Τhe board of the Union of Shipowners and Cruise Ships held a meeting with Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Christos Stylianidis on Wednesday. Top on the agenda was the recent implementation of an increased passenger fee as well as the crisis in the Middle East.
With reference to the cruise fee, the Union expressed its displeasure at the fact that in order to take such a decision, the users should be consulted, both on the amount of the imposed fee and on the time of its implementation, which was not allowed to be direct.
In a recent article daily naftemporiki.gr reported that shipowners and cruisers wanted the implementation of the fee as of 2026 otherwise they warned of “Unforeseen consequences of the increase in costs.”
In a letter obtained by the daily, cruise companies stated that “CLIA’s view on implementation of the new fee per cruise passenger from the year 2026 is reasonable because the 2025 cruises are already sold in advance and it is impossible for the companies to pass on the cost to the passengers, which means they will bear it themselves.”
They also expressed fears that “if the war in the Middle East ends, companies will prefer, instead of Greek destinations, destinations in Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and the southern ports of Turkey, where passenger fees are zero.”
At the meeting on Wednesday, the union pointed out that the issue of regulating the movement of cruise ships should be implemented immediately by the local authorities that manage the ports (Port Organizations, Port Funds).