Minoan Lines was founded in 1972 in Iraklion on the Greek island of Crete, where the company's headquarters are still located today. The strong connection to this city is also illustrated by the company logo, which shows a relief from the Cretan royal palace of Knossos. Initially, only connections from Crete to the port of Piraeus near Athens were offered, but in 1981 connections to Italy were added for the first time. Since the 1990s, the network has been significantly expanded again and again with a significant increase in the fleet. The Grimaldi Group has held a controlling majority in the company since 2008.
Minoan Lines currently operates 13 routes; the most important are the connections from the port of Piraeus near Athens to the two Cretan ports of Iraklion and Chania. The small Cyclades islands of Milos, Serifos and Sifnos are also served from Piraeus. There are also connections from Italy (with the departure ports of Ancona and Venice) to Corfu and to the western Greek mainland ports of Igoumenitsa and Patras. As the ships on the Italian-Greek routes depart from Venice and call at Ancona again, the Venice-Ancona route also offers a connection within Italy. The Italian-Greek connections are particularly popular with holidaymakers because they offer the most comfortable way to travel to Greece in your own vehicle, which would otherwise only be possible via the Balkan highways.
Minoan Lines currently has six ships in operation, including several modern high-speed ferries. All ships have extensive catering facilities and cabins.
Two of the ships, the Cruise Olympia and the Cruise Europa, are so well equipped that they can be used as cruise ships during the low season.