Thoughts on cruising in summer

[acct1975]

Hi,

Thinking about doing a cruise out of Rome for July 2023 and was curious about pros and cons of cruising that time of year. How's the weather? Caribbean comparable? I thought I heard many years ago that things shut down for summer holiday but that might be misinformation and part of the reason I'm reaching out to people who have actually experienced it.

 

I'm not looking for info on COVID restrictions at this time just, I guess, everything else 🙂

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

[marazul]

Nothing shuts down.

The crowds are enormous.

It is miserably hot.

Go in September. 

[MeHeartCruising]

Very, very hot (we had 98 degrees every day and that was 10 years ago).  Many outdoor sites have no shade.  Many indoor sites have little to no working air conditioning.  My Mom developed a bad heat rash that she had to deal with most of the trip.  Large crowds everywhere.  Lines everywhere unless you take advantage of pre-ordered tickets.  Even with those tickets, you will likely wait in some lines for security checks.  All the sites you will be wanting to visit will be open.  All the support things you might want (restaurants, etc.) will also be open for your business.  Fall trips are more enjoyable as are May/June trips.

Edited August 4, 2022 by MeHeartCruising

[slidergirl]

29 minutes ago, marazul said:

Nothing shuts down.

The crowds are enormous.

It is miserably hot.

Go in September. 

I’ve been in France and Italy for a month (leaving tomorrow).  Every place I went, from the Med to the Adriatic to Florence to Bordeaux to Paris and places in between, it was stinking hot!!!  I did it because a barge trip I went on was the 2nd week of July.  I sure hope I lost weight because I was sweating like Rudy Giuliano all day.  You know it’s hot when it’s still 96 at 9pm…

 

Sometimes businesses will close for awhile in August so they can take their vacations.

 

Go in September 

[euro cruiser]

We went on a Med cruise in July several years ago because the kids were all still in school and it was the only time we could do it.

 

It's a double whammy, the heat, as everyone has mentioned, but also the pace of the trip, a major city almost every day, twelve hours on the ground running around trying to cram it all in.  Livorno was our fifth day/fourth stop, after a full day in Malta, then Naples, then Rome.  No one had the energy to go to Florence and I didn't have the heart to force the issue.

 

Fortunately, of the four kids only one was turned off entirely to the idea of Europe.

[mskaufman]

As others have said HOT, HOT, HOT

[carlmm]

Let me give a different perspective to those stating "hot" as a negative attribute only:

There are literally millions of people who travel to Italy in Summer exactly because it is nice and warm!

Everybody has to act according to the individual perception, constitution and feeling.

Regarding the advice September: Some of the cities might be even more crowded, because then all the locals are back and all the tourists are there who, well, follow the idea to avoid the Summer "heat".

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by carlmm

[acct1975]

thanks everyone for the insight. This goes a long way in helping me form my plans for future cruises. 🙂

 

[Pushkin]

I just returned from 3 weeks in Italy/France.  It was miserably hot - I never knew how much you could sweat until this trip!  That being said, if it was the only time I could go, I would still go.  

 

Now if you have kids, that is a different issue.  I can only imagine the whining and complaining about the heat and crowds!  I would not do a trip in July with kids.

 

Everything was open as far as I could tell.  Every single day was beautiful (good for us, but France and Italy are experiencing drought conditions, so not good for them).

[John Bull]

 

I suspect you've already got the general drift 🤣🤣🤣

 

We broke our own cardinal rule in June this year - couldn't resist a bucket-price one week cruise in the Adriatic.

All the adjectives in previous posts applied.😮

 

Fortunately

1. we'd previously visited the larger ports - no way were we going to walk the wall of Dubrovnik this time, but we couldn't avoid the short but shade-less walk back to  the ship in Split.

2. ports we'd not visited before, including Koper and Kotor, were delightful but small.

3. the cruise deal included an all-you-can-drink package.

So mornings ashore & afternoons going thro the cocktail list from a shady outdoor bar on the ship.

 

Mid-summer is fine for relaxing & people-watching from behind a tall cool beer in a Greek harbourside taverna or roasting on a beach.

But for traipsing the sights of Rome? No thanks 😮

 

JB 🙂