Mediterranean 2027: Star Clippers Adds 27 New Ports
Star Clippers summer 2027 sailings in the Mediterranean are getting a major itinerary refresh, with 27 new ports of call across seven countries, including a first for the line, Sarandë, Albania. For travelers, the practical change is more access to smaller islands and secondary harbors that bigger ships often skip, which can translate into quieter port days, shorter tender rides in some places, and more itinerary variety if you are tired of the same marquee stops repeating every season.
The nut graf: Star Clippers summer 2027 sailings add 27 ports of call and several newly named itineraries, giving travelers more small port access across Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Spain, France, and Albania.
Star Clippers Summer 2027 Sailings: What Changed For Travelers
The headline is the port expansion. Star Clippers says 24 of the 2027 ports are completely new to the line, pushing the program to a record number of new additions for its Mediterranean season. The newly listed ports span Greece, Turkey, Spain, France, Croatia, and Albania, with examples including Astypalea, Skyros, and Parga in Greece, and Çeşme, Kaş, and Fethiye in Turkey.
Two itinerary names the company is using to frame the refresh are "Authentic Adriatic" on Royal Clipper, with departures from Venice on June 12, 2027, July 4, 2027, and August 7, 2027, and "Eternal Cyclades" on Star Flyer, with departures from Athens on June 26, 2027, August 28, 2027, and September 25, 2027. The published lead in pricing in the announcement starts at £2,179 per person for Authentic Adriatic and £1,957 per person for Eternal Cyclades, both described as seven night sailings.
The season window matters, too. Star Clippers frames the Mediterranean program as running from April through November 2027, which gives planners more shoulder season options if they are trying to avoid peak summer heat, peak crowds, or peak airfare.
Who This Itinerary Refresh Fits Best
This is best for travelers who value ports that feel less industrial and less engineered for mass tourism, and who are comfortable with a sailing oriented pace where wind, sea conditions, and tender operations can shape the day. If your ideal cruise day is stepping off onto a deepwater pier with a short walk to a major attraction, some of these smaller calls may feel more variable, because smaller harbors often mean tendering, limited berth space, and shorter operating windows when conditions change.
It is also a strong fit for repeat Mediterranean cruisers. If you have already done the standard loop of the biggest Greek islands and the most common Adriatic highlights, the new port list is the point, it changes what your photo roll looks like and what your shore day feels like. The addition of Albania is a clear signal that Star Clippers is trying to keep the product feeling exploratory, not only repackaged.
Price sensitive travelers should treat "from" pricing as a starting point, not a guarantee for the cabin category they actually want on the exact week they can travel. A small ship, limited inventory product can price up quickly once the most popular cabins and weeks start to fill.
How To Plan Around The New Ports And New Sailings
Start by deciding what you care about more, itinerary uniqueness or predictability. The upside of small ports is character and calm. The tradeoff is that the experience is more exposed to local conditions, because tendering, sea state, and wind can affect how a day runs, even when the itinerary itself stays intact. Travelers who get frustrated by operational variability should bias toward itineraries where the main "must do" experiences are onboard and the ports are a bonus, rather than the other way around.
Next, plan your flight and hotel buffers like you would for any cruise, but be honest about summer pressure. If you are sailing out of Venice or Athens in peak summer weeks, build in at least one pre cruise night to protect against late inbound flights, baggage delays, or summer weather disruptions. The same logic applies on the back end if you have a long haul flight home, a tight connection, or a fixed event you cannot miss the next day.
Finally, compare this announcement against how other luxury cruise and yacht style brands are also publishing farther ahead. It is becoming normal to see 2027 and 2028 seasons released earlier, which shifts the advantage to travelers who commit when they find a week and routing they actually want, rather than waiting for "one more schedule drop" that might not materially improve their options. For an example of how far forward the premium end of the market is already publishing, see Four Seasons Yachts 2027 Caribbean Season Adds Costa Rica.
Why Small New Ports Matter More On Tall Ships
Star Clippers is leaning into a structural advantage, ship size and access. The company's owner, Eric Krafft, frames it plainly, the fleet can reach destinations that large cruise ships cannot access, and 2027 is designed to prove that with a higher volume of new ports than the line has ever added in a single Mediterranean season.
That access creates a different kind of travel value. First order, you get ports that feel less processed, often with smaller town footprints, less cruise traffic at once, and more room for unhurried shore time. Second order, it can change your on land planning, because some of these smaller ports are better for low key walking days, beach days, and local food days than they are for big ticket, timed entry sightseeing. In practice, that means you can sometimes do less advance reservation scrambling than you would in the most saturated Mediterranean hot spots, although you still need to plan for peak summer crowding in the region overall.
The other mechanism is demand signaling. The line is not only adding new ports, it is also bringing back some ports after multi year gaps, including Symi and Kastellorizzo in Greece. That tells you what their customer base is buying, smaller, more specific places, not just the biggest names.