Cruising Mediterranean in January

[Aussie71]

We are booked on the MSC Sinfonia for a January 2019 cruise in the Western Mediterranean.  This was the only available time to travel due to work commitments.   What are we likely to expect weather wise and ocean swells?

 

We are from sunny Central Queensland in Australia - so our knowledge on this matter is limited.

[cruisemom42]

The Med is a pretty large area from north to south and east to west, so the weather will vary. In general it could be cool and rainy in ports like Venice, Livorno, Marseilles (those that are farther north) but likely to be warmer and sunnier in the more southerly ports -- e.g., Sicily, Malta. 

 

Days will be on the short side at that time of year, and quite a few tourist attractions will have shorter hours, but that probably won't be a huge problem when you'll have to be back onboard your ship at least half an hour before your departure time. (Speaking of which, MSC has notoriously short hours in ports -- I hope you checked the hours before booking -- sometimes they'll only give a half day or slightly better in ports that need a minimum full day to see even a few of the top sites.)

 

As to the seas, it will vary depending on weather conditions -- however, I find the seas in the Med (on 10+ cruises) to be fairly calm in general, compared with some other places I've sailed.

[Aussie71]

Okay thanks for replying.

[hallasm]

January is f the coldest months to visit Mediterranean. Average temperature is 10°C. During this time of year, highs of up to 15°C are common, and down to lows of 5°C.

Almond trees can bloom already in January.

 

[Heidi13]

One year I spent all January & February in the Meddy and another year spent the first 3 months running from UK to Haifa and back.

 

Most of the time the weather was reasonable with temps in the 50's & 60's. Some days we experienced highs in the 70's. For wind and seas, most days sea were light to moderate. However, we experienced a couple of storms in January off the Greek Coast.

 

Haven't experienced any severe storms in the Western Meddy.

[wowzz]

January is probably the worst month of the year for the Med. Short days, cool , wet and windy, and cold nights. When we lived in Spain, near the Med, we tried to get to Florida every January to escape the bad weather.