Best time of year with most settled weather

[kristabel36]

Hi Cruisers,  My husband and I are going to book a cruise for next summer (2020) and we will be starting in Stockholm and ending in London and most of the time we are in the Baltic.  The cruise we are favouring departs Stockholm at the end of August but if earlier in the summer is better we would reconsider.  All opinions welcome thanks.  My main concern is that early summer may be more spring like (with storms etc) than late summer but I can only draw comparisons with our seasons here in NZ (South pacific).

[arsenalboy]

14 minutes ago, kristabel36 said:

Hi Cruisers,  My husband and I are going to book a cruise for next summer (2020) and we will be starting in Stockholm and ending in London and most of the time we are in the Baltic.  The cruise we are favouring departs Stockholm at the end of August but if earlier in the summer is better we would reconsider.  All opinions welcome thanks.  My main concern is that early summer may be more spring like (with storms etc) than late summer but I can only draw comparisons with our seasons here in NZ (South pacific).

 

Would you really book a cruise by second guessing the weather? The weather can be different one year compared to the next.

Edited March 25, 2019 by arsenalboy

[Earl Rosebery]

Late August is as good as anytime 

[OCruisers]

July has been good for us!  

[kristabel36]

7 hours ago, arsenalboy said:

 

Would you really book a cruise by second guessing the weather? The weather can be different one year compared to the next.

Absolutely I would. I agree weather is a capricious beast but there are no doubt patterns to some extent and that is what I am trying to determine :-)

[kaisatsu]

Northern Europe is consistently inconsistent when it comes to weather. Statistically speaking, February-March and November do tend to have rougher weather for being at sea, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a Baltic cruise in those months.

 

Within the typical cruise season, the statistical differences will be negligible. July and August do see warmer average temperatures than May and June, but you shouldn’t count on it, because it’s still highly likely to see rain and cooler temperatures even if there are slightly better odds of sun and heat.

[dogs4fun]

To the OP:

Kaisatsu is spot on.  Nine ago we embarked on our first Baltic cruise. We, like you, were concerned about the weather (we sailed from CPH mid August). We looked at the yearly temp averages and extended forecasts for our ports of call. The extended forecast for Stockholm & Helsinki predicted very warm temps, sunny days for our days in port - it was actually cold and windy when we arrived. St. Pete was warm and sunny. 

I have since been to the Baltics multiple times and, although a beautiful and fascinating part of the world, the weather is quite unpredictable.

Another consideration - the months of June, July & August are the height of the tourist season. Venues will be more crowded than during the shoulder seasons.  We prefer travel during the shoulder season.

Edited March 26, 2019 by dogs4fun

[Mercury]

It's impossible to predict.

 

We've been on a Baltic cruise in August and missed Helsinki because the winds were so strong. It's also very busy as it's peak travel time. 

 

We've done a Norwegian Fjords cruise in July and had a mixed bag of weather with some rough sea days and some perfectly calm days.

 

This year, we're going in September just because it suits us best and we know there will be less crowds.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise!