Eastern Mediterranean cruise operator Celestyal Cruises said on Friday it suspends activity until 1 May, becoming the latest passengership company to announce such a measure due to the coronavirus crisis.
Celestyal, which uses Piraeus as its home port, said in a statement it took its decision “as a result of the unavoidable circumstances arising out of the continued spread of Covid-19 and increased government advisories and restrictions from all over the world prohibiting guests from leaving and re-entering their home countries”.
The company invoked force majeure for “the difficult yet responsible decision” to suspend sailings between March 14 and April 30, 2020.
Fully paid guests on cruises within that period are offered a full refund or future cruise credits valid through to end-December 2021 and worth 120% of trips’ original booking value.
The risk of quarantines, port entry bans and medical detentions for guests and crew apart, the scope for travel has shrunk considerably as governments restrict public gatherings and access to major attractions.
Earlier on Friday, Greece’s culture ministry ordered archaeological monuments and museums to shut down until 30 March because it can't find enough personnel to guard them.
Separately, and in a first direct hit to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) on Friday suspended the Olympic torch relay that started on 12 March in the games’ birthplace, Olympia, western Greece.
The decision was taken after an unexpectedly large crowd of spectators assembled to watch the relay in the town of Sparta, where Hollywood star Gerard Butler, who played King Leonidas in the blockbuster movie "300", briefly carried the torch.
The Olympic flame will still be handed over to Tokyo Games' organisers as originally planned on 19 March in Athens, the Spyros Capralos-led HOC said in a statement.
Greece has so far escaped relatively lightly from the Covid-19 outbreak, with just one dead and 190 confirmed cases reported as of 13 March.
The country, however, is taking increasingly drastic measures to prevent the virus from spreading as it did in neighboring Italy, which has become Europe’s hotbed for the disease. Museums and monuments apart, the government on 13 March also shut down shopping malls, cafes, bars and restaurants.
