Shortly after eight o’clock this Sunday morning, many of us were woken by the sound of the horn, sounded from the bridge of the cruise ship, Thomson Spirit, as it approached it’s destination – a good morning greeting from the Captain of the ship, which signaled the first such arrival to the Port of Agios Nikolaos for this tourist period, essentially, cutting the ribbon for cruise ship tourism for 2017!
The Thomson Spirit, was carrying 1300 passengers and 400 members of crew and within a short time of the ship docking, approximately 1000 visitors from the ship, flooded the sun streaked streets of the town.
A welcoming committee was waiting in the harbour, to commemorate the first arrival for 2017 and was made up of the President of the Harbour Fund, Georgos Barbounis, the Harbour Master, Spyros Aggelakis, the Deputy Mayor Spyros Massaros, and a representative of the Chamber of Commerce of Lasithi, Giannis Leventis, along with Giannis Bras, who is an advisor for cruise tourism.
Gifts to mark the occasion were offered to the Captain, Nikos Kafetzis and assurances were given that interventions will be made in the harbour, to assist passengers who have special need or disabilities.