Cruising Italy in july

I am interested in anyone who has cruised mediterrean ports in July. (Maybe not 2018 as it was freakishly hot) Is it incredibly hot in all ports, mostly interested in cruises with Rome ,Venice maybe France. I guess I am hoping to find out that Venice and Rome are hot but heading towards other areas get cooler. How hot were the cruise ships? July and early August are the only times we can really travel.

A Google search for weather for a couple of your ports will get you the hard data. That being said, it is commonly discussed here July and August can be very warm and humid in the Med. We cruised in mid to later August, and it was 90s most days, (100 in Athens) and moderately humid.

Our daughter and her husband cruised the Med a couple of years ago and it was HOT. He got heat stroke one day. They were there mid July. They did Spain, France, Tunis and Italy.

I am interested in anyone who has cruised mediterrean ports in July. (Maybe not 2018 as it was freakishly hot) Is it incredibly hot in all ports, mostly interested in cruises with Rome ,Venice maybe France. I guess I am hoping to find out that Venice and Rome are hot but heading towards other areas get cooler. How hot were the cruise ships? July and early August are the only times we can really travel.

July is the time we can usually travel and we have done so five times to the Med since 2012 including this year. Your right, this year in Spain, Italy and France was the hottest we have experienced. Usually Malta is the stand out hot place.

Having said that we come from a hot climate area and don't like the cold. For example it dropped down to 7C overnight and that was freezing to us. A day with 14C maximum I am wrapped in 2 - 3 layers.

However, we also adjust our routine to suit the heat when we travel. We get up early and visit in the morning, have lunch then go back to the hotel for a rest, then head out again around 4pm. We always book hotels or apartments with air-conditioning.

If it is a port stop and we are touring all day we make sure we have air-conditioned cars to escape back to with lots of water handy. If you can set up private tours this can be organised, as well as some bus tours. Drinking water, wearing head protection all help preventing heat stroke.

On the cruise ship themselves the main dining room and theatres are still usually quite cool. I would still have a wrap or some sort of light covering packed. In fact when we were in Paris in early July, it was cool in the early morning and then warmed up considerably by late morning, so I was glad to have a light cardigan to wear early morning.

I hope this helps as I know it can be tricky when you don't have to much flexibility to choose what time of year to travel.

Julie

We did Rome to Venice from 7 July this year. It was hot everywhere. Ashore we tried to walk in the shade. We went ashore at all but one port, but found that half a day ashore was enough for us. The other issue we found was that when the ship was in port it was way too hot to sit in the sun ( even tho’ we normally love to do so). We had to find some shade to sit in until after 4pm when it cooled off a little.

On sea days when the ship was sailing there was a nice breeze on the sun-deck and we could sit on a sunbed in the sun then.

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July and August are peak holiday times throughout Europe. Therefore it is going to be hot in the Med and also extremely busy and crowded. Spring and autumn are much nicer months to visit.

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When the kids were all still in school we went on an extended family Med cruise several years ago. As the objective historical data shows, it was hot. Very hot. And I say that as someone who likes heat and lives without air conditioning in my home because I don't like it.

Fortunately our youngest is now in college and the school teacher in our family is within a couple of years of retirement, so we're soon going to break the bonds that tied us to summer travel as a group.

If July and August are the only months you can do it, I’d say go as early in July as you can. It might be a bit cooler, (the first half of July wasn’t too bad this year) and some places, like the UK, will still have school in session so it could be a bit less crowded than it will be later.

Ive done it twice in July. I could only travel in summer also. It IS hot. But you can prepare by wearing a sunhat and loose cotton clothing. Also always carry water and take breaks in the shade. It’s doable and worth it!

Ive done it twice in July. I could only travel in summer also. It IS hot. But you can prepare by wearing a sunhat and loose cotton clothing. Also always carry water and take breaks in the shade. It’s doable and worth it!

Unfortunately, this year most European countries have been unusually hot, but Southern European countries were experiencing temperatures in mid 40s. For me that is too hot to enjoy any sightseeing.

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Unfortunately, this year most European countries have been unusually hot, but Southern European countries were experiencing temperatures in mid 40s. For me that is too hot to enjoy any sightseeing.

 

 

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The Thread Starter said they can only travel July and early August.

I was staying in Barcelona and cruising in the southern Med area for almost three weeks this July. It was hot but doing as per my earlier post we did tours, self explored and coped quite well. I'm no spring chicken as I turn 60 this year, though I am luckily quite healthy.

Other people we did some tours with were from Atlanta and they managed fine as well. Being able to have respite in an air-conditioned minivan certainly helped. Exploring Pompeii would have been not on my list this year due to the heat:).

Julie

We were just there during the "freakishly hot" July. However, given accelerating climate change, I don't think you can expect 2019 or 2020 to be less than freakishly hot. Freakishly hot may be the new norm.

But we can't travel except in July or August either. (I'm a teacher.) Either we travel in July and August or we don't travel at all. So we travelled. And we survived. We even enjoyed ourselves. But it was indeed unpleasantly HOT.

Some advice:

- Make sure that the hotels/AirBnBs/whatever you book for your pre-cruise and post-cruise stays have air-conditioning. Not all do.

- Don't worry about the climate on the ship: it was always nice on the ship.

- Book private tours with air-conditioned vehicles. This way you can escape into A/C whenever you get too hot.

(You won't believe the number of paramedics I saw treating people with heatstroke, especially in Rome.)

- Plan to do most of your touring at sites like Pompeii in the early morning. (It was already hot by 10 am and unpleasant by 11 am.)

(Schedule museums and swimming at beaches for afternoons.)

- Dress for the heat and bring hats and shade umbrellas and carry *lots* of water.

(Rome had lots of fountains to refill bottles but lines at all of them! Elsewhere it was trickier to refill bottles.)

- Eat lots of gelato. Like, continuously.

Really, just be prepared to adjust your expectations. For example, when I learned we were going to Rhodes, I was thinking we'd spend most of our time visiting Lindos and then the old town. On the day, we bailed on Lindos for the Valley of the Butterflies and wound up spending just as much time at the beach as in the old town.

Do you have to do the Med at that time? The Fjords, the Baltic and even British Isles are not nearly as hot!!

Do you have to do the Med at that time? The Fjords, the Baltic and even British Isles are not nearly as hot!!

Oh, definitely. I found Norway, the Baltic, and the British Isles warm, sunny, and generally pleasant in July and August. (Definitely compared to the Med.)

Oh, definitely. I found Norway, the Baltic, and the British Isles warm, sunny, and generally pleasant in July and August. (Definitely compared to the Med.)

We did a Baltic cruise this year in July and it was 35c everywhere and very crowded. We’ve had the same high temperatures most of the summer throughout the UK too.

Maybe have a look at an Iceland or Norway. Both very worthwhile, but not nearly as hot.

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It is hot, but not unbearable. I mean it isn't like you are walking around Phoenix at 125. If you are of decent health, take it easy when needed, and stay hydrated it is fine. You will just need showers at least once a day, and will likely stop for gelato several times a day.

It is hot, but not unbearable. I mean it isn't like you are walking around Phoenix at 125. If you are of decent health, take it easy when needed, and stay hydrated it is fine. You will just need showers at least once a day, and will likely stop for gelato several times a day.

Well I would say 35-40c is very hot and that’s what the temperatures have been this summer. Not just in the Med, but throughout Europe.

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It is hot, but not unbearable. I mean it isn't like you are walking around Phoenix at 125. If you are of decent health, take it easy when needed, and stay hydrated it is fine. You will just need showers at least once a day, and will likely stop for gelato several times a day.

For me, the problem is that when it is that hot, I cannot fully concentrate on what I'm seeing and doing. I'm just too miserable thinking about the heat and how to stay cool. It's not an ideal vacation for me if I have to see and do less than I wanted because to do otherwise could invite heat stroke.

I'm not just talking idly. I was on a trip about 3 years ago to visit archaeological sites with a Yale professor in and around Naples & Campania in June. We were spending 7-8 hours a day standing in the sun at sites, listening to impromptu lectures, having to think on our feet (as well as stand on them!). On the last day but one, I was close to having heat stroke and had to sit out most of that day's activities -- I was NOT a happy camper.

It is very hot!! We live in the southern med and on our first visit DH came out in such a heat rash in Rome that he had to miss Pompeii. Now he has retired we are going spring and autumn and it is much nicer.

The ships were always too cold for me so I would step outside to warm up.

We may well find that one of our April or October trips bring us rain or even storms. I am willing to chance it.

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I agree with the above. I've done the Med a couple of times in July (like others, I'm a teacher, so it's the summer or never). I figure I can put up with the heat during the day as long as I can have a good, cold sleep.

If you're staying in Rome or Venice before/after cruise, choose a centrally located hotel. It makes it much easier to take a break mid-day. In Rome, make use of the free drinking fountains. They're everywhere and the water is cool and delicious.

Keep drinking water all day -- even when you're not thirsty! If I drank the amount of water at home in the winter that I drink in Rome in the summer, I'd be running to the bathroom all day. But in the crazy heat of Rome I went hours and hours and didn't need to go -- lol.

Here's info (and a map) of the Rome drinking fountains:

https://www.explore-italian-culture.com/drinking-fountains-of-rome.html

https://www.livitaly.com/rome-drinking-fountains/

 

 

 

Fortunately our youngest is now in college and the school teacher in our family is within a couple of years of retirement, so we're soon going to break the bonds that tied us to summer travel as a group.

When the two stars of “family member a teacher retires” and “kids no longer at school” aligned - and I was free to take my annual leave when I wanted I was so happy. I enjoy the summer at home and European vacations out of the summer season.

You will love it.

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Thanks for all the replies. I do work for a school board so July and August are the months we can go. Trying to decide if I will have to wait 10 years til retirement to see Italy! Is the cruise ship school enough. We saw the covered pools are they too hot to sit at? Thanks

Thanks for all the replies. I do work for a school board so July and August are the months we can go. Trying to decide if I will have to wait 10 years til retirement to see Italy! Is the cruise ship school enough. We saw the covered pools are they too hot to sit at? Thanks

I can't help re covered pools, but as an ex-nurse I go with the idea if you can afford it go while you can. Too many times I have cared for people who put of travelling waiting for their retirement. It was sad they couldn't then travel due to illness.

You can hopefully revisit and for longer after you retire in a different month.....but at least you have seen it once. JMHO

Julie

I can't help re covered pools, but as an ex-nurse I go with the idea if you can afford it go while you can. Too many times I have cared for people who put of travelling waiting for their retirement. It was sad they couldn't then travel due to illness.

 

You can hopefully revisit and for longer after you retire in a different month.....but at least you have seen it once. JMHO

 

Julie

Pretty much the story of our life. We traveled in a limited, hurried manner during our working career. Went to some great places, but usually on a budget...both for time and money.

Now retired, and going back to spend much more time exploring the places we rushed through before. Loving traveling in retirement.

To anyone who will listen! Don’t wait! Enjoy life now. We’ve all lost too many that were taken too soon.