Best time of year in Med - cruise-wise

[Pop-I]

After reading posts about all the kids on board and the ships being filled to capacity on the Med cruises, is there a time when the the kids are gone and the ships are not as full, and if so, when is that? (I'm not asking about crowds in Europe since I know when those quiet down. Just asking about cruise.) Any knowledge on this is appreciated.

[Mr Luxury]

After reading posts about all the kids on board and the ships being filled to capacity on the Med cruises, is there a time when the the kids are gone and the ships are not as full, and if so, when is that? (I'm not asking about crowds in Europe since I know when those quiet down. Just asking about cruise.) Any knowledge on this is appreciated.

 

End of August going into September is a good time even end of September for good weather.

[lincslady]

May I add second half of April, all of May and early June, particularly May, and up to the middle of October, unless you need hot sunshine every day.

[margbem]

We have done a few cruises in the Med, all at the end of September, beginning of October. Usually had good weather and few to no kids on board.

[adoctor]

Most Cruise operators love to market the autumn as a great time to cruise the Med.In my view its not.

You could be fortunate (as some have been) but after mid September the Med is prone to high winds and rain.

The best time is May and June.Not too busy,kids in school, not to hot and quite green.

[Roxburgh]

Most Cruise operators love to market the autumn as a great time to cruise the Med.In my view its not.

You could be fortunate (as some have been) but after mid September the Med is prone to high winds and rain.

The best time is May and June.Not too busy,kids in school, not to hot and quite green.

 

It really depends. The Med is a rather big sea along with its subsidiary seas such as the Adriatic or the Aegean. So you are not going to get the same conditions if you are in the western Med that you will get in the eastern Med. We have had excellent cruises weather wise both in April/May and in September/October.

[Randyk47]

We cruised the Med last year from mid to late March. I can't say it was ideal but it worked well for our 14-day port intensive Barcelona to Istanbul cruise. Land temperatures were generally in the mid 60's to low 70's which made walking around quite pleasant in relatively light clothing. There were a couple of days where it was overcast the whole day but the only rain was brief and light while in Rome. Sea conditions were unbelievable, actually glassy and smooth for almost the whole cruise but even the captain remarked that it had been unusually calm. The down side of the weather was it was basically too cool on the only two sea days to thoroughly enjoy the pool area.

[Chairsin]

I beg to differ with adoctor. We have done almost dozen fall Med cruises from mid September to early October. Never have we had more than one day of rain or rough seas.The temperature has usually been delightful -- warm enough to relax on deck but not so hot that we baked as we hiked around on shore. I have cruised in May(and will likely do so again), and while it can be nice I have also run into cold wet weather.

[wripro]

No one can make anything more than general predictions when it comes to weather.

[Pop-I]

Thank you all for your input. I can deal with weather; most concerning are the children and the crowds. You can put on an extra layer to deal with cold and wind, and carry an umbrella to shield from rain - but there is no protection against kids on a cruise.

[Keith1010]

I just want to add that you will see very few kids in April and September (I would avoid August) but the ships themselves might be full in terms of adults.

 

Weather you really didn't ask about.

 

These are my favorite times to sail the Med and for the combined cruise and land experience I would go mid September and early April.

 

Keith

[MicheleCda]

Reading through this thread has me a little alarmed. I know there will be children on my cruise but I hope it's not TOO many :(. I love children but too many really would change the experience. But...it's not like I didn't know when I booked so I will smile and be happy regardless of the number. If there are numerous and/or really noisy children, I suppose I will just need to spend more time in the spa area :).

[Randyk47]

Even in March we had a few kids, like four or five, out of 250 passengers and I was surprised there were that many. Granted our cruise took place over the period that US schools have their spring break but the cruise was twice that long not counting flying so at least a couple of parents felt the itinerary outweighed the missed school time. Quite frankly the kids were well behaved so they weren't an issue.

[Pop-I]

I just want to add that you will see very few kids in April and September (I would avoid August) but the ships themselves might be full in terms of adults.

 

Weather you really didn't ask about.

 

These are my favorite times to sail the Med and for the combined cruise and land experience I would go mid September and early April.

 

Keith

 

You are correct that I did not ask about weather, but those who responded were kind enough to mention it since it is often a factor for many when choosing a cruise. Seems that Sept and April are best months all around in the Med. Thank you.

[zorro90068]

You are correct that I did not ask about weather, but those who responded were kind enough to mention it since it is often a factor for many when choosing a cruise. Seems that Sept and April are best months all around in the Med. Thank you.

 

 

I would agree that Sept and April ar ethe best m,onths to be in the med; however the Med in April for the weather is very hit and miss.

[Spree75]

We had wonderful weather for the most part in the Aegean in September but when it did storm during the last two days in Milos and Athens the weather was REALLY bad. Everything I have read is that fall and spring can be highly variable for weather. If you can deal with a day or two of storms then fall/spring sailings would be great.

[Tillylovesseabourn]

I think mid may To June is the best time in the med, April to beginning of may too risky for rain and cold x