Viking Ocean Cruise from Venice to Athens

[Sunseeker1001]

Need advise on a tentative plan to take this cruise in mid-March 2017 on the Sun. Wonder about the weather and if it will be too cold to enjoy. Have a balcony cabin on the tail on the Level 3 on "hold" for 72 hours. Price seems right but price isn't worth it if it isn't going to be a good time to go. ANY HELP APPRECIATED. thx.

[LHT28]

you can check the past weather averages to get an idea

http://www.accuweather.com/

[cruisemom42]

You've gotten a number of suggestions on this thread and your other one for sources to check the weather.

 

But we don't know what YOU consider to be "cold" weather. Certainly it will be too cool for beaches and swimming. For me, I avoid the heat of the summer in the Med like a plague. I get enough of that at home. I much MUCH prefer going in the shoulder seasons -- not just for the moderate (to my mind) weather but also for the significant reduction in crowds at most sites.

 

I have not sailed as early as March, but I would do it in a heartbeat. I've cruised in the Med as early as early April and as late as late November and have enjoyed each cruise. Yes, there have been a few rainy days here and there, but on no occasion have I experienced universally poor weather.

[Sunseeker1001]

Thanks for your input. I consider temperatures when I would need to wear a down coat, gloves or protect my face from the wind to be too cold. Did you have to do that in early April? Would you expect I would in mid-March. I do like the idea of not having to compete with large crowds at sites to be very appealing.

[cruisemom42]

Thanks for your input. I consider temperatures when I would need to wear a down coat, gloves or protect my face from the wind to be too cold. Did you have to do that in early April? Would you expect I would in mid-March. I do like the idea of not having to compete with large crowds at sites to be very appealing.

 

The early April cruise I took went from Athens to Venice, so we covered a good distance. The weather was great the entire time. I especially recall how smooth the seas were (if I can find some of the photos I took, I'll link to them later) around some ports -- and we had several tender stops, so that was very helpful.

 

I never wore anything more than a midweight fleece jacket for warmth -- no gloves, no hat. Touring ashore most days the jacket would come off after the early morning chill went away and the sun was fully up. A mid-weight t-shirt with long or 3/4 sleeves was generally sufficient for the rest of the day.

 

On the ship, I ate dinner outside -- in a sheltered area, but still outside -- nearly every evening as the weather was so beautiful and our sailaways were nearly always during dinner time.

 

Even in Venice, which was probably the port where we would have been most likely to have cold or rainy weather, we did not experience anything but sun.

 

As a reminder, the weather is known to be variable in these early/late shoulder seasons, and your experience could be completely different. However, I think unless you are very unlucky you would not need a down jacket. I'd plan more for a light or mid-weight waterproof jacket, with a fleece or sweater underneath for warmth if really needed.