Princess cruise ship passengers disembarking from Royal Princes in Piraeus, Athens were forced to walk all the way outside the Port in order to board the shuttle busses on temperatures up to 95 ºF. This unpleasant experience that no one will forget was due to port protests held on Saturday in the pier that didn’t allow shuttle busses to pick up the passengers and their luggage. Protesters of the Federation of Hellenic Port Workers prevented the busses to enter the pier and all crew members and the captain carried the luggage and assisted the angry passengers from 4 a.m. until late in the afternoon. 

According to Kathimerini the captain went down to the dock to attempt to calm his angry guests together with the vice president of Holland America Line Bill Sharp, a Carnival Corporation subsidiary, who was also carrying passenger’s luggage. Bill Sharp has a major influence not only in HAL but for all Carnival Corporation cruise ships, as he decides whether the port of Piraeus and Greece will be included in the future itineraries. Mr. Sharp demanded to meet with the Greek Shipping Minister showing him the procession of senior passengers struggling in the sun. However there was minimum action taken by the Greek authorities regarding this incident allowing two busses to pick up the rest of the luggage. 

As the protest continue in the Greece, it remains to be seen how Carnival Vista will deal with similar problems. This is the only major cruise ship to use Piraeus as a home port during the Mediterranean Season.