Best Time to Cruise - April, May, September, or October? And cruiseline suggestions?

[SamLH07]

So my husband and I are starting to wonder which month would be the best to go on a Med cruise with stops in Italy and Greece. I tried doing research online and I know we definitely want to skip the summer months. I just didn't know if we should look at itineraries in May or September? Are those months pretty crowded?

 

We want to go during the non-rainy season as well. I have no clue when this is.

 

Also, what is a good cruise for a mid-20s couple? Would we be disappointed with Celebrity? I also saw some itineraries with Holland America. We just want this cruise to be all about relaxation and more of the upscale side of things. Fewer kids, the better :)

[mjtripper]

So my husband and I are starting to wonder which month would be the best to go on a Med cruise with stops in Italy and Greece. I tried doing research online and I know we definitely want to skip the summer months. I just didn't know if we should look at itineraries in May or September? Are those months pretty crowded?

 

We want to go during the non-rainy season as well. I have no clue when this is.

 

Also, what is a good cruise for a mid-20s couple? Would we be disappointed with Celebrity? I also saw some itineraries with Holland America. We just want this cruise to be all about relaxation and more of the upscale side of things. Fewer kids, the better :)

 

We just returned from a Med cruise on Celebrity Reflection with stops to Italy, Greece and Turkey. Our cruise dates Sept 20-30. Had the perfect weather, sunny,high 70 to mid 80. and very calm seas. Kept an eye on the weather for the beginning of Sept and temps were in the high 80 to low 90.

Loved this cruise the ship and ports were perfect. This was our first time on Celebrity and loved it. We have been on Royal previously to the Med and Celebrity was by far the better choice. Thought that there was a variety of ages probably mid 30s and above.

The Med cruises are all about the ports. You will spend most of the day out touring either on your own or with a group. Not much time for relaxation due to the limited sea days.

The med cruises are a special cruise, happy planning!

[sunsetbeachgal]

We love Princess..they have an itinerary that is from Barcelona to Venice that is great...lots of great stops! also agree with above that med. Cruises are in my opinion not very relaxing as you are out and about touring and the days can be long. The relaxing part is unpacking once and not having to worry about meals, finding hotels, trains, etc.

Edited October 7, 2013 by sunsetbeachgal

[SamLH07]

We love Princess..they have an itinerary that is from Barcelona to Venice that is great...lots of great stops! also agree with above that med. Cruises are in my opinion not very relaxing as you are out and about touring and the days can be long. The relaxing part is unpacking once and not having to worry about meals, finding hotels, trains, etc.

 

Totally agree. With our Hawaiian cruise, we needed a vacation after that vacation lol. I was just thinking the sea days portion could be relaxing...maybe lol.

 

We want to do a roundtrip out of Rome so we can maximize both the Italy and Greece ports. I don't think Princess does that. I love Princess though!

[buggins0402]

So my husband and I are starting to wonder which month would be the best to go on a Med cruise with stops in Italy and Greece. I tried doing research online and I know we definitely want to skip the summer months. I just didn't know if we should look at itineraries in May or September? Are those months pretty crowded?

 

We want to go during the non-rainy season as well. I have no clue when this is.

 

Also, what is a good cruise for a mid-20s couple? Would we be disappointed with Celebrity? I also saw some itineraries with Holland America. We just want this cruise to be all about relaxation and more of the upscale side of things. Fewer kids, the better :)

 

Here's a nice easy to use website for travel weather. As to rain....look at the charts for normal inches seen in a month. Just change the cities for what you need for the itinerary.

 

http://www.holiday-weather.com/rome/averages/

[SamLH07]

Here's a nice easy to use website for travel weather. As to rain....look at the charts for normal inches seen in a month. Just change the cities for what you need for the itinerary.

 

http://www.holiday-weather.com/rome/averages/

 

Wow! I looked at that website and its cold in May! We decided to shoot for April/May 2015 as we have a family reunion to the Riviera Maya in June 2014. I really don't want to wait until September 2015 for this cruise.

 

Maybe do a late-May cruise? I guess we won't be swimming....

[CathyCruises]

Wow! I looked at that website and its cold in May! We decided to shoot for April/May 2015 as we have a family reunion to the Riviera Maya in June 2014. I really don't want to wait until September 2015 for this cruise.

 

Maybe do a late-May cruise? I guess we won't be swimming....

 

We were in Rome in early May this year and it was definitely swimming weather--no pools, tho! Hot for sightseeing.

[sonvoltken6]

As an FYI we did mid October 2011 and the weather was absolutely gorgeous

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[Keith1010]

Personally I like April or late September/early October.

 

I find that most places are far less crowded than in the summer season and the weather is much more moderate.

 

Keith

[sunsetbeachgal]

Am following a LIVE thread now from a Mediterranean cruise...rain, wind, cool temperatures and flooding in Venice...and one missed port due to high winds.

[dolfans0704]

Am following a LIVE thread now from a Mediterranean cruise...rain, wind, cool temperatures and flooding in Venice...and one missed port due to high winds.

 

Ouch, that doesn't sound like fun! We are sailing the Med out of BCN in late May next year. . Did the Baltics earlier this year around the same time and really enjoyed not having large crowds in ports and temps were not so hot.

 

 

Dolfans from Miami

[Bocadude85]

We are in our Mid 20's and love NCL. Were doing a Med cruise in late April next year. NCL may not be as upscale in the common areas of the ship as some of the other lines are, but if you book a suite like we do then there is plenty of luxury. We did a Med cruise in January a few years ago and had wonderful weather. Temps were mostly in the 60's to low 70's.

[mskaufman]

I've been on two med cruises (RCI and Princess). Both were great. However, we were generally on the go from morning til evening. Princess was more upscale than RCI. However, when I think relaxing I think Bermuda, Bahamas or Carribean.

[cruisemom42]

We want to do a roundtrip out of Rome so we can maximize both the Italy and Greece ports. I don't think Princess does that. I love Princess though!

 

I'm not sure how having a RT Rome cruise would maximize your Italy/Greece ports. You'd actually have a better chance to get to some of Greek ports/islands if you didn't have to turn around and backtrack to Rome, yes?

 

I'd look for a cruise that starts in Rome (allow a few days there in advance of your cruise) and ends in Athens (again allowing a couple of days there).

 

The ship isn't so important as the itinerary. It's definitely NOT a relaxing cruise for most of us. If you go outside the summer months, none of the lines are going to have many children aboard.

 

October can be rainy, so I'd avoid that if it is a worry. Late April into early May is nice and not as crowded. I prefer it to be on the cooler side for the sightseeing rather than warmer for swimming. However, if swimming is important to you, consider September -- the water will still be warmed from the summer. But keep in mind that the Med is pretty crowded from May through September now. (With the peak being in July and August.)

[puppycanducruise]

We did a Med cruise on HAL sailing from Rome in April/May this year. We stayed in Rome a couple of days before the cruise and it rained our first evening. Rest of the time was beautiful, actually warmer than we expected. It was high 30s when we were in Santorini and Athens. High 20s most of the rest of the time. The sea was calm. Most places not too busy, some places we were the only ship, other places one other.

[dalgirl]

We much prefer shoulder seasons. We have cruised Europe in May (Adriac out of Venice), September, October, November (Barcelona for the Med). We cruised the Baltic in July (out of Copenhagen). July is pretty much required in the Northern climes.

 

May is a wonderful month - little rain, warm, but not hot. You may get some rain in the fall, but it is also a wonderful time to cruise in Europe. We just returned from two weeks in France, Spain, and Italy and the weather was perfect.

 

Make sure you include at least one or more sea days - touring all day can be brutal:)

[celebrity]

We just returned from our Med cruise that sailed 9/12-9/26. It was the perfect touring weather with temps in the mid 70's. I found it too chilly to lay around the pool in my bathing suit, but that was not the purpose of this trip. The crowds weren't too bad either. I hope to return and would select this time of the year again or the last week of May .

[iancal]

We like late Sept/early Oct. Also late May/early June.

 

Avoid mid June, July, August, Mid Sept if you can.

 

We have had some fabulous cruise bargains in the Eastern Med during that past 2 years in late Sept/Oct.

Edited October 12, 2013 by iancal

[4774Papa]

I would go with September or May. It tends to rain in Italy more in October and November.

[Arubamoose]

We've done two Med cruises (one Eastern and one Western) in May. Weather was quite nice.

 

Rome wound up being very very hot!! However we did a Western repo from Rome and Amsterdam was quite nippy! We needed a number of layers.

 

When we did a cruise from Barcelona to Venice and back - we had no issue hitting the outdoor pool on board.

 

We didn't run into huge crowds that time of year either. Enjoyed it so much that we are going back again in May.

[Colorado Kat]

We did a late May cruise from Venice to Barcelona. Loved it and had great weather for the most part.

 

We took Carnival and enjoyed it immensely, but I believe they are skipping Med cruises next year.

[shemp2000]

We cruised the med in October a few years ago and had great weather, but the crew told us the year before was 14 days of rain

[illiniwahoo]

We did a RT Venice cruise to the Greek isles leaving May 12, 2011 on Splendor of the seas on Royal Caribbean. Weather was perfect for touring, but not swimming. We waded a bit, but mainly sat the the beach bars and drank wine. The ship was the oldest and smallest we have been on, but the focus was the ports, and we found the ship quite sufficient. We were in late twenties when we went, and felt that RC has a nice variety of some more active excursions - hiking in Corfu (must do! best excursion of the trip) and and kayaking in Croatia. The wildflowers were blooming in Greece mid-may and Delos and Corfu smelled and looked particularly good. Venice can have problems with flooding in the fall.