Eastern Med cruise
 

How is this destination during the mos. of Oct. or Nov? I would think it would be a bit cooler and less crowded. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you. Larry

The downside of travelling to the Eastern Med in November is that darkness falls before the ship sails so you miss out on the nice sailaway.
Otherwise, yes it is cooler and maybe quieter (or there may be another cruise ship or 2 in port)

Beginning of October is still rather good, but it gets cooler and wetter any week after that.
Of course there are exceptions, no guarantees for that...
Also later in the month you might find some shops/restaurants etc. closed for the season

We've taken two Med cruises in late October-early November. The weather varied from warm & sunny to cool & rainy. We never left a port after dark.

Thank you. Good info to have. Larry :-)

We did Eastern out of Venice last November and it was fine. Weather was generally good, a bit cool in Split, Croatia but not bad, nice in Greece. The mention above of early sunset was the only down side. If you are hard core shopper you might be disappointed since many of the shops in the Greek isles were already closed in November.

So you mean they were closed for the season? Thank you.

Yes for the season. Many were still open however and we had no problem finding places to spend money or to eat/drink.

Ok. That doesn't sound too bad. Just as long as the whole town isn't shut down. :D

Hi jacketwatch

I did the Mediterranean Cruise in mid October .

I just reviewed all my pictures from the Cruise and I was wearing a short sleeve shirt in all the places.

But I do recall when I got off the cruise ship in Naples..it was a bit cool...but that was 7:20 AM by 9 AM it was very nice already.

In Mykonos and Santorini it was 84 and 82 F respectively.

From Venice to Athens to ....
Ephesus ( Turkey) ,Istanbul,Rome, Florence , Marseilles( France) and Barcelona, the weather was great....although in Mareilles in the morning we had a slight drizzle.

There were no shops closed in the Greek Islands in mid October. I do not know what it is like in November.

But of course you have to bring a light jacket or sweater anyway.

It was less crowded but when we drove down the Almafi Coastline from Naples....you know traffic is traffic!!!

Have a good time . :)
Percy

Hi Percy

Welcome back! Hope you had a great trip and cruise. Now we need a report!

Hi traveller69

Yes, the trip was terrific with good weather in all the places.

The Eastern European countries are just great as I am sure they all are.

I will find out more as I am gone again on August 3rd for the month...to France , Switzerland and Germany.

I especially liked the Carpathian Mountains region and also Lviv.

Vienna was nice but busy with people, but still sight seeing was always nice.
I never tire of seeing their fantastic old buildings.

Percy

Thank you Percy. I'm glad you had a good trip. It sounds like mid Oct. is the time to go. :-)

Hi jacketwatch.

Yes, mid October would be just fine...it was for our group of four anyway.

You know what it is like...you can always get a rainy day here and there.

You had rain in Helsinki in June and I had a 75 F day in August in Helsinki.... the luck of the draw... it has to rain sometime and we all hope it is not the day we are there !!!

Good Luck and Take Care

Percy

Very true. Weather is the luck of the draw. We'll see. However now we are thinking about the Panama Canal as the season for this suits the time frame our son has off for vacation. Greece is one of our dream destinations so hopefully some time in the future we'll get there. take care, Larry :-)

Panama Canal is also very nice.

More so if you can do the long one from ,say,Florida right through toSan Diego or Los Angeles on the other side.

Have Fun

Percy

I agree with Percy be sure to do a longer cruise. In the late fall you can get a repositioning cruise out of Vancouver all the way to Ft. Lauderdale. That is a very nice way to do it and the pricing is right on those cruises as well. I have seen ads for HAL's Westerdam at very good prices and other lines would be doing the same but there aren't as many to choose from as it gets later in the season.

My wife really wants o do a full transit canal tour vs. the half-way, turn around variety. You guys really have me thinking. :D

Larry - where do you live? I got the idea from one of your posts that you were Canadian like Percy and I. There is one really good cruise company here on the west coast that is offering a great package deal on the Westerdam Sept 28 including airfares.

I am guessing but I think jacketwatch is in Chicago (or near by)!?

If you should do the halfway turn around tour of the Panama ...then there is a train ride that you must do.

The train will take you right to the other side of the Panama Canal and the tour guide will take you into Balboa and Panama City and you will see the Bridges of the Americas.

Then you have lunch on the train on the way back.... to the ship and then start you half way Canal tour.

I have done both.

Percy