Key Aspects:
- Sun Princess had cancelled her August 26 visit to Corfu due to port congestion.
- A visit to Taranto, Italy is now added to the itinerary on that date as an alternative destination for the 7-night cruise.
- No other itinerary changes have been announced at this time for the cruise departing Piraeus on August 22.
Europe is filled with fascinating history and rich cultures, and many cruise guests deliberately choose Mediterranean itineraries to explore areas they may not have seen before.
For guests on one upcoming sailing of Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess, however, their explorations will be different than they may have expected from the originally scheduled itinerary.
Princess Cruises has reached out to guests booked on the ship’s August 22, 2026 departure from Piraeus (Athens), Greece to alert them to an itinerary change to a completely different country on the 7-night cruise.
“Please be advised that due to cruise ship congestion, Sun Princess will no longer call to Corfu, Greece, on Wednesday, August 26, and will instead call to Taranto, Italy on the same date,” the notification confirmed.
Corfu was to have been the third port visit for the itinerary following stops in Santorini and Montenegro. The one-way itinerary also includes a visit to Sicily before Sun Princess will arrive in Barcelona on August 29.
Any tours guests have already booked through Princess Cruises for their visit to Corfu will be automatically cancelled and refunded back to the original form of payment. New tour options for Taranto will be available online well before the ship sets sail.
At this time, no other itinerary changes for the sailing have been announced and guests should be able to enjoy all their other port visits as planned.
Will Corfu Really Be Overcrowded?
August 26 is certainly planned to be a busy day in Corfu, with a total of seven ships scheduled for the port. Along with Sun Princess, the visiting vessels include Viking Star, both Norwegian Pearl and Gem, Mein Schiff 4, and both MSC Armonia and Fantasia.
Altogether, the seven ships may be bringing more than 17,500 guests to Corfu. Of those guests, the 175,500-gross ton, Sphere class Star Princess can host more than 4,300 guests, roughly 25% of the total who may be visiting the island that day.
When a port is overcrowded, there may be fewer tour opportunities available for guests and local retailers, restaurants, and attractions can become overwhelmed. This can lead to a much less pleasant visit for everyone.
Because Star Princess is the largest ship scheduled on August 26, she is also the easiest one to cancel to have the greatest impact on the expected congestion and create a better experience for other guests.
This will naturally be disappointing news to guests who had looked forward to visiting the stunning island, but Taranto also offers a rich history and centuries of culture to explore.
Not the First Congestion Itinerary Change
Cruise Hive has previously reported on similar itinerary changes where port congestion is cited as the explanation.
In August 2025, Celebrity Ascent had to shorten a visit to Santorini by three hours due to port congestion, and earlier that year, Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady had to cancel a visit to Cozumel because of the number of ships visiting at the same time.
It isn’t always a cruise ship’s guest capacity that may cause port congestion and impact itinerary options. At ports where tender boats are necessary, too many ships can slow those water shuttle operations and make visiting the port impractical. Similarly, a lack of available pilots might cause an itinerary change, as it did for Carnival Splendor recently in Australia.
Port operations such as pier maintenance, repairs, or dredging operations can also create a different type of congestion that might result in port cancellations.
Cruise lines do try to find an alternative port to visit whenever possible. Fortunately for Sun Princess, Taranto is less than 200 miles from Corfu and can easily accommodate one of the two largest ships in the Princess Cruises fleet.
