What to pack for Eastern Mediterranean cruise on Jan. 2, 2011

[wacamaw]

Could someone please give me suggestions on what to pack for 2 wks on mediterranean cruise on Jade. 2 nights pre-cruise in Barcelona and Tapas dinner and show.

[Ms belp]

Pack a pair of Chico's travel pants, a jacket of the same color, a sweater, some cotton long sleeved shirts. Be prepared to layer. Take stocking socks in black, and a thicker pair;you can put on an extra pair if you need to add extra warmth. A wind breaker would work well when you are out on the decks. The sweater keeps you warm while inside; they keep it cold inside. I'd have a pair of gloves and a scarf. If you don't need them that is fine, but if you don't have them and do, well, you'll wish you had packed them. I also pack a pair of Winter Silks thin thermals. They are wonderful.

 

Have a great cruise!

[new salt]

Quite seriously, if you are going to Venice think of Wellington boots in case of flooding.

[Tiggertastic]

It depends on the itinerary - it's certainly warmer than the UK that's a fact

 

If you go to Egypt, Turkey, Greece or Morocco - they are between 45 and 60 degrees that time of year

 

If you go to Rome, Barcelona, it's usually 5 to 10 degrees colder that those above

 

Madeira, if you go near here has a spring climate all year round so it never gets really hot but hardly changes all year

 

Definitely go for layers - some days you will be warm enough with a jacket and others you may need to cover up for rain

 

take a look at the website wunderground and look at each place and enter the date of January this year and it will tell you the weather for this year to give you an idea

 

Jan

[Turtles06]

My partner and I were on the Jade's 12-night Eastern Med cruise this past January (it was great!), and I agree that being prepared with layers is the best advice. Going from Barcelona and Rome to Egypt will likely give you a wide range of temperatures, with warmer temps than what some above have said. (It was sunny, beautiful and well into the 70s during the two days we were in Egypt, though it does cool off at night.) Rome in the winter is rainy. Be prepared for a chilly, rainy day there, and you will be fine. (It poured when we were in Rome, and we had a fantastic day nonetheless, six of us on a private tour in our multi-colored slickers.) Athens and Turkey were probably in the 60s (maybe a bit cooler in Athens), Malta as well. We lucked out in Barcelona, sunny days in the 50s.

 

I was prepared for the public spaces on the Jade to be cool, but they were not (except for the Stardust Theatre, where cold air blows at you from the seat back in front of you). As a result, I had more long sleeved shirts with me than I needed and was wishing I'd brought a couple of additional short sleeved shirts along. I brought one pair of shorts to wear on board if the weather got warm enough, and it did on our last sea day. (I also had a bathing suit and went swimming.)

 

I had a wool hat, scarf, and gloves along just in case, but never needed to wear them. Again, layers....

 

Have a wonderful trip, it's a great adventure!

[Rock Chick]

My friend has returned from a Med cruise three weeks ago and told me that it rained every day. Venice was completely flooded.

 

As others have said, it very much depends on your itinerary. The Canary Islands are very warm all year round, but get chilly at night.

 

I'd probably pack a lightweight winter jacket with a hood, a cardigan or sweater, several pairs of socks and an umbrella.

 

I wish I on a Med cruise right now, it's freezing here in the UK! :(

[Turtles06]

Folks, the OP is going on the Jade's Eastern Med sailing, Jan. 2; the ports are Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Izmir, Alexandria, and Malta. (I was on this same cruise this past January, hence my specific comments above.)

 

Venice may be flooded, and the Canary Islands may be warmer, but the OP won't be there! :)

[wacamaw]

thanks so much for all the good info. I will just bring a mixture of warm and regular clothes. Don't won't to forget that umbrella though.

[msescada]

We did this itinerary over the Christmas New Year holiday two years ago. We had snow and strong winds in Izmir and Athens. We had rain in Rome. We had cold, miserable, windy and damp weather the entire trip. We had winter coats,gloves, scarves, hats and boots, but not our warmest ones and everyone froze. The only place that began to be mild was Egypt. If you want to go to the Acropolis, for example, you will be on the top of a windy hill. Even if the sun is shining, it's still cold.

 

We made the best of it, but I wouldn't do it again at that time of year without packing for the coldest, wettest weather likely for that region. After nearly 40 cruises, I'd have to say that OUR lack of preparation for the weather (and the fact that my little son spiked a 105-degree fever twice) made this the worst trip of all of them. If you're prepared for the worst weather, with layers, and know what you're likely to experience, you're likely to have a much better time than we did.