Best months for Europe??

[Cruisin'40]

We are looking into European options and noticed some fairly good deals in November is this a bad month for Europe (probably Italy or Greece ).

[leenie29]

We are looking into European options and noticed some fairly good deals in November is this a bad month for Europe (probably Italy or Greece ).

 

We did the November 20th Galaxy Eastern Med and it was great. The Galaxy was the last ship of the season in the Greece and Turkey ports. The weather was wonderful 60 - 70 everyday and sunny except in Istanbul one day was chilly (it's surrounded by water and you feel it). The only "disappointment" was that we missed Santorini because of winds and rough seas.

 

I like going to Europe at that time of year because the crowds have died down from the summer and you get a better feel for the places you visit.

 

HTH,

Eileen

[Ine]

Weather in general in November can be very cool/cold and rainy.

However November 2006 was better then average.

Check www.wunderground.com for more details.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

I'm on a cruise right now, so I'll be short and brief.

 

As Ine said, if it was warm last year, you were lucky and that was an exception.

 

For you Americans, the thought of Greece, Turkey, Italy sounds exotic, and it seems that anything exotic usually carries with it a connotation of warm weather.

 

The same people who are considering cruising Europe in November should think to themselves, "would I take a cruise between New York and Canada in November" (the typical fall cruises that normally take place in September). If you answer yes to that exercise, by all means cruise Europe in late fall/winter, because there will be fewer crowds, but then again you won't be able to enjoy the pools and decks on the ship -- which proves more and more that ships nowadays really are considered by some cruises as floating hotels, and people sometimes forget that the experience is on the ocean -- those of who own small private recreational boats in the New York/New England area -- would you take them out to sea in November?

 

Europe is also cheaper on land in November than the summer, so if it is a trip to Europe you are longing, why not contemplate a land vacation as well?

 

If you do decide to take the cruise, go with the mentality of being prepared for winter weather, and if it turns out warmer and sunnier, then you will be very lucky.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Steamboatin]

Think Spring.

Last year we enjoyed a 14 day Baltic Capitals cruise on Celebrity from mid May to the first few days of June.

To us it was the perfect time to cruise that area as the Spring flowers were in full bloom in each country that we went to. Also we were their before the main tourist season and did not have a problem with too many fellow tourist in the cities visited.

We visited Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia (St. Petersburg), Estonia, Germany, Denmank and of course the United Kingdom from which we sailed.

This year we are now planning a combined escorted land tour of Greece along with a cruise of the Greek Islands for May.

To us May is an ideal time to visit, flowers are in bloom, the prices are good, and it is just before the main tourist season of summer.

So you may wish to consider Spring rather than Fall of the year.

[uktog]

I think the advice above re May is spot on, it is a great time to travel. I also think there are relativities to take into account. What is the average temperature you are used to? If you are from one of the warmer states, May and November may not suit you; if like us you come from a wet colder country, anything in the mid 50s is great. I was very warm part of the May 2006 cruise ( a pleasant day in Talinn when it was mid 70s) and was sunbathing on the way to Hawaii this October when others were wearing fleeces!

AJ

[Susan-M]

I enjoy longer daylight hours and would probably choose late May (we cruised the Med in Sept. and enjoyed wonderful temps, but the days were getting shorter.)

 

Sunrise/sunset hours for Rome this year:

 

May 24/07 Sunrise: 5:42am Sunset: 8:31pm

Nov 15/07 Sunrise: 6:58am Sunset: 4:49pm

 

The combination of short daylight hours, cooler temps, the likelihood of more rain and rougher seas is a trade off for lower prices and fewer crowds.

 

Coming into and leaving Med ports in daylight hours is quite scenic.

 

But if the deals are that great and it means the difference between going and not going .... then yes, go in November :)

[tom_uk]

If you're going to cruise in November, then perhaps another tip would be to aim for cruises to larger cities? Many places in the western med, eg Barcelona, Rome, Florence, are year-round destinations: you just change what you plan to do with the time of year. Mid-summer is fine for street activities, early winter would be better for a bit of serious culture exploration.

 

Someone else in the thread has mentioned that they couldn't even call at Santorini in November because of the weather (it's a tender port), but even if they had I think that wandering around Oia or Fira in bad weather wouldn't be much fun. The same would be true, I feel, for Mykonos, Corfu, and perhaps Rhodes as well. There's not much in the way of indoor activities in these places: there are a few museums, but they're small and would quickly get swamped by a large crowd. Istanbul would be different, of course. So that would be my advice: November might be a good time for a cruise calling at major cities/cultural centres.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree on two things above: if you really want to cruise, May is a great time.

 

If you really want to travel in November, consider a land trip, and enjoy the lack of crowds, but be prepared for the weather.

[zaandam_2]

i owuld agree with the others. avoid the peak season. i went oct/nov of 2006. the weather was nice and it wasn't that crowded.

[Lori in AZ]

I have done Europe in April three times. Two on cruise and one on land. I was lucky that weather were very good on all three trips. I am doing 3rd cruise to Europe this coming April but this time to Greece. Never been there. I wonder...is April in Greece area ok? This trip also include Rome & Venice.

[cod]

I would opt for Spring! We did the spring crossing with a few days in LIsbon in early May and it was very nice. A week in Paris in May a few years ago was perfect too.

 

Nice weather in Italy this past October but early November wasn't as nice so it depends on what month in the fall you would be there. Also, Ocotober of '06 was the nicest that our Italian relatives there could remember, so it might not happen again.

 

But here's some other consideratons..

Food!! Carnival claims they can't get the same level of supplies over there (one reason they gave for the poor food quality!) so your spring crossing would get 'stocked' here!

Nirovirus!! More sick ships in the fall than in the spring. No quarantee of course but better odds at least.

 

Whenever you do go..have fun!

[CruisinGerman]

Hmmmmm.......that's certainly a new perspective. That the quality of the food here in Europe is not up to the standards of the United States.

 

I think any food critic, restauranteur or professional in the food and beverage business would disagree with that comment.

 

What Carnival might be saying, reading between the lines, is that food costs more in Europe than it does in the United States and Carnival, therefore, caters its ships with a lesser quality if it has to do the catering from Europe. However, please don't jump on me for this comment, because I have no proof of this and I have never been on a Carnival cruise.

 

I am sorry, though, that you don't believe that the food in Italy, France and Spain is of high enough standards for a Carnival cruise ........

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1. April is lovely in Greece, although there may be more rough weather at sea.

 

2. Cod, nobody mentioned Carnival as the cruiseline they wanted to take

 

3. I agree, Carnival must be "out to lunch" if they can't stock a ship. I suspect that as the lowest of the mass-market lines, they stock "American" style foods of various kinds that they can't obtain easily in Europe. (BTW, I'm Canadian.)

[tom_uk]

I have to report that other people have said that having cruised in Europe with Carnival they were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The reports were that it was at least the equal of Celebrity & Princess, and generally better than RCI or NCL. (Standard restaurants, that is: all of those lines can do phenomenal things in their speociality restaurants, of course.)

 

I haven't cruised with Carnival myself, but those were the reports from others who have......

[cod]

Oh my __, everybody take a deep breath here. I am repeating what Carnival uses as an excuse for the quality of beef (in particular) they serve should they get any complaints on their Med or 'back to the USA' cruises. And, no, I don't know if these folks are cruising Carnival or not. Maybe there are better suppliers over there, or perhaps they all use the same ones...who knows. I do know that the quality of food on our spring RC crossing far exceeded the quality of food on our Carnival fall crossing!

 

Once again, I have a husband who was born and raised in Italy. We have visited his parents (first) and his brother and sister (since) many times in the last 43 years...I'd say to the tune of having spent probably 8 months there all toll. Is the food good? Of course. Is it different? Yes. Would most Americans be happy with some of the dishes we've eaten there over the years? Probably not!!!!!!!! And not because it isn't good, but because it's very different. And I've NEVER had good, aged beef over there and that is something that Americans like and expect!