Louis plans Greece-Turkey cruise

Louis is planning a special 10-day ‘pilgrimage’ cruise that will start from Limassol on March 29 and visit some of the most important Greek islands and Constantinople.
Priced at 699 euros per person, the 1200-passenger Cristal will stop at Rhodes, Patmos, Efessos, Constantinople and Thessaloniki with an overnight stay in both cities, Volos, Peireas and end in Iraklion, Crete.
This unique cruise comes amid reports that following its nine-month results announced in December, Louise will revise its cruise routes for 2009 to ensure the company returns to profitability as soon as possible.
With cruises accounting for 72% of the tourism giant’s revenue, sector analysts expect the company to report full-year losses equal to the 20 mln euros announced for the nine-month period. Furthermore, Louis is also expected to announce that it showed a further 10 mln euros in unrealised exchange loss, as the final quarter of its operations do not contribute significantly to full-year results.
Louis attributes the weaker cruise performance to reduced activity in the winter period, giving fewer ships and passengers, and the negative affect of weaker rates of the dollar versus the euro. Around 60% of all Louis’ passengers for cruises out of Piraeus come from the US.
However, experts believe that 2009 onwards will see the group starting on a path of recovery as new projects, such as the joint venture management of the new Marseilles passenger terminal will contribute to profits in the longer term.