Best time/ports/cruise line to cruise the Mediterranean?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

When is the best time to cruise the Mediterranean?  I’m a teacher so late June-early August is best for me, but is that an ideal time?  If not, when is best?

 

Are any cruise lines considered better for this area or is it just personal preference?  I favor Celebrity and NCL, but am open. 
 

What ports are a must?  My friends are focused on Greece, which I’m sure I would love. I’m also interested in Italy, but have never been anywhere in the area so I’m clueless as for must do ports and the best itineraries. Any help would be appreciated. 
 

When should we plan to book for summer-ish 2024?

[CruiserBruce]

If you read around the boards, you will see MANY discussions on you questions.

 

It can get quite hot in June, July and August. Given your limitations, I would go as early as possible in June. Don't forget to allow a few days in at least your departure port, like Rome, to see the fantastic city and get over jet lag.

 

No mass market cruise line does it any better than any other. If you like the product on Celebrity or NCL, start there with your research. Keep in mind that most Med ports are incredibly tour intensive. In other words, you are likely going to be doing a lot of 8, or perhaps longer, tours...day after day.

 

Your target area seems to be what is commonly called the Eastern Med. There are more great ports there than you can see in one cruise, so you can hardly go wrong with whichever itinerary you chose. There are many history and cultural heavy ports, along with some stereotypical Greek islands (like Mykonos or Santorini) and other sites to see.

 

You buy when you can...there is no magic time to book a cruise. There are sales going on, so you probably need to buy when you find what you want, and a price you can work with.

[mskaufman]

We also have a teacher in the family so summer is our only option.  Bottom line is it is HOT in the Med on the summer. As far as cruise line and ports it is personal choice.  The ports that I could go to over and over again are Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Naples and somewhere in Provence.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, CruiserBruce said:

If you read around the boards, you will see MANY discussions on you questions.

 

It can get quite hot in June, July and August. Given your limitations, I would go as early as possible in June. Don't forget to allow a few days in at least your departure port, like Rome, to see the fantastic city and get over jet lag.

 

No mass market cruise line does it any better than any other. If you like the product on Celebrity or NCL, start there with your research. Keep in mind that most Med ports are incredibly tour intensive. In other words, you are likely going to be doing a lot of 8, or perhaps longer, tours...day after day.

 

Your target area seems to be what is commonly called the Eastern Med. There are more great ports there than you can see in one cruise, so you can hardly go wrong with whichever itinerary you chose. There are many history and cultural heavy ports, along with some stereotypical Greek islands (like Mykonos or Santorini) and other sites to see.

 

You buy when you can...there is no magic time to book a cruise. There are sales going on, so you probably need to buy when you find what you want, and a price you can work with.

I could take off work to go but it’s frowned upon, especially by my colleagues.  If I did take time off work to avoid the hot summer months I could only go for a week and we want to spend some time on land at least before, if not after as well. We typically don’t get out of school till the second week of June, so early June is out. Our anniversary is in September so I was thinking August would be ideal. Even if I could get off in September, one of our friends can’t. The other friend hates the heat. 
 

Thanks for your input. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

25 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

We also have a teacher in the family so summer is our only option.  Bottom line is it is HOT in the Med on the summer. As far as cruise line and ports it is personal choice.  The ports that I could go to over and over again are Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Naples and somewhere in Provence.

Good to know. Thanks!

[mapleleaves]

As stated already, the earlier the better,  ie on the last day of school, have your bags packed and be ready to head to the airport !

 

As you look at cruises and cruiselines, be VERY mindful of port times.  Make sure you're in port long enough and at the right time of day for your planned tours/activities. 

 

Borrow some travel books from your library and research the areas you'd like to visit.  There are even books specific to Med cruises, ie Rick Steves has Med Cruise Ports and Ann Vipond has Med by Cruiseship.  Both books discuss cruiselines, ports, sights, activities, DIY options, etc.

 

Have fun with your research and planning!

[marazul]

The smaller the ship the better.

The longer the port times the better.

[Over from NZ]

6 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I could take off work to go but it’s frowned upon, especially by my colleagues.  If I did take time off work to avoid the hot summer months I could only go for a week and we want to spend some time on land at least before, if not after as well. We typically don’t get out of school till the second week of June, so early June is out. Our anniversary is in September so I was thinking August would be ideal. Even if I could get off in September, one of our friends can’t. The other friend hates the heat. 
 

Thanks for your input. 

July/Aug are the worst months for the heat and for being busy. If your friend hates heat.. don't take her in August! 🙂   Here's a link. I like this site because it shows the actual temperatures for each month for the last couple of years for the main ports -  https://www.accuweather.com/en/it/rome/213490/august-weather/213490

[MeHeartCruising]

I'd be on a plane the day after your get out of school in June.  The further you get into summer, the more heat you have to endure and the more summer vacationers you will get.  Lots of people take these cruises all summer, so you can too.  But just be prepared for heat and crowds of tourists.

[wineoclock]

We’ve done cruises in July & August in the Med & land holidays & as others have said it’s crowded & very hot. Days are long as well so if you can have a couple of sea days or land trip after to rest. I prefer early June & September in the Med as it’s not so hot but had to stick to school holidays when the children were young. 

[carlmm]

It looks like you are certainly young enough to travel to the Mediterranean many more times in the future.

Thus you can't really do wrong with an itinerary. As your first idea is Greece just go there. Preferably add a few days in Athens before or after the cruise.

Regarding the cruise line: You might try an European line like MSC to get an ever better feeling for the Mediterranean vibe.

[fishiecrackers]

We picked our itinerary over the cruise line, because there's a port almost every day so cities were our most important factor. We chose one that started in Rome and ended in Athens since we wanted to spend more than one day in both those cities. I'm a teacher too, so we are on just about the earliest I could do, which is the second week of June.

[cruisemom42]

August is just about the WORST time to go. Most Europeans tend to take their vacations in August. Not that they'll be on your cruise, but they will be in the cities and on the beaches where you'll want to go. And by August the heat has built up to its highest levels. You'll easily see temps of above 100 degrees in Athens in August for example. Even if you feel you are used to summer heat, it's not the same thing when you're outside for hours standing and walking in the sun.

 

Go in June, as soon as you can. At least it gets a little cooler at night then.

[Hlitner]

Just a note for the OP.  When my DW was still working (Elementary School teacher) we would go to Europe nearly every summer for both cruises and some independent land trips.  Over the years we would meet quite a few folks (on our cruises) that we had met on previous European cruises.  Why?  At least 1/2 of the couple was a teacher :).  The reality of being a teacher is that vacation time is set by the school calendar and, unfortunately, is usually the prime vacation time of folks from all over the world.  Now that we are retired we take advantage of the "shoulder seasons" but this is just not possible when one is still working in the classroom.  

 

Hank