Baltic

[Littleribbie]

Help with a few concerns before we pull the trigger please. Ft. Lauderdale to St. Petersburg leaving April 11th 2019. I understand there will be rain and we will most likely only have the warm weather the first week when leaving Florida so Im only concerned about the last 2 weeks (from Brest to St. Petersburg) will a couple sweatshirts and a semi insulated overcoat be ok or do I really need to winterize my wardrobe with a heavy coat, scarves, gloves and the like. I hate the extra packing but don't mind doing laundry on the ship. Also any suggested highlights that should be on my "must see" list?? Thanks so much

[SoccerMom#3]

I'm assuming you mean April 2020...We did a Baltics cruise this past late April/early May.  We definitely needed a heavier coat (not down), a hat and gloves. I bought my coat for $49 on Amazon 🙂  I also had a few insulated shirts from Columbia that I wore as a layer under my tops.  

[dogs4fun]

Agree with SoccerMom - I packed a light-weight down jacket, hat, gloves and scarf when traveling in the Baltics in April/early May. Some days were quite mild, some very chilly.

[Desdichado62]

Weather in Europe/Baltics can be be quite nice and warm/sunny but it can also be very cold with bad weather. 

[CruiserBruce]

Google search a couple of your last ports for weather. For example "Helsinki April weather".

[Lagerta]

I agree with everything said above and highly recommend taking warm clothes like a winter coat, a hat and gloves. It’s better to be ready for any weather, especially in Baltic region, where it might be very chilly in the morning, then really warm in the afternoon, and then suddenly cold again. I hope there will be a good weather in St Petersburg on the days of your visit.

[aqua]

We were in the Baltics during the recent European heat wave and wore shorts every day. We laughed about how we had overpacked for the trip by bringing cool weather clothes. Our final port was Stockholm. The cold rain there made us glad to have those clothes! 

[ljandgb]

Since the OP would be in the Baltics in April, I suspect the likelihood of a heat wave is less.  I'd layer.  You can get decent lightweight down jackets at a good price online.  I bought one for our Iceland stopover and have ended up using it much more than I thought, at home and traveling.  I live in central Texas, so also hot most of the year.  It also makes other trips to cold climates easier, as I'm already geared up, as it were.  My jacket actually stuffs into it's own pocket, making it easier to pack and it makes a nice pillow on the plane.

[johnjen]

We're on a Baltic next June and the average temps range from 50F to 70F but we will bring jackets and a couple of sweaters. We lived in Iceland for four years so we will definitely also bring shorts. Expecting some balmy weather and rain however.

[tring]

Don't forget some summer things as well.  We did a Western Baltic cruise early May a few years ago and I was wearing summer skirts and sleeveless T shirts throughout.  We were also in SPB at the very beginning of May last year and weather was warm then as well.  So layers are probably better than one very thick/heavy coat, but light gloves may be needed out on deck when sailing or on a particularly bad day.  Weather is never guaranteed though as others have said.