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Greek ports remain outside the routes of international cruises for the next two years. This became clear after the conference of the European Commission of the cruise companies in Brussels, which apparently decided not to take a risk with the unpredictable behavior of the Greek port workers and focus on other more welcoming and friendly destinations.

The big plans of the government of George Papandreou to eliminate cabotage in sailing remained a good wish rather than reality, although in the summer of 2010 was enacted the law for the liberalization of maritime transport. The reason for this were the constant protests and blockades of the local dock workers, who sabotaged at least three times this summer, foreign cruise ships. The main reason for the protests was the lack of a certain percentage Greek sailors in foreign crews of seagoing vessels.

Not once or twice they did not allow the Maltese Zenith to enter the port of Piraeus, then they did not allow the passengers of the ship to go ashore for one day. Then there was a case when they did not allow them to board the ship before their three-day strike ended. Nevertheless, the international summer cruises, still returned to the Greek ports with the hope that local governments will take matters into their own hands and solve the internal problems, so at least the tourist season ended without incidents.

As it became clear already a guarantee can not be given by anyone and about anything in Greece. So the board of cruise companies decided that they can afford more mishaps and during the next season it will not pass through Greece. Currently is still under question the mooring at the local port also in 2013. The Greek government wants to require companies to sign a three-year agreement that will ensure that foreign cruises will use the port of Piraeus for the initial starting point for their tourist packages (homeport).

President of the Chamber of Merchant Marine George Grachos said, however, before Sky TV, that such agreements are purely Greek invention that is not practiced anywhere in the world. Cruise companies can not be bound by the promise of homeporting for three years because the destinations are changing constantly, he said. The route of the cruises is built according to the tourist packages that are seasonally determined. George Grachos said that the full liberalization of the Navy (the abolition of cabotage) will open up to 25 thousand new jobs.

So far 11% of the revenues from tourism in Greece are from the visitors who came to see the country with a cruise. This percentage will be lost for the next two years, instead of being increased to reach revenues the in Italy, which amount to 34%. "Every passenger on a cruise ship leaves at least 60 euros every time he gets off the ship, and a tourist who boards from a Greek port such a ship spends at least 300 euros," explained the specialist. He stressed that four or five companies hold 85% of the cruise market in the world and the decision to skip Greece in their routes for next season will seriously hit the local economy.

In 2009, although there was a crisis in tourism worldwide about five million Europeans have made a trim with a cruise. This gave an increase of 12.1% compared with the summer of 2008 and has brought the European economy over 34 billion euros. Profit for Greece for the same period of cruise was over 600 million euro.