Greek cruise port welcomed Asuka II's passengers with traditional Cretan dancers and food
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Asian operator Nippon Yusen Kaisha’s Asuka II made a maiden visit to Heraklion Port in Greece on 30 April.
The 1,000-passenger cruise ship called at Heraklion as part of her 104-day world roundtrip from Yokohama in Japan and stayed for the day, before departing for Kusadasi in Turkey. During the voyage, which started on 4 April and is due to finish on 16 July, the ship will visit 30 ports around the world.
To commemorate the visit, the ship’s captain was presented with gifts by Ioannis Bras, president and managing director of Heraklion Port Authority, and Evripides Koukiadakis, Crete Region’s vice governor for Heraklion.
Meanwhile, passengers were greeted by a Cretan folklore group wearing who performed local dances and offered traditional desserts such as xerotigana and tsikoudia.
Asuka II is the second cruise ship to arrive at Heraklion carrying only Asian passengers this year. On 31 March, Costa Cruises’ Costa Atlantica visited the Greek port as part of a world cruise, which was exclusively sold to Chinese passengers.