourist traffic."
He also noted that Larnaka port is ready to receive large cruise ships, adding that with the completion of the first phase of the site's redevelopment, which will begin next year, a new terminal will be created "which will further help the development of tourist cruising both in the port and the city".
For his part, Pambos Charalambous, director of Louis Travel, said that the Haifa Larnaca route has been operated for many years by Mano Cruises, stressing that the ship will arrive full in Cyprus every time. "In Larnaka there will be ten arrivals and the usual itinerary is departure on Thursday from Haifa, Friday comes to Cyprus and leaves on Saturday afternoon." The company, as he noted, picks up passengers from the ship who wish to make excursions either to Lefkara, Ayia Napa or Nicosia.
In autumn, meanwhile, itineraries are scheduled at Larnaka port with three more cruise ships, La Belle De L'Adriatique, Clio and Norwegian Jem. The first two will operate routes from Israel and the third from Rhodes.
On July 29, the first Larnaka-Piraeus route will take place with Daleela, which will operate until August 30 a total of 8 routes to and from Larnaka port. The managing company has already carried out works in the area, in order to facilitate the movement of passengers departing for Greece.
