If you've ever wanted to arrive in a Sicilian harbour the way the ancient Greeks did — under full sail — there's now a financial nudge to make it happen. Star Clippers is running an offer on selected 2027 and 2028 Mediterranean voyages that include Sicily: book by December 31, 2026 and you'll get a $500 air credit plus a complimentary 3GB WiFi package per cabin. One catch worth flagging: the deal is only open to North American residents, and it applies to stateroom categories 2 through 6 on select departures.
Star Clippers operates actual tall ships — the Royal Clipper, Star Flyer and Star Clipper — which means smaller harbours are on the menu. The line's vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas, Terri Haas, made the pitch plainly: the ships can dock right in places like Syracuse, Lipari and Trapani, so you step off into the centre of town rather than a satellite cruise terminal.
The featured itineraries cover a good spread of seasons and budgets. The six-night "Sicily & Greece" sailing aboard the Royal Clipper leaves Athens (Piraeus) on October 20, 2027, stopping at Monemvasia and Pylos before calls at Syracuse, Gozo and Valletta in Malta; fares start at $2,290 per person, double occupancy. If you'd rather sail the reverse direction, the Star Flyer runs Valletta to Athens on April 25, 2027 and April 16, 2028, adding a stop at Nafplio, with fares from $2,150 and $2,250.
Summer travellers have two options out of Rome's Civitavecchia port. The seven-night "Amalfi Coast & Sicily" roundtrip departs July 24, 2027 and takes in Lipari in the Aeolian Islands, Messina, Amalfi, Sorrento and Ponza, from $2,500. For something longer, the 10-night "Sicily Unveiled with Italian Treasures" aboard the Star Clipper leaves on August 29, 2027, ticking off Trapani, Palermo, Cefalù, Vibo Marina, Agropoli, Sorrento and Ponza, with fares starting at $3,350.
Why consider a sailing ship over a mainstream cruise? Partly the ports — Lipari, Trapani and Monemvasia are awkward or impossible for big vessels — and partly the pace. With a few hundred passengers instead of thousands, days in port tend to feel less like a mass transfer operation.
The practical read: this is a booking-window deal, not a last-minute one. Flights are yours to arrange, with the $500 credit offsetting the cost, and the WiFi allowance is a small but real perk on a tall ship where connectivity is usually patchy. If Sicily plus a GreekPeloponnese or Amalfi stretch has been on your list, locking in a 2027 or 2028 departure before the end of 2026 is where the value sits.
Story via Cruise Industry News.
