Santorini—a bucket-list destination, a slice of Greek paradise, and, apparently, 2025’s most ghosted holiday hotspot. Cruise operators are cancelling calls to this quaint island faster than someone getting out of a terrible Tinder night. Seismic tremors or rescheduled itineraries aside, let’s deconstruct the soap-opera-style list of who’s cancelling on Santorini and where they’re going instead.
1. Celestyal Cruises: Playing It Safe
Celestyal got out of Santorini quicker than a tourist who realized they don’t like feta. Initially suggesting March and April trips, the company shelved those plans because of Aegean earthquake activity. Instead of their usual Santorini stop, their “Iconic Greek Islands” tour will now include Heraklion, Crete. Cue the relief sighs of travelers who just wanted a vacation and not a geology tour. Celestyal insists they’re ready to return by May 1, 2025—if Santorini gets its act together.
2. Viking Cruises: In With Mykonos, Out With the Old
Viking chose at random to bypass Santorini for trips to Mykonos and Nafplio in early 2025. This means eliminating two February stops from the Viking Star. Alright, so Mykonos is quaint or whatever, but trade Santorini views for windmills is trading champagne for wine in a box. Viking didn’t shut the book on the islands for good, but for this time at least, they’re cruising elsewhere.
3. Selectum Blu Cruises: Patmos Is the New Santorini
Even after launching its Mediterranean season with grand claims, Selectum Blu took Santorini down a peg for 2025. Instead of calling at the island’s famous caldera, the high-end Blue Sapphire ship will have regular port stops in Patmos. One can only wish that travelers just, just love monasteries. Selectum attributed changes in operations, or a polite way of saying, “Santorini isn’t on for this year.”
4. Miray Cruises: Shifting Gears to Syros
In March 2025, Miray Cruises dumped Santorini like it’s too clingy and booked it straight to Syros instead. The Gemini ship will now spend its time charming passengers with Syros’ old-world architecture rather than Santorini’s jaw-dropping sunsets. It’s like trading a Greek wedding for a slightly less Greek wedding, but hey—Syros probably appreciates the sudden influx of tourists.
5. Princess Cruises: A Quiet Goodbye
Princess Cruises wasn’t picking up on the vibe either—they’ve been skipping Santorini for other ports. While they haven’t made a huge hullabaloo about their changed itineraries, their silence speaks volumes. It’s hard not to interpret this as, “Call us when Santorini feels stable.”
6. Costa Cruises: No Italian Romance in Santorini anymore
Costa Cruises also pulled the plug, missing its Santorini ports of call with minimal fanfare. Why? Most likely some combination of safety and sheer “meh” attitude. It’s a harsh divorce for a region that relies heavily on foreign tourism, but Costa clearly had prettier ports on its 2025 horizon.
7. AIDA: Ghosting Ongoing
German-born AIDA isn’t visiting Santorini in 2025 either. Santorini fans feel like the kid who’s always last picked for dodgeball with AIDA giving it a pass this year. Instead of giving the reason for its route changes, the cruise company quietly removed Santorini from their itineraries. It’s like when you get unfollowed on social media—you’re not expressly told; it just happens.
There you have it—seven cruise lines, one collective decision to say goodbye to Santorini in right now. It could be shaking ground, logistical horror show, or just plain preference for other Greek islands, but the island isn’t queen of the bash this year. Will Santorini get back in the game later in the summer? Maybe. In the meantime, tourists will just have to gaze at its appearance on Instagram while they’re berthed a few islands off.
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