ATHENS – Arrivals of cruise ships in Greek ports went up 14.34 pct in 2019 compared to the year before, the Hellenic Ports Association reported in early January.

The country’s 43 ports saw some 3,899 cruise ferries arrive in 2019, a significant rise from the 2018 figures which saw 3,410 cruisers sail in.

Consequently, cruise passengers increased to 5,537,500 in 2019, from 2018’s 4,788,642 passengers, marking a 15.64 pct increase.

Piraeus port ranked first in the cruise destinations list for the tenth consecutive year, seeing a cruise passengers total of 410,512 in 2019, which translates to a 15.83 pct increase compared to the 354,398 passengers recorded in 2018.

The port of Piraeus saw some 622 cruise ferries dock in 2019, Santorini 592, Mykonos 550, Rhodes 258 and Souda in Crete 132.