Transatlantic and Mediterranean cruises in November??

[Mariastreby]

I couldn’t really come up with a good title for this discussion. We are just wondering what kind of experiences travelers have had on cruises in the Med during November. Checking weather for some of the main cities we’re supposed to visit, it turns out that it is often the rainiest month of the year. Greece, Dubrovnik, Sicily, Barcelona, and so on. Also, how choppy or stormy has either the Mediterranean or the Atlantic become during a past cruise? I’ve read some comments where people have found warmer and sunnier weather than expected, and often rather calm seas. Then of course, the opposite. 
 

Our booked westbound transatlantic on the Vista will go from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean island of Antigua before heading north to Miami. Someone told me that might mean the ship would take the “Columbus route”, meaning a bit more southerly than where the winter storms might hit the Atlantic further to the north. 
 

So I’m asking two things: besides the obvious upside of no crowds in European ports, how cold, rainy, or stormy were port days? Or were they rather lovely and just a bit cool? Same with the seas - mostly calm, or many stormy days? We’ve signed on for 24 days from Athens to Miami, and hoping that our meclizine seasick meds won’t be constantly put to the test. Or that we wont be exploring ports in wind & rain with our travel umbrellas turning inside out!

Edited January 12 by Mariastreby
Typo

[MV21]

We've twice cruised the Eastern Med (Greek Islands) in late October and the weather has been superb. T shirts and fewer crowds. In November it could be the same or you might need a sweater and rain gear but it shouldn't be too cold. The Western med (Barcelona etc) tends to cool down a bit quicker in the autumn but you could still be blessed with fine weather.  Once you get to the Canaries the temperatures are much more likely to be warmer (further south). In fact the  temperature in Gran Canaria is 25 degrees for tomorrow (Saturday) and virtually all next week.

So I would suggest stop worrying, start looking forward to the cruise and pack for all eventualities.

 

With regard to sea conditions, I'm sorry I really don't know but Captains are well versed in trying to avoid the worst.

Have Fun!!!

 

[Psoque]

We have done Mediterranean cruises in late November quite a few times, and we never had a bad experience.  Yes, it is going to be somewhat cool and often cold, depending on the location, but that did not bother us.  We liked the fact that most of the popular destinations were not as crowded as in the summer.  That's really the main draw of visiting Europe in the (late) fall.

[Jim_Iain]

While we have not sailed Oceania we have done about 12 Southern Crossings - almost all in November.    Except for saying that weather can be unpredictable. 

 

The generalities would be that the temperatures will be mild in much of the Med - the average temperatures were High 17-18 C (65is F) and night time lows 10-11 C (50ish).   Of course at sea with heavy winds you may have a wind chill factor.    It is perfect for sightseeing but not really sunbathing weather.  

 

As you head south to the Canaries - day highs about 25C (77F) and low 18 (65F)

 

A day after leaving the Canaries the weather has usually been really nice and people will break out their swimmers and sunbathing will be common.   It will remains like that for the remainder of your cruise.  

I've had both smooth seas in the Med as well as some pretty good storms.  One time it was strong enough that the ship I was on sustained damage.   For the crossing the Southern Crossing is generally the best and smoothest but November is still within the Hurricane Season so rough seas are possible.   90% of my southern crossing have been like on a pond.  

 

Best advise - pack for a layered look  and have sweaters or light jackets to use as needed.

[MEFIowa]

We just did a 20-night B2B on Riviera Trieste to Athens (10/30-11/9) and Athens to Barcelona (11/9-19). The weather was magnificent for us. Minimal rain issues. Never too hot, not too cold. We did miss Livorno due to weather/seas, but they didn't impact us on the ship. We went to La Spezia, just up the coast. The crowds are way down and it is so much easier to see and do things. BUT for some places, like the Acropolis, getting there at say 9 am even off season means you won't be standing in a huge line if you arrive at say 11 am.

 

We did 3 nights before in Venice and 3 nights after in Barcelona. The weather in Barcelona 11/19-21 was magnificent. The people in Barcelona gave me the oddest looks as I walked around town in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap when the temperature was 65 deg. F and they were wearing winter clothes, including down jackets, gloves, and hats. (I'm from Iowa)

[Mariastreby]

8 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We just did a 20-night B2B on Riviera Trieste to Athens (10/30-11/9) and Athens to Barcelona (11/9-19). The weather was magnificent for us. Minimal rain issues. Never too hot, not too cold. We did miss Livorno due to weather/seas, but they didn't impact us on the ship. We went to La Spezia, just up the coast. The crowds are way down and it is so much easier to see and do things. BUT for some places, like the Acropolis, getting there at say 9 am even off season means you won't be standing in a huge line if you arrive at say 11 am.

 

We did 3 nights before in Venice and 3 nights after in Barcelona. The weather in Barcelona 11/19-21 was magnificent. The people in Barcelona gave me the oddest looks as I walked around town in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap when the temperature was 65 deg. F and they were wearing winter clothes, including down jackets, gloves, and hats. (I'm from Iowa)

Thanks for all that weather info about the ports! We loved the “new” Riviera last March!
 

This B2B cruise starts 11/11 in Athens, then ends leg 1 in Rome. Then about 11 nights till arriving in Antigua, then Puerto Rico before getting “home” to Miami on December 5. Due to a much lower flight cost, we will fly to Athens a full 4 days prior to embarkation. So we can take full advantage of visiting all the un-crowded tourist places and the Plaka district while staying at a highly rated hotel… but at amazing low season rates. 
 

We don’t stop in Barcelona, but will go to Valencia I think on November 21, so hopefully we will get your weather! But we will wear layers at that point, but probably not our puffy jackets! 
 

Oh, and good luck with your caucusing on Tuesday in what they say is supposed to be quite bad weather. 😉 Not that we even understand how caucusing is done. It’s just a fun word for the rest of the country to say and spell! 😁

[Mariastreby]

15 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

While we have not sailed Oceania we have done about 12 Southern Crossings - almost all in November.    Except for saying that weather can be unpredictable. 

 

The generalities would be that the temperatures will be mild in much of the Med -

A day after leaving the Canaries the weather has usually been really nice and people will break out their swimmers and sunbathing will be common.   It will remains like that for the remainder of your cruise.  

I've had both smooth seas in the Med as well as some pretty good storms.  One time it was strong enough that the ship I was on sustained damage.   For the crossing the Southern Crossing is generally the best and smoothest but November is still within the Hurricane Season so rough seas are possible.   90% of my southern crossing have been like on a pond.  

 

Thank you for all of the details (I edited some out). Obviously what ship one takes doesn’t matter. Unless it is very small or has a bad stabilizer system. Our ship, the Vista, should have the latest technology for that, and it’s neither an overly small or large ship. Hopefully it won’t encounter a huge storm causing ship damage, like the one you mentioned. That would have freaked me out totally!!

 

What I’m learning is that there’s an advantage to a ship taking a longer voyage, if it means taking that southerly route. Rather than starting from, say, Lisbon, heading to the Canaries sounds better. Or not trying to dock in Bermuda on the way!

Having a good chance at “pond-like” waters sure sounds good to us! I haven’t heard much about how the Mediterranean Sea is from early to mid November. Probably like anytime, it may be prone to storms, but I don’t know how quickly or severely autumn storms there can form. Or whether eastern parts (Greece, the Aegean) or western areas are more susceptible. It’s nice to hear your report, like others, that most ports’ weather will tend to be milder than I had thought. As for rain, that’s like predicting it anywhere. Other than places known for seasonal rainy periods.

 

So thanks for your helpful input!

[pinotlover]

Instead of paying much attention to ancedotal experiences with weather, I advise everyone to go to actual weather sites that accurately accumulates weather data over decades. From that data, one can get an excellent overview of what they may experience. Ancedotal experiences may include reports of sitting around their swimming pool last January in Niagara Falls, NY. An actual review of true data may acknowledge that event while revealing it isn’t something you should plan for.

[MEFIowa]

27 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Instead of paying much attention to ancedotal experiences with weather, I advise everyone to go to actual weather sites that accurately accumulates weather data over decades. From that data, one can get an excellent overview of what they may experience. ...

Though one would give more WEIGHT to the weather data from the most recent couple of years, say 2022 & 2023 rather than say from 1982 & 1983.

 

I always encourage people to look at sunrise and sunset times for any cruise. To see how much daylight you'll have. I moved a planned trip to Paraguay up from late May to mid-April in 2022 to gain more daylight. We knew we needed to get off Riviera as soon as we could in the Med in 11/2023 to maximize daylight.  

[Mariastreby]

I actually had looked at historical averages for about 5 of our ports on various weather data sites. And almost every country in the Med seems to be the rainiest in November. Temperatures (daily highs) did indeed fluctuate between lower 50s to upper 60s (F), and lows were about 15 degrees less. Countries like Greece are the warmer ones, as expected, but can be rainy. Obviously November has shorter days. 
 

I actually started this topic because I did want to get people’s experiences. Maybe some of the more common ports just weren’t as rainy as they are made out to be. Or they get quite cold in the evenings. I just felt that what had been experienced by other travelers might make some of the weather sound more appealing than what the historic weather charts were showing. 

And I agree - with the much warmer temps of the last couple of years, perhaps November will remain warmer longer. On the other hand, we are having some of the most unpredictable winter storms and cold in the US right now. So with climate change, I suspect weather will remain less predictable than ever. We will stick to packing various layers. For 24 days, we’ll be packing a lot anyway, especially as we dress “country club” or “elegant casual” most evenings as well. 

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, Mariastreby said:

Thank you for all of the details (I edited some out). Obviously what ship one takes doesn’t matter. Unless it is very small or has a bad stabilizer system. Our ship, the Vista, should have the latest technology for that, and it’s neither an overly small or large ship. Hopefully it won’t encounter a huge storm causing ship damage, like the one you mentioned. That would have freaked me out totally!!

 

What I’m learning is that there’s an advantage to a ship taking a longer voyage, if it means taking that southerly route. Rather than starting from, say, Lisbon, heading to the Canaries sounds better. Or not trying to dock in Bermuda on the way!

Having a good chance at “pond-like” waters sure sounds good to us! I haven’t heard much about how the Mediterranean Sea is from early to mid November. Probably like anytime, it may be prone to storms, but I don’t know how quickly or severely autumn storms there can form. Or whether eastern parts (Greece, the Aegean) or western areas are more susceptible. It’s nice to hear your report, like others, that most ports’ weather will tend to be milder than I had thought. As for rain, that’s like predicting it anywhere. Other than places known for seasonal rainy periods.

 

So thanks for your helpful input!

 

I thank you will have a wonderful trip.   As I said most of the Southern Crossing have really been perfect.    Northern crossing are a totally different story.    In the med itself never had a prolonged rainy cruise and been sailing the me for 23 years.   Normally quick moving showers then sun again. 

 

The storm we had came out of no where while docked in Toulon.    It was more like a Microburst.    When it hit chairs went flying and Star Code announcements to close decks.   It was on an Edge Class ship (Celebrity) and tore a 20' x 40' patch of metal ceiling strips off.    It took them the full crossing to repair mostly decorative trim.

[Mariastreby]

Thanks for the reassurances about smooth southern Atlantic sailings. Plus the fact that rain may tend to be brief showers rather than all day long. 
 

Interestingly, the cruise we’re taking prior to the fall one is on the Celebrity Beyond. It’s in April, 10 days southern Caribbean itinerary, so I’m not worried about micro burst storms. Though the one you went through did sound a bit scary. We are taking the cruise not for the itinerary (only getting off on 2 of the 5 islands), but for the ship itself, and the Retreat experience. We knew that on a warm temperature sailing, we’d hate an Infinite Veranda cabin where you really shouldn’t open the window due to the ac shutting off. So we’re splurging for a real balcony, and to see what a bigger ship is like, as we’ve become so used to the smaller sized ships. 
 

But there’s another widely discussed (on CC) issue with the Beyond, and that’s horrid banging and extremely noisy cabins, even in mostly calm seas. Obviously caused by poor building practices and little project oversight at its French shipyard. So we are also crossing our fingers for that one, hoping our cabin has been fixed to some extent if it was one of the bad ones to begin with. 

Edited January 14 by Mariastreby

[YoPhilly]

We did an Eastern Med in October one year and had torrential rains the entire route.  Another year we cruised a similar itinerary in November and had very pleasant weather.  One never knows what will happen.

[What A Market]

Here’s us in Barcelona during November before boarding the Riviera for a transatlantic.

In the middle of one of the Christmas markets.

Cold!

But beautiful as always.  Still crowded.

 

 

Edited January 14 by What A Market

[curmudgeon98]

We did a Western Med and Canary Islands cruise in January one year, along with some time in southern Spain and Barcelona.  We hit stormy weather in the Atlantic, and got shut out of Casablanca and Madeira because the winds were too high.  A good trip overall, but not lay out by the pool weather.  We would sit outside at sidewalk cafes in the Canary Islands, but not in mainland Spain on that trip.  

[hamrag]

The first thing to say is, as some have reported, the weather from Athens to Tenerife is unpredictable. I wouldn't be too concerned about seas in the Med apart from potential swells traversing on sea days i.e. Dubrovnik to Valetta, Civitavecchia to Valencia and Gibraltar straight down to Tenerife. Your sea days are mid pushing towards late November, so definite potential for choppy days.

 

From Tenerife to the Caribbean we have sailed this route 3 times during November in the past 5 years, with fantastic warm weather and calm seas every time.

[Harters]

On 1/13/2024 at 10:40 PM, Mariastreby said:

perhaps November will remain warmer longer.

We've often holidayed on the island of Mallorca. It used to be the case that many hotels would regard the end of September as being the end of the tourist season. I've recently read that places are now staying open towards the end of October, due to warmer weather in the last couple of years or so. Presumably, in the Eastern Med, the season will extend even further. Certainly something to research as we're considering an autumn break in Cyprus.