Guests who have booked Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess maiden voyage have already received an itinerary change due to maintenance of a key tourist attraction at a port of call.
The new Sphere class ship will embark on her 10-night “Inaugural Grand Mediterranean” voyage from Barcelona to Rome on February 8, 2024, but she will no longer call on Santorini, Greece on February 15, 2024. The email booked guests received stated the change was due to the Santorini Cable Car being out of service.
The email reads, “Please be advised that Sun Princess will no longer call to Santorini, Greece on Thursday, February 15, 2024 as onshore activities will be limited due to the Santorini Cable Car being out of service for maintenance. Instead, we will now call to Crete (Heraklion), Greece.”
Any excursions for Santorini that were booked through Princess Cruises are automatically canceled and refunded. Any excursions made independently will need to be canceled directly with the tour operator. The cruise line is still finalizing new excursions for Crete, and they will be made available online and in the cruise app within two weeks.
Sun Princess’s other ports of call–Palma de Mallorca, Messina, Athens, Kusadasi, and Naples–are not affected by the change. The vessel will still return to Rome from her maiden voyage on February 18, 2024.
The Santorini Cable Car being out of service is a major setback for Santorini. There are only a few ways to reach the town of Fira which is located 700 feet above the port and steep cliffs. One of those ways is the Santorini Cable car which can make the trip in about three minutes. The second is walking. Travelers can walk the 500 steep steps up the Karavolades Stairs, but many are physically unable. The last way is the traditional way–donkey. Donkeys are available to ride up or down the stairs with limited availability. In other words, with the Santorini Cable Car out of service for scheduled maintenance through February 28, 2024, calling on Santorini is nearly impossible.
Sun Princess is the largest Princess Cruises ship and boasts of the largest casino in the fleet. She will also be the first Princess ship to be powered by LNG when she embarks on her maiden voyage in early February.