• 3 min de lectura
• 3 min de lectura
Blue Zephyr returned to Lavrio on September 29 after a week-long maiden voyage.
The ship left on September 22 and called at Syros, Delos, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Samos, Naxos and Paros on a round trip through the Cyclades, the Eastern Aegean and the Turkish coast.
The line's ethos is to enable passengers to "see small ports and hidden harbours, meet our local partners, experience the culture and hear the stories."
Georgios Moulas, GM of Blue Zephyr, spent 25 years as a yacht captain. He built the product around philoxenia, the Greek idea of traditional hospitality, as an alternative to the crowded Mykonos–Santorini route. "Above all, traditional Greece means hospitality: genuine, traditional hospitality," he said.
Blue Zephyr takes 114 passengers and has 65 crew. It's small enough to anchor at secluded swimming spots and hidden harbours that larger ships can't reach. The idea is to offer something close to a private yacht charter at a much lower price."I want this ship [to be] all one family," Moulas said.His years as a captain have given him contacts across the islands, providing privileged access to smaller ports and secluded harbours, along with deep local knowledge and strong connections within the communities the ship visits.
Athens-based GYD Architecture, led by Chrysi Giannikaki, completed the refurbishment of the former Caledonian Sky in approximately six months, maintaining the original cabin count. "We didn't want to change the structural elements, so that the ship could return to service quickly," Giannikaki explained.
The design preserves the ship's signature red wood while introducing a lighter, Aegean-inspired aesthetic. "The aim was to make you feel as if you're on the beach in summer," she said. The most significant transformations occurred in the lounges and coffee areas, where heavier, winter-toned furnishings gave way to a more relaxed lounge-bar atmosphere. In the panoramic coffee area, seating was intentionally kept low to preserve unobstructed views.
With a background spanning both cruise and superyacht design, Giannikaki drew the colour palette from yacht interiors, while selecting materials and flooring based on their practicality for daily crew operations.
Bookings are currently at 70% for next season and the line hopes to be fully booked by April, with most early bookings coming from the US.
Fuel prices have risen from 70-80 cents to about €2.30 a litre, but the line has kept fares the same. "We have not increased our fares. We don't want our guests to pay for the fuel; the company absorbs that cost," Moulas stated.
Blue Zephyr's 2027 programme stays in the Cyclades and the Eastern Aegean. In 2028 the ship will sail around the Peloponnese, going through the Corinth Canal and calling at Delphi, Katakolo for Olympia, Kalamata and Elafonisos.
Within five years, the lime aims to add two or three sister ships to Blue Zephyr. They would cover Northern Greece and the Sporades, the Ionian Sea (with calls potentially reaching Albania) and the Dodecanese.
The venture is funded by Greek-American partner Dimitrios Smyrnios, whom Moulas has known for many years through yachting.Moulas credits Smyrnios with making the project possible: "He believed in my dream from the very beginning and supported it," he said. "When you have someone genuine beside you who gives you the chance to make your vision a reality, it means everything. Without people like him, you have nothing."
The full story of Blue Zephyr and its first-ever sailing will appear in the next edition of Seatrade Cruise Review.
