Cruise ships in February for first time

However, it should be pointed out that the schedule is subject to changes, either with additional ship arrivals or with the modification or cancellation of some scheduled arrivals. Based on the schedule prepared by Corfu Port Authority (OLKE) following the announcements by the companies, a total of 520 ship arrivals are expected by the end of the year, with the final arrival, the Arethusa, on December 29th.

Schedule of Arrivals

Large numbers of arrivals are expected from May to October; however, it is encouraging to see cruise ships during the shoulder months of the tourist season, namely February-March and November-December.

Specifically, in March, 12 arrivals are expected, in April, 27, and following that, arrivals exceed 65 monthly. In May, there are 68 arrivals, in June, 69, in July, 75, in August, 76, in September, 69, and in October, 75. November has 25 arrivals scheduled, while December concludes with a total of 14.

Once again this year, Corfu Port will operate as a home port (the starting and ending point of a cruise) twice a week, thereby adding additional economic benefits for the island. This role will be fulfilled by the two companies that have been active in previous years, namely TUI Cruises and the German AIDA Cruises.

Specifically, the Marella Explorer from TUI Cruises will operate every Friday, while AIDA Cruises has changed the day selected for home porting from Sunday, as it was in previous years, to Saturday, with the Aida Blu. The home porting for Aida Blu begins on Saturday, March 30th, while the Marella Explorer starts on May 3rd.

Increase

The cruise industry in Corfu is once again increasing following the pandemic. In 2023, there were 353 cruise ship arrivals and 667,182 passengers. In 2022, which essentially marked the first year following the global health crisis, cruise passengers numbered 527,609. The previous year (2021), which had pandemic measures in place, saw 200 cruise ships arriving at Corfu Port of  with 234,699 visitors. 2019 was a record year, with 420 arrivals and 767,673 passengers.