Would you cruise Med mid October, early November?

[JimandStan]

Is it time for a recount? :D

 

I'm reminded of a moment in a tender off Portofino.

Only half our party had been able to board that tender, before they decided that it was too dangerous to continue because the swells were so large.

The Insignia was repositioning, for the third time that morning, to give the tender docking areas more shelter.

 

In the midst of my explaining to a nervous fellow Cruise Critic (remember Pam?) that this was completely normal, the railing of the tender dock crashed through the fiberglass wall of the tender, narrowly missing her head.

 

Lower temperatures and smaller crowds are wonderful, but the sea is just not the same, later in the season. Enough said. :)

Edited September 12, 2018 by JimandStan

[BigNance]

I'm reminded of a moment in a tender off Portofino.

Only half our party had been able to board that tender, before they decided that it was too dangerous to continue because the swells were so large.

The Insignia was repositioning, for the third time that morning, to give the tender docking areas more shelter.

 

In the midst of my explaining to a nervous fellow Cruise Critic (remember Pam?) that this was completely normal, the railing of the docking bridge crashed through the fiberglass wall of the tender, narrowly missing her head.

 

Lower temperatures and smaller crowds are wonderful, but the sea is just not the same, later in the season. Enough said. :)

 

:eek::eek:

I guess we will find out!!

[buggins0402]

Is it time for a recount? :D

 

I wish I knew how to insert pictures. Remember the hanging chad guys?:D

[Paulchili]

I wish I knew how to insert pictures. Remember the hanging chad guys?:D

 

Oh, yes - I remember :)

[avalong]

The best of all worlds is to go in mid to late September, very early October when you miss the worst of the heat and crowds, and also have a good chance of avoiding the bad weather of later autumn. 2nd choice is late April and all of May which brings the spring greenery and wildflowers. I really need to book a cruise now that I think about it.......

[Kate-AHF]

Athens is another place to avoid in the summer!

 

Mura

 

We've visited Athens only once, in early November. It was WONDERFUL! Cool, light crowds, a little rain then glorious weather. I'd like to visit Santorini at some point, but only if on a late fall cruise.

[Mura]

I've been there in October and February and it was beautiful both times! But NOT in the summer!

 

 

When I was a teen by piano teacher, who was the widow of a Greek, spent the summer in Athens and she stressed how terribly hot it had been. This was many MANY years ago!

 

 

Mura

[Kate-AHF]

I like the idea of Athens in February!

[Mura]

That was with our second Renaissance cruise in 2000. Athens to Istanbul. We had three days in five star hotels in the embarkation and debarkation ports. We added on a week long private tour to Cappadocia. It was a great trip. There was a fair amount of snow in Turkey, especially around Ankara, but it was lovely in Greece.

 

 

Mura

[Kate-AHF]

That trip sounds just fabulous. :-)

[portofrome]

I always do a cruise in the west Mediterranean for my birthday during the first week of November. Love it!

[PoppyandNana]

On 9/15/2018 at 5:46 AM, di T said:

currently on Eclipse and we have 3 drink vouchers on our sea passes instead of the normal lounge happy hour! After 25 Celebrity cruises this is only the 3rd time we have had this and on the other times it was on transatlantic cruises. The hostess says this is going fleet wide and as been on the Eclipse for months! Have any of you experienced this?

We can use the vouchers at most bars between 5&7pm but I get the impression the bar staff in some bars and not really interested in serving the drinks from the Captains club menu. Really miss the atmosphere in the lounge and the friendships with fellow guests and staff. In fact thinking of doing more other cruise lines not just because of this but lots of little niggles we used to feel our loyalty was important but not now. Dianne

 

On 9/16/2018 at 10:24 AM, 39august said:

On Equinox in July we also were directed toward the central part of the Sky Lounge for the Elite event and not allowed to sit by the windows on the starboard side of the lounge, Those were held for the folks buying drinks from the bar. We didn't mind as we had the rest of the lounge windows if we so chose. I prefer the lounge for a chance to meet others and for the prompt service, pleasant waiters and the munchies served.

 

On 9/10/2018 at 6:48 PM, JimandStan said:

 

Granted the crowds will be smaller during the fall, but we've also found that the waves are generally larger after September. In tender ports such as Portofino, getting on and off of the ship may be more taxing.

 

Those who are in any way mobility challenged will want to give sailing so late in the season serious consideration. There is a reason why the fares are lower during the shoulder seasons.

 

On 9/11/2018 at 10:59 PM, su-arizona said:

We enjoy cruising the Med in the fall, when the heat and crowds are lower - but....

 

We have experienced some seriously bad weather cruising ~across~ the Med in November. The Strait of Bonificio (between Corsica and Sardinia) can be especially exciting in late fall. And I would entirely avoid any Med cruise in the winter/Mistral seasons. Most US cruise lines don't have ships in the Med then, but Viking Ocean does seem to have a few...perhaps it's the Norwegian seafaring heritage?

 

I wouldn't hesitate to cruise along the coast of the Med in Italy or France in fall, but I would really avoid crossing the Med (like from Italy to Majorca).

Can you elaborate on the rough seas comments?  Really rough or Caribbean rough?

[Tansy Mews]

Yes!

 

Earlier is too hot.

[DoulaAnn]

We were there in early October, 2016 and my photos reflect that we had light sweaters on at times and short sleeves under those that showed up in some photos each day.  The comment about waves must be fairly accurate, as we were supposed to dock in Portofino and tender, but got rerouted to Genoa because of wind/waves.  We loved the weather then, and yes, there was a bit of rain, but nothing we couldn't handle.  

[BigNance]

We are doing the Greek Isles and then up to Venice right now. Not the western Med, but I can let y’all k ow how it goes here. We are supposed to run into”rough” weather tonight on the way to Rhodes, but at 1 AM, it’s still pretty calm. 

N

[Ken the cruiser]

We’re on this cruise too. It is now 9 am the following morning and since we lost 6 hours going back to Athens because of a medical issue plus the fact that the weather is still forecasted to be nasty in Rhodes, the Captain just came on and said we’re not going there now and will instead spend a day at sea and head on to Crete. That’s too bad as Rhodes is a cool port to see, but I guess that’s the chance you take going cruising the Med this time of year. On the last leg we missed Malta because of bad weather, but from what we’ve heard, that’s not at all uncommon.

[MissEileen23]

I’m on the Riviera now and I’m really not enjoying it so far. The unplanned sea day was bad enough but now the wind is kicking up and for me it’s really unpleasant. I admit that I’m a newbie cruiser (this is only my second cruise) and also a complete wuss. I picked this cruise specifically because it was in port every day.The constant motion is not fun and now I’m worried that we’ll lose more ports due to this weather. I’m wishing I had thought twice about cruising this time of year. I was having a blast in Athens precruise and I really miss it right now!

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, MissEileen23 said:

I’m on the Riviera now and I’m really not enjoying it so far. The unplanned sea day was bad enough but now the wind is kicking up and for me it’s really unpleasant. I admit that I’m a newbie cruiser (this is only my second cruise) and also a complete wuss. I picked this cruise specifically because it was in port every day.The constant motion is not fun and now I’m worried that we’ll lose more ports due to this weather. I’m wishing I had thought twice about cruising this time of year. I was having a blast in Athens precruise and I really miss it right now!

That is  a shame you are not  having a good time

Stay down on the lower decks 5 & 6   or at least mid ship  maybe it will help with your uneasiness

 

maybe cruising is not for you

rough seas can happen anytime of the year

 

[MissEileen23]

16 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

That is  a shame you are not  having a good time

Stay down on the lower decks 5 & 6   or at least mid ship  maybe it will help with your uneasiness

 

maybe cruising is not for you

rough seas can happen anytime of the year

 

Thanks, LTH28. I’m on 6 now and it’s sonewhat better. It may not even be that bad but I just don’t have much cruise experience. You’re right, cruising may not be for me! 😉

[LHT28]

3 minutes ago, MissEileen23 said:

Thanks, LTH28. I’m on 6 now and it’s sonewhat better. It may not even be that bad but I just don’t have much cruise experience. You’re right, cruising may not be for me! 😉

if you are feeling queasy

ask the crew for some ginger or green apples that can help

if worse ask reception if they have seasick meds

try to relax 😉

[BigNance]

So sorry to hear that you are suffering from the motion! We are also in this cruise. DH and I are not having any problems(thank goodness). He has intermittent vertigo, so he says he is used to the motion🙄

the wind was crazy today! It was blowing so hard, it was blowing the fountain water and pool water like a heavy mist over those on the side of the pool. We were at the bar (shock amazement) and out of range. 

The weather forecast for tomorrow looks like the wind will be much less. (6-8 mph). I’m hoping that is accurate! 

Listen to LHT and ask reception for motion sickness pills. 

Hopefully we will all be on Crete tomorrow!!

[no fuss travel]

Don’t go in March. It was cold in Italy except for Sicily. We were wearing a coat in Athens. Just about the entire ship was sea sick including the staff. They closed the dining room. There was 5 passengers still up and about and they brought us food to eat in the lounge we were sitting in.  All outside decks were closed  due to the height of the waves but the show we watched from inside the dry comfortable lounge was incredible. Would I sail in the Med in March again?  Absolutely not but October yes.

[the mice]

I am so sorry for those of you having bad weather now on your cruise.  I hope it improves for you.

 

We cruised on Azamara Journey back in 2009 from November 22 - December 3, with a day prior in Rome and 2 days post in Barcelona.   We had wonderful weather except for Portofino where seas were too rough for us to tender, so we went to Genoa where it rained lightly for a while.   Since Portofino was basically shut down at that time of year, no great loss, and Genoa was terrific.   I think that day was the only rain of the entire 15 day trip.    Our ports included Tunis, Valletta and Taormina, so we weren't always hugging the coast.   Most days we had wonderful sunshine and we were wearing tee shirts, occasionally a light jacket.

For what it's worth, I've traveled in Europe on land during Thanksgiving week a number of times and rarely encountered rain on any of those trips, both in Italy and elsewhere.    Hope my luck holds as we are about to do Barcelona to Lisbon with the Canary islands the last 2 weeks of November.

 

[avalong]

OP : Suggest you google "yellow  fish cruises" and read today's (10-29 - Toulon) blog entry.

[the mice]

4 hours ago, avalong said:

OP : Suggest you google "yellow  fish cruises" and read today's (10-29 - Toulon) blog entry.

Weather can vary so much from year to year.   We were in Toulon on December 2, 2009 (mentioned in post 48 above).  It was sunny all day.  We did wear jackets, but they were open most of the day.   We had a fabulous tour from Toulon to Aix-en-Provence, out to see Mont Sainte-Victoire and then on to Cassis for a boat ride through the calanques (which don't run if the weather is bad or seas too rough), finishing off at the top of Cap Canaille to watch the sunset before returning to the port.    And we had similar weather the day prior in Nice on December 1.