As Clia Europe chair, a role he took on last October, Kyriakos Anastassiadis has promised to give a voice to cruise lines of all sizes. 

“There are many smaller cruise operators [like Celestyal],” he said. “It’s important that the whole industry is represented, not just the bigger players. We all have a role to play in growing the pie.”

He said smaller lines had more power to open up lesser-known destinations, and that a wider choice of destinations would ease the pressure on congested ports at peak times.

“It’s more difficult for larger ships to penetrate new destinations, from a cost and infrastructure perspective,” he said. “Smaller players don’t need to spend as much when they go into ports for the first time.”

But he warned smaller lines to be patient with their destination strategy, and play the long game, because overnight success was not guaranteed: “We need to create new choices for guests and have the patience to stick by them. This doesn’t happen overnight, but it does build once word gets out.”

He added: “Big ships play a role in introducing those people to cruise who will then try a smaller ship and new places.”