Limassol stoked to be on Haifa’s Rhapsody routes

Around 343,000 cruise ship passengers arrived to Cyprus last year, while it is expected that there will be slight increase this year, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Kostas Koumis said, on board the Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas cruise liner, marking its arrival at the Limassol port on Saturday for its summer season routes. Koumis, as well as Deputy Minister of Shipping, Marina Hadjimanolis, welcomed the inclusion of Cyprus in its itineraries.

Limassol and Haifa are the only ports where travelers will be able to board the Rhapsody of the Seas, whose itinerary includes, in addition to the two “home ports”, Rhodes, Piraeus, Santorini, Mykonos, Chania and Kusadasi.

Koumis noted that, last year Cyprus had “satisfactory arrivals” from cruise ships, around 343,000 people, while they estimate that a slight increase will be recorded this year, as well as next year. The Deputy Minister noted, however, that numbers aside, it was also very important, “to record the satisfaction of visitors”, which is also linked with the country’s infrastructure, which, according to Koumis, “has improved a lot in recent years”. He also noted that, they should, perhaps, see how to improve even more by following the developments in the cruise industry.

Hadjimanolis, said that it was an honour for Cyprus that the port of Limassol was chosen for the Rhapsody of the Seas itinerary, adding that, “we are particularly proud that the Cyprus Registry is ranked among the top shipping registries worldwide and even more proud of the fact that it also includes the Royal Caribbean group’s Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship from January 2023”.

“We are grateful for the trust you have shown in the flag of Cyprus, putting our country on the global cruise map,” Hadjimanolis said. She also noted that with the expected operation of the group's office in Limassol, which, as she said, will be the centre of its shipping activities in the eastern Mediterranean, “Cyprus is being established as a quality cruise centre, while our tourism product is strengthened, with significant benefits for tourism, Limassol and the wider local economy”.

She said that the Deputy Ministry and the Cypriot government will continue to support the group and offer quality shipping services.

Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Royal Caribbean, Christos Karavos, said that the ship sailed on Friday from Haifa, Israel with more than 2,000 passengers while 207 individuals were to board the ship in Limassol.