Am planning a european cruise and would like to stay with Carnival. can anyone provide info on..

the best time to go
the best places
where not to go?

thanks

Carnival has only a limited range of cruises in Europe, so it's not really much of an issue. All the cruise areas in the Med and the Baltic have their pluses and minuses. If you want more ancient history, then I'd suggest an Eastern Med cruise including Italy, Greece, and perhaps Turkey. If you want more classic European experiences, then do a Western Med cruise that includes Barcelona and stops in Italy and France.

Not sure if Carnival does the Baltic, but it's a great place to cruise, though the weather is going to be cooler.

I'd recommend going in May or June or September or October. I really dislike the weather and crowds in July and August (except for the Baltic, when the weather is the best).

If cost is an issue, then look for an embarkation port that is cheap/easy to get to from where you live. Many cruises leave from Barcelona, Rome, Athens, and Istanbul. Others leave from the UK (it's usually cheaper to fly into London, but then you still have to get to the port).

I don't know anything about Carnival - but a Med cruise in May is absolutely fabulous.... I went on Crystal, but I assume most cruise lines go similar places - Italy, Greece (including a couple islands) and Turkey. LOVED everything about it. Flowers were out and everything was gorgeous (even Venice wasn't underwater.....)

Thanks very much for your info...I can't wait!!

I agree we did our cruise over Memorial Day week and the weather was warm and sunny,

Going on the Eastern Meditteranean cruise in Sept. on Celebrity Soltice out of Rome and return there. I have never been on a Carnival cruise so I can't comment on that cruise line. I especially wanted to see some of the Greek isles so that is my maine reason for choosing this one. I think May or Sept.is probably the best time to cruise as prices seem to rise in the summer and places even more crowded.

Look also at Costa and MSC, they offer much bigger choice in Europe than Carnival.

Went on a Western Med. cruise last summer. Although we had a fabulous time, I would not recommend the summer months. VERY hot and VERY crowded!!

We did Carnival - western med cruise. Went in September - in and out of Rome. WONDERFUL time - highly recommend it and the weather was great (not to hot or cold). We took extra time in Rome prior to and after the cruise and it worked out perfectly. Enjoy!

My DH and I have booked Celebrity Solstice for b2b cruises in November. Leaving Rome for Med cruise and returning and then doing transatlantic to Ft.Lauderdale. Will weather be OK in November and first of Dec? b2b is 23 days. We did VOS in 12/07 from Barcelona to Galveston and the weather was great. Had calm seas for 5 days across the Atlantic and in every port.

fosterag... we are on the same cruise from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale.. We have done t/a from Sept, Oct and December.. and have had fabulous weather.. Would not do a cruise during the summer as it's too hot and too crowded.. right this second maybe cancelling a cruise with Princess...waiting to get a call from them.. if I do. I will book our first t/a from Florida to Europe.. which is not idea considering you loose a day and the weather can be iffy We use Celebrity btw which we love...BTW fosterag there is a huge CC group on another site. very active, many who are doing back to back