Mediterranean Cruising--- help!

[kpgclark]

So I need some help. My hubby and I want to go to the Mediterranean. The best time for us to go is the June 9th cruise leaving from Rome. I've been reading some of the cruise reviews and I'm worried about the heat. I do not do well in the hot weather-- I won't enjoy touring at the ports. Is it always hot that time of year? Secondly, how are the seas in the Mediterranean? Lately I've been bothered by the seas. Since the route is inland will the seas be calm?

 

If anyone has any other suggestions about where to travel (cruise or just land) let me know. My parents are going to be watching the children so we want to go places the children wouldn't normally enjoy (like beachy areas).

 

TIA

[Susan-M]

The Europe Forum has posts on weather, seas and when to do a Med cruise....plus lots of other helpful information.

 

Weatherundergound is a great place to get information on weather in previous years for the dates that you will be there. You can get this information for each area that you are visiting - data is given for the previous 10 years. Scroll down on this page to "History and Almanac".

http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/16240.html

[cml3]

Tia,

We were just on the Millennium 6/18 sailing Venice to Barcelona. I don't do well in the heat either. We had HOT weather in Croatia and Greece. We had a private driver in Athens and rented a car in Santorini so we were in and out of air conditioning so it wasn't to bad. (We were told by locals that it usually isn't that hot that early)

We loved the itinerary- i would recommend it for couples and families.

We had very smooth sailing except for 2 days (out of 12).

Carol

[kpgclark]

Carol-

 

How rough were the seas and where were you at that time? Also, I didn't realize the Millennium did Italy. We LOVE that ship.

 

PS TIA is Thanks in Advance, not my name

[pcur]

I'm afraid June is usually a hot month, especially inland, and down in the southern area around the "boot". I was in Athens - Istanbul in mid-June on a cruise and it was in the 90's that year (which was unusual weather). July and August are the worst, though.

 

Is there any way you can go in May, or later in early September or October? Much cooler in those months. We were on the Millie this past April/May and the weather was fabulous!

 

We were on the Splendour and Brilliance in October on both cruises, and the weather was 70's on both of them.

 

If you go in June, then I agree that air conditioned private cars would be best to avoid as much of the heat as possible.

[sunrocket]

I'm afraid June is usually a hot month, especially inland, and down in the southern area around the "boot". I was in Athens - Istanbul in mid-June on a cruise and it was in the 90's that year (which was unusual weather). July and August are the worst, though.

 

Is there any way you can go in May, or later in early September or October? Much cooler in those months. We were on the Millie this past April/May and the weather was fabulous!

 

We were on the Splendour and Brilliance in October on both cruises, and the weather was 70's on both of them.

 

If you go in June, then I agree that air conditioned private cars would be best to avoid as much of the heat as possible.

PCUR

What year did you do the fall Med Cruise. Also it is so hot now I cant remember what 70s feel like.

Did you wear shorts,capris,or pants during the day. What was the weather like in the am when you left the ship for tours.

Thanks

[pcur]

PCUR

What year did you do the fall Med Cruise. Also it is so hot now I cant remember what 70s feel like.

Did you wear shorts,capris,or pants during the day. What was the weather like in the am when you left the ship for tours.

Thanks

 

Splendour was October / November 2002. That was including a b2b transatlantic after the 7 day med cruise. The weather was in the 70's practically the whole cruise, getting warmer as we came west to the Caribbean. We had about 20 minutes of rain in Florence.

 

Brilliance was in October 2005, and it was cooler temps but a little rainy in some areas.

 

I wore capris a lot, and on the cooler days I wore pants. Walking sandals, too, which always keep me cooler. My "air conditioning" is my feet. I just took a short jacket that I rolled up in my bag for an extra layer.

 

In the Med you start out early in the morning by the sea where it's cool and overcast. Then you end up inland in warmer weather, or the coastal cloud layer burns off by 11 AM. So, layers work well.

 

Shorts are not common in Europe, except with American tourists.... :D :D

 

I preferred capris and pants.

[KnoxvilleSam]

The only place we got VERY warm was in Dubrovnik (walking the walls!!!). Admittedly it was hot elsewhere, but not so hot that you couldn't find some shade and some breeze to cool off.

 

Oh yes, I forgot, Florence was also hot. But in Florence you can cool off with a gelato or two.

 

I wore shorts on shore excursions, wife and daughter wore capris for the most part. The only places one has to "worry" about wearing too little is when going inside churches, which insist on covering up. I remember at the basilica on St. Mark's square in Venice you had the option of taking a piece of plastic to cover up if you weren't suitably covered.

[tom_uk]

The weather all over Europe this year has been untypical. The Med - esp. the eastern Med - has been very hot, even as the summer has moved forward. (That is, it was hitting 100 degrees in late June and 110 degrees in mid July, both well above average; temperatures have moderated a bit in the last week or so.) Yet in the UK we have had torrential rain for three months and serious flooding, as you may have seen on TV.

 

All this is untypical. I remember that just three weeks earlier (relatively) in 2006 we were happy to spend all afternoon on the beach in Mykonos, wander around Santorini for hours, and walk around Taormina; whereas this year the beaches & open streets were no-go areas by early afternoon, at least for us perspiring Brits. (Read my blog for a day-by-day account.)

 

So, although you can hit a heatwave at any time, it would be reasonable to expect temperatures in the low to mid 80s in mid-June, perhaps a bit hotter or even a bit cooler. And after an untypical year like this one, next year has to be back to normal - doesn't it?

[pcur]

The weather all over Europe this year has been untypical. The Med - esp. the eastern Med - has been very hot, even as the summer has moved forward. (That is, it was hitting 100 degrees in late June and 110 degrees in mid July, both well above average; temperatures have moderated a bit in the last week or so.) Yet in the UK we have had torrential rain for three months and serious flooding, as you may have seen on TV.

 

All this is untypical. I remember that just three weeks earlier (relatively) in 2006 we were happy to spend all afternoon on the beach in Mykonos, wander around Santorini for hours, and walk around Taormina; whereas this year the beaches & open streets were no-go areas by early afternoon, at least for us perspiring Brits. (Read my blog for a day-by-day account.)

 

So, although you can hit a heatwave at any time, it would be reasonable to expect temperatures in the low to mid 80s in mid-June, perhaps a bit hotter or even a bit cooler. And after an untypical year like this one, next year has to be back to normal - doesn't it?

 

Tom, I swear we must have just missed the rain and floods by mere days. We were in London from 4/18 - 4/21, and then in the Coventry area from 5/3 to 5/8, and it was a little rainy off and on the last few days. I guess we were lucky, huh?

[tom_uk]

Tom, I swear we must have just missed the rain and floods by mere days. We were in London from 4/18 - 4/21, and then in the Coventry area from 5/3 to 5/8, and it was a little rainy off and on the last few days. I guess we were lucky, huh?

 

Rainfall in specific areas has varied, of course, though over England as a whole the whole summer has seen about twice average rainfall - May saw 180% of the average rainfall, June has seen over 200%, and July is shaping up to be at least as wet. Interestingly, although it hasn't felt warm - too many clouds! - actual mean temperature has been almost 1 degree up on the average. But that could again be due to the clouds - with that much cloud cover it hasn't been cooling down much at night.

 

There were very heavy rainfalls in the north on the 24th & 25th, which translated into the floods in east Sheffield. Then this month has seen south-central england get hit, and the Severn (especially) and some parts of the Thames burst their banks. So it's been an interesting month. This next few days looks like being the first sustained period of sunny weather since we got back from the cruise four weeks ago. In fact, the last period of good weather was in April, when it was untypically sunny & warm!

[cml3]

Kpgclark (or TIA as I like to call you):)

 

I was trying to remember where we were when it was rough--I believe it was around Florence. We had a CC cabin with sliding door that we never locked (who Does). That night my husband woke up because the door was actually sliding open and closed!

We also love Millenium--it was our 2nd time on her.

Carol

[mahdnc]

Carol,

 

I remember the seas being rough on our sailing on the days we left Naples, Civitavecchia, and Livorno.

 

On the other hand, recall that the portion of the cruise east of Italy (Dubrovnik, Athens, Santorini), the seas were exceptionally calm.

 

TIA,

 

as Carol said, our sailing was hot on the days we went to Dubrovnik, Athens, and Santorini. My family thought that the day spent in Naples was very hot, too. Rome, Florence/Pisa, Villefranche, and Barcelona had terrific weather. Your actual mileage may vary. June was an OK month for us even though it was hot for some of the ports. If you really want to ensure cooler weather, you should look at May or Oct.

[Abby Ruth]

We were on a HAL cruise on the Westerdam leaving Rome this past June 9. I don't think that the heat wave in southern Europe this year is typical, but if you're particularly sensitive to heat, you might want to consider an earlier date. Most of the stops that we made were bearable, but our two days in Rome after the cruise verged on being unbearable because it was so hot. We also stopped in Tunisia which was very hot. I don't know what your itinerary is. Other stops we made, Monte Carlo, Florence, Barcelona, Malta, and Palermo were hot, but not exceptionally uncomfortable. We also stopped in Naples and went to Pompeii and that was a very hot day. There's very little shade in Pompeii.

 

The Mediterranean was calm the whole trip. We barely felt the ship move.

[ispeed]

Wife and I just back form Jul 13 Galaxy sailing. It was HOT. Sicily was OK with highs around 34 celcius. Athens 41 celcius, Naples 39 celcius, Rhode 35 celcius. Santorini was the worst for me ... it was very hot, humid and little to no breeze at all. I never saw a thermometer so I can't tell you how hot it actually was, but it felt hotter than Athens at 41 (wife says Athens worse for her.) Mykonos was fine due to high winds which really cooled you off. The only down side to those winds were rough seas. I didn't hear anyone say they were rough enough to get them sick, but the boat was moving up and down more than usual.

 

As for the seas, I don't think it will bother you. If you can handle a flight with mild turbulance for 9 hours to get there, you should be fine on the ship. Just remember ... don't look down at the water while moving. You will get sick fast, but if you do get sick, go to the back of the boat and keep your eyes on the horizon.