Time of year for Med. cruise

September is a nice time to do the Mediterranean Cruise.

I started my cruise from Venice ...and came to Venice a few days earlier.

This is how I planned my cruise.

I decided on which Ports were more important to me , and then I chose the Cruise ship that included most of my ports.

I went on the Graand Princess.

Hi d,

I prefer the Autumn to the Spring.

Either works, sometimes spring can be windy and cooler and some places are not yet up and running.

You want to avoid summer as it can be both hot and humid, as well as crowded on the stops. September definietly, August probably not. May is starting to get busy.

We did a RCI cruise out of Venice last October. They call it the Eastern Med cruise. Venice is horrid in August - too many tourists and kids. Leave it until mid Sept or early Oct. May is also a nice time to go, but leave it until late May. The ship we went on was Splendour - a smaller ship of 70,000 tons, calling at Dubrovnik (great city), Santorini (pretty from the ship and from the top of the hill, but get off the ship early to avoid the staggering crowds), Kusadasi and Corfu. Nice circuit.

I admit I have not been to Venice in May, but early May is a great time in the Med in general. The earlier you go, the less crowded it will be.

Mid September thru October is our preference.

I vote for May - weather was beautiful and not at all hot. Cool in the shade and warm in the sun. Plus you save $$$'s by traveling before June.

We're now looking for a cruise to Greece out of Venice. Glad to see that May is OK.

May can be iffy. We have been to Europe when it was beautiful spring, other times hotter than blazes and other times still windy and rainy. September/early Oct is my favorite. Crowds are gone, weather better.

I tried for late Sept. but there were wait lists. We are now on an October 29th sailing out of Rome for 12 days/greek islands etc. ending up in Venice. We don't care for hot weather--I hope we made a good choice. Looking forward to it--thanks so much for your thoughts.

I think you made a great choice. Our original choice was later but we eneded up leaving Oct 3 and coming back Oct 20.
Late October should have nice weather and not crowded at all.

I took a cruise on the Western Med during the last week of April-first of May and the Mediterranean was as calm as a millpond.

I kept track of cruises Med routes last year as we were scheduled for a December Eastern Med. Starting late October just about EVERY ship had one or two cancelled ports due to weather/sea conditions. There was probably 1-2 that met the scheduled route but this was enough data for me to stay clear of cruises in the Eastern Med from late October thru March. We ended up cancelling due to health issues, but the cruise we were scheduled to go in missed Tunis and Malta....go figure.

We did a similar cruise in early June and it was good. The weather was warmish, but pleasant. This year we were in the Western Med. in late July and the weather was fine, noy yoo warm. The ancients stopped their sea campaigns in September because they were worried about storms and heavy weather.

We did an April/May Med cruise (Venice was one of the ports) and it was absolutely beautiful - Spring time - all the flowers budding..... gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I'm sure Fall is nice too (hope so, doing another Med cruise - different ports) next month....

My family usually takes cruises in September. The weather is still warm but it's not humid and getting cooler. Also it's good for walking around at ports or on top of the Lido deck.

I have returned from my cruise. We had great weather up until croatia and the port was cancelled due to bad weather. Up till then 70's sunshine and no rain. Great touring weather. Venice was rain, cold foggy and damp. the streets were flooded on one day, boots were needed for walking. My favorite although I have several were Rome. I loved Rome and Kudasi where we toured the awesome Ephesas. What a fantastic archelogical site. Happy travels.

Thanks for reporting back; very classy. So often people suck advice from others on this forum and never show the courtesy of giving some back.

Anyways, glad about the weather, but honestly, Med cruises October thru March are risky. I really do not want to take a cruise knowing there is a high probability I will miss at least one port. I would had been heartbroken if I had missed Croatia (like yours did) out of the route....It is not as if the prices are that low during this period.

That said, so nice to hear you had a great time.

Well as the saying goes you don't miss what you haven't had,In this (seen) I did hear that from other cruise passengers that typically this past October was far more rainy than, November. I have to agree October/November can be risky. One lady said some missed Santorini due to bad weather. They only left people off the ship who had ship tours and the passengers were livid to say the least. I believe even Sept. people had heard they had rain every day--so who knows---summer would be way to hot for me especially touring those sites. I would faint! it is to bad for unfortunately I was not left with warm feeling about Venice as I had hoped for it was not the Venice of my dreams! Well one always needs a reason to go back-- and Croatia are now on of them---(smile.)

Gee , diann24, sorry about the weather in Venice.

I was there about the same time as you and the weather was great.

But like I said in your other post, it can rain anytime.

It is difficult to tour when it is raining ,cold foggy and damp.

I came to Venice several days before the Cruise and walked around and toured around for 3 days.

I was in Doge's Palace for over three hours, I know that is a long time .... BUT I got lost and could not find my way out.!!!

When I crossed the Bridge of Sighs ,I knew I was not heading to any exit, I wound up in the Dungeon area where the prisoners were kept.!!

Let me tell you I saw Doge's Palace from top to bottom!

Why didn't I ask a guard for direction to the exit !?

I did but each one of them gave me the wrong direction, and subsequent guards would correct the previous one and point me to a different direction.

When we finally came out to St.Mark's Square, I was never so happy to see daylight !

We all laughed but there was a little period of time inside when it was not so funny !!
Welcome Home

Diann24, welcome home. Did you see the Terrace Houses at Ephesus?

Yes I did see Doge's palace what a fabulous place. Words cannot descibe the beauty. I also crossed over the bridge of Sighs and went through the prisons. What a place--you know I toured so many places and with Venice scheduled none. not sure if that added to my dismay. But after 14 days I think I was just tired. We had seen to much, and St. marks church is also gorgeous.

Eschew, of YES the Terrace houses were AWESOME beyond words. I loved Pompei so much but then came the Terrace houses. Totally amazing!! It it wonderous how they could have lived so smartly. Did you see the toilets? They were really advanced beyond there times, and they built things to last back then-----one wonders about todays technology. hmmm they were pretty smart back then I believe!

Just imagine, houses built during the first century, hot water and central heating ...