West Mediterranean family cruise in April?

[Auckland Cone]

Hi, we are a family of four (kids 15 & 13) who are looking at travelling from NZ to UK in early April for 3-4 weeks and have thought a cruise would be a good way to see some of Europe in a short period of time. As far as I can see P&O are really the only line working during that time so we are looking at doing their E508A or B. Does anyone have any thoughts on cruising at this time of the year, will it be too cold/wet? What is the best cabin for us? Is their A or B cruise look better? It will be around Easter and I think this will be school holiday time, will that cause issues? Actually we would really appreciate any thoughts as this will be our first cruise. Cheers

[lindyloo22]

Weather not that great in early April, might be a bit hotter then the UK what ship are you talking about.

[shallwe]

I've been to southern Spain a couple or so times in April. Once not particularly warm, the other occasion, well the locals called it the worst April they had ever seen.

 

Could just be my (un)luck.

[Auckland Cone]

Oceana

[lindyloo22]

This year we were away in May Spain, Italy and Corsica. The weather was not very good. Did have the odd days where it was nice had a good day at Pisa, had some really good sea days where you could sunbath.Have been to Dubrovnik a few times have always had good weather, you can never be sure what it's going to be like.

[the english lady]

Hi We have done a few cruises in April/May time . Does it have to be the beginning of April the cruise. I ask as once you get nearer to mid april onwards we have always had ok weather med wise. My birthday is 11th April ,and we have done a couple of cruises round that for big birthdays. Can't remember any really bad weather.

I have done a short cruise on Oceana. Cabin was ok-normal balcony. The only thing I would say is the bathroom was the size of a broom cupboard. tiny tiny tiny. I would not look to try and get 4 in a cabin. You may all be able to get in the cabin, but as we had to dress in the cabin-after a shower-that might be a sqeeze too far,with 4 people..

[terrierjohn]

Its unlikely you will get hot sunny weather in the Adriatic or northern Italy at that time of year, but it could be reasonably warm, just not shorts and tee shirt hot though, and you will probably need to take a lightweight sweater and some rainwear with you.

There are lots of weather websites that will show you average temps for the ports of call, and it should certainly be warmer than the UK.

[clivep]

We did Barcelona to Venice at the end of April 2013. It was dry and hot most of the time. In fact it was sometimes too hot for us with my wife staying on board in Naples where it was 28°C.

[kevinyork]

Well E508A gives you an overnight in Venice whereas E508B would require an additional nights hotel stay on top before the cruise if you want to see Venice.

 

Weve had good weather in April but whatever peoples personal experiences the truth is that it can be very unpredictable. You could have a week of sun or a week of rain or somewhere in between. Bad weather would be a shame given your investment and desire to see Europe.

 

After your long flight over here, do you really want the hassle of another two flights during your trip?

 

Just a few thoughts but in the end only you can decide.

[the english lady]

Hi, we are a family of four (kids 15 & 13) who are looking at travelling from NZ to UK in early April for 3-4 weeks and have thought a cruise would be a good way to see some of Europe in a short period of time. As far as I can see P&O are really the only line working during that time so we are looking at doing their E508A or B. Does anyone have any thoughts on cruising at this time of the year, will it be too cold/wet? What is the best cabin for us? Is their A or B cruise look better? It will be around Easter and I think this will be school holiday time, will that cause issues? Actually we would really appreciate any thoughts as this will be our first cruise. Cheers

 

Thinking totally outside the box, we have done a European river cruise that had a few New Zealanders and Australians on it. You get to see Parts of Europe very close up then. Is that a possibility, or do you think your children will be too bored?