Med. Quest cruise end of April or end of May better?

[Bostonactor]

We're about to book our first Seabourn cruise, probably on the Quest, for spring 2012. We are looking at 11 days Venice to Athens the end of April into early May, but we're worried it might be too cool. We are also attracted to Istanbul, and, although it's only 7 days and we' prefer the longer cruise, we can do Istanbul to Athens May 25 to June 1. If you've sailed the Med at these times and have experience with the weather, we'd love to have some feed-back to help with our decision process.

Also, if anyone has recently sailed on the Odyssey, we' like to know if there is still a vibration problem. Thanks for your input.

[Keith1010]

Bostonactor, welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I've sailed the Med during both these time frames as well as early April, the summer, September and October.

 

I would go with the 11 day cruise over the seven day cruise for several reasons.

 

-A seven day cruise of the Med is just too short. If you schedule allows it's just nice to have seven days as the cruises of the Med tend to be port intensive.

 

-The weather in late April will be fine and it's a beautiful time to see the Med.

 

-There will be less tourists in some of the ports in late April than there will be in late May.

 

Keith

[lord of the seas]

Choose the 11 day trip,7 days is far too short.

[ibnoland]

On Weather.com, you are able to check the average daily temperatures for thousands of cities around the world. I checked Athens, just to make sure, and noted that the average temperatures for April 25 are 55F low to 71F high, which is nearly perfect. We cruised Athens to Istanbul in March several years ago, and found it to be very pleasant.

Now for a disclaimer: If it's rainy and windy on the Acropolis you might be cold. Or hot if it's not. Don't blame me.

[wripro]

Late April/early May is beautiful in the Med. Go for the 11 day cruise.

[Roxburgh]

I cruised the Med in April. Weather was "changeable". We had some nice days but we also had some not so nice and some stormy days. If nice weather is important to you then I would recommend May.

[sfvoyage]

I cruised the med. last month (early April) and lucked out with the weather. The days were all pleasant, sunny and warm, and we avoided the hordes of tourists everywhere. In the evening, it was cool and, for a few nights, very windy, so we were not able to stay outside for a long time or star gaze at the top "sun terrace" deck. Overall, it was very pleasant. But, as others have mentioned, weather is unpredictable, and April is a change-over month, so it's your gamble.

 

Vibration on the Odyssey was much better than last year; I didn't notice any problem last month.

[Bostonactor]

I cruised the med. last month (early April) and lucked out with the weather. The days were all pleasant, sunny and warm, and we avoided the hordes of tourists everywhere. In the evening, it was cool and, for a few nights, very windy, so we were not able to stay outside for a long time or star gaze at the top "sun terrace" deck. Overall, it was very pleasant. But, as others have mentioned, weather is unpredictable, and April is a change-over month, so it's your gamble.

 

Vibration on the Odyssey was much better than last year; I didn't notice any problem last month.

 

Thank you. This is very helpful, since you have just returned from a Med cruise in April, and on the Odyssey too. Where was your Odyssey suite located? And, while I'm asking, how was the food?

[sfvoyage]

Thank you. This is very helpful, since you have just returned from a Med cruise in April, and on the Odyssey too. Where was your Odyssey suite located? And, while I'm asking, how was the food?

 

I was on deck 6, mid ship. No vibration in the room. Also, unlike the previous summer, no vibration in the Observation Bar or the Grand Salon.

 

The food was very good. It seemed the portions were a bit bigger, as I gained 2 kgs after 12 days, whereas on the last cruise, I did not gain any weight.

 

An improvement was Restaurant 2. They had 5 different menus that rotated every 2 days, so you could go there every other day without repeating the same menu. It used to be the same menu per week.

[lord of the seas]

And when Odyssey first sailed there were seven menus per week in restaurant two.

It sounds like they have found a formula to please most guests.