Best month for the Baltics?

[drsb]

We are looking at cruising the Baltics next year. I am considering a May cruise, but was wondering about the weather. I am not against going in the summer, but would prefer lighter crowds. Are the first and last cruises of the season also the least crowded in port? How cold will it be in Sept?

 

thanks,

Deb

[dexddd]

May and Sept usually have much better prices. We had to wait until mid-June when we went and the weather was on the cooler side (60s) most days. We still used the pools most days on the ship but others were wrapped in blankets.

 

If you haven't gone to the Baltics port of call area do so - there is a ton of info over there.

[Demonyte]

I live in Helsinki, pretty much in the middle of everything (also the northernmost port on the Baltics cruise).

 

The weather really depends, we have had high temps sometimes already in early May but sometimes the whole June can be quite cold (like this year, we had a lot of rain and hi temp at 69F and mean temp at 55F).

 

The warmest months are usually July and August, this year we had highs around 75F and avgs around 62F. In September high was about 65F and avg around 55F.

 

The level of crowdiness depends too a lot about the origin of tourists, Russians travel later in the summer just as the people from Central Europe. There are Japanese tourists at least in Helsinki pretty much all year around, of course peaking in the summer months.

 

From my point of view (I work very near the docks that large cruise ships dock and I drive around downtown too) the most crowds can be seen only when there are a number of large ships in port at the same time, otherwise I wouldn't say that there would be crowded but of course we don't have that many must-sees that around them (like the rock church, Helsinki cathedral and senate square, Sibelius monument, etc) there will always be crowds in the summer time and I don't tend to visit them that much. :D

 

Hope this babble helps a bit. ;)

 

EDIT: I forgot to say it but if/when I will do the baltics cruise, I would go anytime during the season but would prefer July if I had the choice.

[drsb]

Thanks for the input! I was actually thinking the week that includes the 4th of July since I have two work holidays that week and would use fewer vacation days. That would allow me to stay at the beginning or end of the cruise and visit Copenhagen.

[Pszaffveauhraunne]

Hopefully the most popular answer is "May", since that's when we're going. We picked the date mostly based on the prices, knowing full well that we're taking a chance on the weather.

 

We figured, though, that a vacation with some clouds & rain is better than none at all! :)

[KirkNC]

If you go in May, go in the latter part of the month. The Baltic's are cooler then you might think.

[Taxguy77]

Thanks for the input! I was actually thinking the week that includes the 4th of July since I have two work holidays that week and would use fewer vacation days. That would allow me to stay at the beginning or end of the cruise and visit Copenhagen.

 

If you are in that part of the world, don't missCopenhagen!

[bigwally]

We went in late June/early July and temps were all over the place. Mostly comfortable, but it was really quite hot on the day we visited Oslo and quite cool (and drizzly) on the day we visited Helsinki. The other days were moderate, with short sleeved shirts and shorts as suitable attire.

[drsb]

Kirk, the prices in May are definitely enticing. I am also looking at airline prices. I have some free miles and am trying to see how everything lines up. It would be nice to save a some money.

 

Taxguy, we are debating arriving a day early or staying a day later to see Copenhagen. What were your favorite things to see there?