Chania is now firmly established as a major cruise ship destination, with 220 arrivals already scheduled for the New Year, while there are increased reservations also for 2027. Next year will also see the first Chinese cruise ship tying up at Souda. It is the Zhao Shang Yi Dun, the first big cruise ship sailing under a Chinese flag to be scheduled in the Mediterranean next year.
The Zhao Shang Yi Dun was built in 2017, it is 228 m long and 29 m wide and has 464 cabins for 928 passengers, and 465 crew. Chinese tourists have already been coming to the Mediterranean for several years in ships run by Western cruise companies, but this is the first arrival from a Chinese company.
Record cruise ship arrivals in Chania in the first 9 months of 2025
A double arrival of cruise ships with almost 7,000 people on 30th of September sealed a 9-month record for cruises in the city, with an increase of nearly 50% in passengers this year. The Sun Princess with 4,267 passengers and Resilient Lady with 2,619 berthed at Chania on 30th September.
Speaking to Haniotika Nea, the president of the Chania Port Authority Dimitris Virirakis said that the figures for the 9-month period are most impressive. In that period 150 ships berthed at Souda with a total of 331,808 passengers – an all-time record. In addition 18 ships with a total of 6,711 passengers anchored off the Venetian harbour. In the corresponding period of 2024 there were 98 ships at Souda with 222,596 passengers and 11 ships at the Venetian Harbour with a total of 5,244 passengers – an increase of 48.58% in passengers and 54.12% in ships respectively. According to Mr Virirakis, “The total number of passenger arrivals at Chania in 2024 was 279,754, a record which has already been broken, and we are expecting more than 40 more arrivals by the end of 2025.”
Reasons for the increase in cruise traffic
Haniotika Nea asked Mr Virirakis whether the increase in arrivals is due to events in the Middle East, and to the military tensions which are keeping many ships away from the area. He was emphatic that the increase is not due to tensions in the Middle East but to a series of other factors including the following:
— “The harbour is safe and very deep, which makes it easily accessible to cruise ships, most of which are very large. Also the disembarkation and embarkation of passengers is very safe. It’s not like the cable car at Santorini or a narrow alleyway in Mykonos, there are many ways out of the harbour. Sightseeing is not the major reason why cruise ships berth at Chania, because in Heraklion for example there is Knossos, which is hard to compete with.”
— “We score highly in the comments which passengers make to their cruise companies, which creates a positive atmosphere.
— “We adopted a successful policy during the Covid period when ships were being turned away and had nowhere to berth. We gave space at Souda and in the anchorage at Kalyves. This was appreciated and we developed personal relationships.
— “Our participation in fairs and exhibitions counts for a lot. We discuss options with [the cruise companies] and they understand that we are making an effort to respond to their wishes.”
At the moment there is so much interest that the Chania Port Authority wants to institute another anchorage at Kissamos. “We are making efforts to create an anchorage at Kissamos because there is interest also from other ships. We cannot service more than four or five at Souda. One or two could go to Kissamos and their passengers could make excursions to Falassarna, Elafonisi and elsewhere. You offer ideas to the cruise companies, they assess them, study them and if they are interested, then they adopt them.” Mr Virirakis said.
How much do they spend?
With regard to reports from business people that the passengers on cruise ships don’t spend a lot of money when they go ashore, because they take their meals on board, Mr Virirakis said that this is quite unfounded.
“According to data from the president of the Union of Cruise Ship Owners and Associated Members, Mr Giorgos Koubenas, there is money which is not evident but it is given to the local communities. [The ships] use tugs and pilots, take on water and provisions, rent buses with driver-guides who can take you to Knossos or to a winery in Chania, there are bicycle excursions, taxi and car hire, and indeed many commercial establishments have a lot of custom because we are cheaper than in their own countries.
“As regards catering, every day I have dozens of messages from restaurant owners in the Old Harbour who ask me for the number of people who will be coming ashore so they can arrange shifts for their staff and buy in provisions etc! Generally it is estimated that every passenger leaves €50. And there are also the crews, of whom it is estimated that a third of them come down to the harbour. That is because they don’t have access to all their needs on the cruise ships and they buy razorblades, drinks and other things from the local supermarkets.
“In Thessaloniki they spend €130 per person and in Heraklion more. So anyone who says that cruises do not leave money locally is out of touch with reality. And finally, something else which is not evident is that 90% of them come back to have holidays here or recommend the destination to somebody else. So there is a very large promotional activity going on,” Mr Virirakis concluded.
(Haniotika Nea, 01/10/25, 22/10/25)