Why Cruise Ships Are Beginning to Skip Overcrowded Ports

As tales about overcrowded ports and congested downtowns have made headlines—and sophisticated the holidays of many vacationers—cruise traces have begun taking a contemporary have a look at various locations.

It’s a optimistic shift for passengers, who will now get higher entry to “off the overwhelmed path” ports and extra attention-grabbing itineraries—even whereas crusing on huge ships.

“Diversifying ports is a sizzling matter within the cruise business,” stated Rob Clabbers, founder and president of Q Cruise + Journey, and a member of Journey + Leisure’s Journey Advisory Board. “This development initially started with smaller, extra luxurious ships however has now prolonged to bigger vessels as effectively. It applies within the Japanese Mediterranean, but additionally in different areas around the globe.”

Contemplate one prime instance: as a substitute of coping with crowds in Santorini, Greece, passengers would possibly now spend their days on quieter islands equivalent to Milos or Patmos. Ships are starting to name within the seaside resort city of Marmaris, Turkey, which is thought for its attractive seashores and plentiful nightlife. Many vessels at the moment are going to Kotor, Montenegro, with its UNESCO World Heritage-listed previous city, as a substitute of bustling Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Why the Change Is Occurring Now

Consultants like Clabbers say the push is being prompted by a confluence of three elements: overcrowding, port congestion, and port charges.

Overcrowding is maybe the largest. Nowadays, mega-ship cruises can carry hundreds of passengers every, an enormous departure from a long time in the past, when even the most important of vessels had been significantly smaller. As we speak, two ships docking concurrently at an island like Mykonos would possibly arrive with a complete of 8,000 passengers, all of whom wish to see the identical slender lanes and wonderful cafes.

“Conventional ports like Santorini can turn out to be fairly crowded, with a number of ships visiting, so spreading the inflow of ships throughout a bigger variety of ports improves the expertise for each cruise visitors and island resort guests,” Clabbers defined in an interview with T+L. “I simply returned from a cruise on a yacht-style vessel with solely about 100 visitors. We visited small ports like Nauplia and Gytheio—ports that might not be visited by massive ships.”

One other issue is port charges, that are paid by cruise traces on behalf of passengers. In July 2025, for instance, Greek authorities applied a brand new “sustainable tourism charge” of as much as €20 (about $23) for every port of disembarkation throughout the excessive season. Taken collectively, these charges can begin to add up—and people prices are incentivizing cruise traces to contemplate options to Greek ports, in close by locales together with Cyprus, Malta, and Turkey.

Then there’s “port congestion,” an business time period that basically means there’s no extra accessible docking area. The perfect areas, whether or not alongside at a correct pier and even at an anchorage, will be assigned years upfront, leaving some ships with less-than-ideal parking spots. Cruise traces at the moment are asking if it’s “price it” to take these areas when options would possibly present a greater passenger expertise.

These elements are all including as much as extra alternative—and fewer “cookie cutter” itineraries—for visitors, significantly within the Japanese Mediterranean.

Methods to Guide These Revolutionary Journeys

So how do you e-book these new insider voyages which have fewer “marquee” ports and extra new-to-cruise locations?

Sadly, there’s no turnkey answer, and also you’ll must scan particular person cruise line web sites to search out itineraries that skip big-name ports in favor of less-trafficked options.

On the lookout for specialists within the area will help. Contemplate MSC Cruises, which is predicated in Europe, and is now sending its MSC Divina to Marmaris, Turkey along with Kusadasi, on sailings from Civitavecchia, Italy. The smaller MSC Lyric will, for its half, go to the lesser-visited Greek island of Syros.

Celestyal Cruises is headquartered in Greece, and it gives some splendid 14-night voyages onboard Celestyal Journey that embody port calls in Agios Nikolaos, Corfu, Katakolon, Kefalonia, and Milos, along with different big-name ports like Mykonos, Rhodes, and Santorini.

Extra acquainted names are additionally embracing the choice port development. Holland America Line, for instance, will ship its Oosterdam to Souda, Greece, on a number of itineraries this summer season, together with Sarande, Albania, on choose voyages.

Celeb Cruises can be diversifying its Japanese Mediterranean choices, calling on Nauplia, Greece, on its 11-night “Better of Greece” itineraries aboard Celeb Infinity. Different new ports for the road will embody Hydra, Kavala, and Souda, Greece, on choose Infinity journeys.