Santorini, one of the most popular Greek islands among tourists, has been shaken by a series of earthquakes for several weeks. Many residents have already left the island.
The call of a first cruise ship has now been canceled, and more could follow. The shipping companies are monitoring the situation closely.
At the moment, the tremors still consist of slight earth tremors and the damage is still minor. Nevertheless, the Greek Civil Protection is on site, as a major earthquake in the region could cause enormous damage and trigger a tsunami. However, a volcanic eruption is also possible in the underwater volcano Kolumbos to the north-east of Santorini, which could be reactivated by a strong earthquake.
People are already being warned against staying on the coast. Over 15,000 locals and visitors have already left the island by plane or ferry for the mainland. Travel to Santorini is currently not recommended due to the dangerous situation.
“Viking Star” cancels calls due to earthquake
There are currently only a few cruise ships in the region at this time of year, but a first attempt has now been canceled. The “Viking Star” from Viking Ocean Cruises, which has a maximum capacity of 900 guests, was actually due to start this year’s cruise season. However, the two calls planned for February 10 and 15 have been canceled. As an alternative, the cruise ship has called at the port of Chania on the island of Crete.
Five cruise ship calls were already scheduled for the month of March. The shipping companies concerned will now closely monitor the situation on the ground and then decide on the calls and possible alternatives in the coming weeks, as the safety of guests going ashore has top priority.
The peak season for cruise calls on Santorini usually lasts from April to October. This is when several ships anchor daily in the flooded volcanic crater off the island’s capital Thira. However, it is not yet possible to predict how the 2025 cruise season will develop due to the earthquake.
Santorini only allows 8,000 guests a day
However, regardless of the danger posed by the earthquakes, there has been a significant change for cruise passengers this year, which has now led to the cancellation of eight calls by the AIDA Cruises’ “AIDAblu”. Last year, the island community announced that only a maximum of 8,000 cruise ship passengers per day would be allowed to visit the island.
Now the island community has canceled the eight calls of the “AIDAblu” planned for 2025 and, according to media information, the calls of the “Costa Facinosa” to Santorini at very short notice. As AIDA Cruises explained on request, the local authorities informed them of the cancellation at very short notice.
The first call of the “AIDAblu” was due to take place on March 6. AIDA will now switch to Rhodes or Kos this season. According to the American travel magazine Afar, the shipping companies were actually supposed to be informed of the cancellation 18 months before the planned arrival. It is unclear why AIDA Cruises of all companies is now affected by the cancellations, as MSC Cruises will be visiting the island over 70 times this year with three ships that are not yet on the list.
Are tourists now drawn to the smaller islands?
However, in addition to restricting the number of visitors in order to curb the tourist crowds on the popular islands of Mykonos and Santorini of around 1.2 million visitors, cruise passengers will also have to pay a kind of head tax of €20 for the period from June to September this year. This was set by the Greek parliament in December 2024. During the rest of the year, the fee is €12 and only €4 from November to March.
Regardless of the current effects of the earthquake off Santorini, it is to be expected that many shipping companies will increasingly call at other destinations in the region in future. As a result, smaller islands such as Serifos, Sifnos or Amorgos – some of which have only 1,000 inhabitants – fear that they will be overrun by cruise ship passengers if the shipping companies no longer call at Santorini or Mykonos in the future. (CE)
