Mediterranean Odyssey 11/15 - Cool Weather cruising

[blmjcs]

Hi All,

I am looking for cool weather clothing tips.  The weather will probably be in the 50's & 60's for the trip & I imagine this time of year we will have rain.   Do y'all take along rain boots?  Any ideas for "smart dressing" in the rain?  I am putting together what I want to take now and plan on layering.  How dressy is it on the Viking Ships for dinner?  I have read dressy to Lands End type attire for dinner it looks like mostly it depends on personal choice.  Thanks in advance for your ideas!  

[Hoyaheel]

When I travel to cool/wet places (many of my trips, actually, since we prefer to travel Oct-Jan) I definitely bring goretex walking shoes. Not "rain boots" though I do have ankle boots and knee boots (soft leather that packs easily, not a stiff riding boot style) if that's the style choice I make for the trip. If temps are 60-70s I don't like boots - heck, I don't even want to wear socks if it's that warm 😉 I have a rain coat I like for travel that is closer to a trench style (still goretex) in black so it's not as sporty as my lime green goretex raincoat I wear at home.

[blmjcs]

Thank you!

[cruisemom42]

What ports are you going to?  Although November can be rainier in the Med, in general you will have a variety of temperatures and weather conditions -- in other words, it's unlikely that you're going to face day-long rain in all your ports.

 

I've cruised in October and November in the Med about 6-7 times and never needed rain boots. I do take two pairs of walking shoes, just on the chance that one pair would get soaked. 

 

Layering is really important in terms of clothing ashore -- you might have cool weather in the morning, fairly warm by early afternoon and cooling off again at night. I bring an assortment of t-shirts, a cardigan or two, a fleece jacket and a rain jacket that can layer on top of the fleece. (Together, the two of these keep me pretty warm.) . I also throw in a pair of long silk underwear to keep my legs warm, if needed. 

 

Overall, the weather I've experienced has been a bit warmer than expected on most cruises and out of all of them I've only had about two really rainy days.

 

As for onboard, can't help you there -- haven't sailed with Viking.

[Hoyaheel]

I haven't cruised Viking (ocean or river) but did sail Azamara, which has a "country club casual" dress code that looks similar to Viking's. I wore sundresses or black pants with a light sweater. Which is sort of what I wore during a lot of the days as well 😉 Well, more dresses - it was HOT & HUMID for most of our Asia trip. You should check the weather for your ports before you pack and do the best you can - planning on layers as noted above.

[cassie cruiser]

Viking’s dress code can be found on their website. Basically, it’s business casual, or whatever your interpretation of that is.  On our Viking Homelands cruise, I wore slacks and a nice top every night, which seemed to be the norm. I didn’t see anyone dressed up. A few of the men wore a sport coat, but most did not.