Thanksgiving on the Mediterranean

[jamarone]

What should I expect, weather wise, at that time of year off the ship. Is it cold and snowy and difficult to get around in Italy, Croatia and Spain at that time of year.

[jimzgoldfinch]

What should I expect, weather wise, at that time of year off the ship. Is it cold and snowy and difficult to get around in Italy, Croatia and Spain at that time of year.

 

Hi,

Weather is unpredictable!! You will not get snow at this time of year and it does not usually get very cold. Expect rain and some sunshine and mild temperatures. Don't expect sunbathing weather.

 

Jim

[Onessa]

We've done a variety of Med cruises four of the past five years (one out of Venice, one from Barcelona, two from Rome) over Thanksgiving week.

 

For weather, late November is unpredictable. We've had really good weather, but I'm fair-haired, fair-skinned and from the upper Midwest so my concept of "good" may not be the same as yours :D

 

First - in general - realize that the further west and north you are the cooler it will likely be and the incidence of overcast or wet weather will also be higher.

 

In Rome and to the south in Italy, we've generally had 60-70s for daytime temps, higher 70s and even some lower 80s in Naples and/or Sicily. In Greece we've had mid-60s to mid-70s. Venice and Florence and Croatia more high 50-60s. Southern Spain and southern France generally were 60s - and generally what I describe as "mostly cloudy".

 

Also, November is a time when winds from the south are more likely - this means that Venice is more likely to have areas flooded than some other times of year.

 

It will not really be beach weather anywhere in the Med. The on-board pools will get some use, but will never really be busy. We used our balconey on a regular basis, but even we choose our times out on the balconey wisely. Most of the routes stay close enough to land so the seas are generally not too rough, but in more open areas of the seas it will be a bit choppier than during the summer months.

 

The ports and attractions are all pretty much open their regular hours -- but will be much less "packed". We are early birds and we've discovered that we've had some places all to ourselves -- I have uncropped photos of places like the church square in Oia Santorini, the library in Ephasis, and temples and houses in Pompeii with no one else there. We were in Athens the November 2009 and hit the Acropolis between the am and pm ship's excrusions -- there were no more than 15 to 20 other people there. Restraunts are less crowed. It is also the end of the tourist season, so some of the prices are a bit better than during "high" season.