The Med in November

[clairol]

Looking to hear some experiences from folks who have cruised the Mediterranean in November. We've had great luck with late September/October cruising in this region. This is the latest we have booked a Med cruise, but it ended up being the cruise which worked best for us on the itinerary and scheduling fronts. Obviously, weather is always the variable (thanks for the previous post about the cruiseoutlook.com forecast service!) but I would be interested in hearing from others - your experiences, any packing tips, were you able to enjoy your veranda, did you venture into the pool, would you do it again, etc. - really anything you want to offer up... We are on Marina from Monte Carlo on Nov 11 (going as far east as Athens and as far west as Mallorca) and ending up in Barcelona on Nov 23. Home in time for Thanksgiving! Thanks in advance...

[Mura]

This question has been asked before but of course answers will always be different.  We haven't had problems in the Med in November but you never know.  We did a Civitavecchia to Barcelona cruise in November 2017 (which went as far as Haifa but included Amalfi, Messina, Rhodes, Gythion, Greece*, Valetta and Palma.  We had lovely weather.

 

The * next to Gythion is because there was flooding in Greece at the time which made tendering impossible so we ended up arriving in Valetta a day early.  The original schedule had us arriving in Malta at 8am on Saturday, instead we arrived in Malta at 1pm on Friday.  This suited us since we like Valetta but we also regretted missing Gythion.

 

Other than the flooding problems in Gythion, my diary doesn't reveal weather problems ...nor do my photos.

 

Mura

 

 

 

[Misssmb]

We went on the Marina last November from Civitavecchia to Monte Carlo. The weather was mostly 60s I would say. There were a few warmer days also and few rainy days. Two of our ports got changed, but we ended up going to two other lovely ports. The only negative I can say is we went to St. Tropez and it was almost all shut down. Most of the stores and restaurants were completely emptied out for the winter. We toured the Citadel and then ended up back on the ship for lunch because there truly wasn’t anything else to do. The rest of the ports were fine and we just loved walking around on our own exploring.

We would go to the pool area after touring and have some cocktails in the hot tubs. It was usually empty by the pool so we had our pick of chairs. 

As far as dress, my husband wore khaki type slacks with a colored shirt in the evenings. I pretty much wore long sleeve, wrinkle free dresses and packed leggings and dress booties to wear with them on cooler evenings. You will see a little of everything as far as dress. 

We never encountered rough weather. Marina is such a lovely ship and it was top notch. It was our first cruise on Oceania and we loved it so much that we booked Riviera this November in the Caribbean. Have a lovely time! Feel free to ask more questions! 

[Mura]

On our May 2018 cruise we visited St. Tropez ... when it WAS in season.  Our luck!  We even had a parade of fancy very expensive automobiles through town ... But we weren't there on our November 2017 cruise ... I guess we should be glad of that!

 

 

[Misssmb]

21 minutes ago, Mura said:

On our May 2018 cruise we visited St. Tropez ... when it WAS in season.  Our luck!  We even had a parade of fancy very expensive automobiles through town ... But we weren't there on our November 2017 cruise ... I guess we should be glad of that!

 

 

Lucky you! Yes, the town was like a ghost town! Such a shame! 

 

As as for my post above, I can’t figure out how to edit it,  but it is supposed to say my husband wore a collared shirt not colored! LOL 

[Mura]

You can only edit a post within a very short time frame... maybe 20 minutes?  I've always objected to that myself!

 

But we probably all figured out what you meant ...

 

Mura

[clairol]

13 hours ago, Mura said:

This question has been asked before but of course answers will always be different.  We haven't had problems in the Med in November but you never know.  We did a Civitavecchia to Barcelona cruise in November 2017 (which went as far as Haifa but included Amalfi, Messina, Rhodes, Gythion, Greece*, Valetta and Palma.  We had lovely weather.

 

The * next to Gythion is because there was flooding in Greece at the time which made tendering impossible so we ended up arriving in Valetta a day early.  The original schedule had us arriving in Malta at 8am on Saturday, instead we arrived in Malta at 1pm on Friday.  This suited us since we like Valetta but we also regretted missing Gythion.

 

Other than the flooding problems in Gythion, my diary doesn't reveal weather problems ...nor do my photos.

 

Mura

 

 

 

Mura, thanks for indulging me. I did search for the topic didn't come up with much through this new CC search - I don't find it very user friendly any longer. Glad to hear you had great weather, it is always a gamble. I am in love with Malta, so I know what you mean. Extra time would be a treat for me. But is always disappointing to miss out on a new spot. However, a deviation is how we discovered Naples. Always an adventure. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

 

12 hours ago, Misssmb said:

We went on the Marina last November from Civitavecchia to Monte Carlo. The weather was mostly 60s I would say. There were a few warmer days also and few rainy days. Two of our ports got changed, but we ended up going to two other lovely ports. The only negative I can say is we went to St. Tropez and it was almost all shut down. Most of the stores and restaurants were completely emptied out for the winter. We toured the Citadel and then ended up back on the ship for lunch because there truly wasn’t anything else to do. The rest of the ports were fine and we just loved walking around on our own exploring.

We would go to the pool area after touring and have some cocktails in the hot tubs. It was usually empty by the pool so we had our pick of chairs. 

As far as dress, my husband wore khaki type slacks with a colored shirt in the evenings. I pretty much wore long sleeve, wrinkle free dresses and packed leggings and dress booties to wear with them on cooler evenings. You will see a little of everything as far as dress. 

We never encountered rough weather. Marina is such a lovely ship and it was top notch. It was our first cruise on Oceania and we loved it so much that we booked Riviera this November in the Caribbean. Have a lovely time! Feel free to ask more questions! 

Missmb, thanks so much for sharing your experiences. You have given me hope. Walking around and exploring is our thing. And I have vowed to stay away from shops this time around. And after a long trek, cocktails in the hot tub sound perfect! We were on the inaugural Riviera cruise and have since sailed on Nautica a couple of times so it will be interesting to return to a "bigger" ship. Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. Enjoy your time on Riviera! PS - khakis and a button down collared shirt sounds like my husband's standard uniform. 🙂

 

[Kate-AHF]

We were on Marina all of last November.  We had some port changes due to a huge storm that wiped out the roads to Portofino, and we had some rain, and some nice days.  I can't tell you how much we enjoyed being in Europe and visiting the sites without the crowds.  In Ostia Antica we practically had the place to ourselves.  At Cervateri we DID have the place to ourselves.  The crowds in Naples at the Archaeological museum were doable.  We happened to have 3 days in Venice the last part of October that were fantastic (and then after we left they had a record aqua alta).  We never needed more than a light jacket, and carrying around an umbrella was not hardship.

 

For us, the lack of crowds and crippling heat and humidity overcome the prospect of some wet weather.  Other folks do not feel the same as we do. 

[Kate-AHF]

Oh - wanted to add - we did not find everything closed in St. Tropez, perhaps we got off later?  We had a walking tour of the town, and lunch, and then went on to visit Gassin and Grimauld.  Fantastic day.

[Misssmb]

5 minutes ago, Kate-AHF said:

Oh - wanted to add - we did not find everything closed in St. Tropez, perhaps we got off later?  We had a walking tour of the town, and lunch, and then went on to visit Gassin and Grimauld.  Fantastic day.

OK I guess I exaggerated by saying everything. LOL I just meant so many of the stores were completely emptied out. There were so many streets that we walked down that didn’t have anything open. We did get off early though. A few places were open in that center park and we did get dessert at a bakery. I just think it would’ve been nice to have been there when it was more lively since I always wanted to go there. It was still beautiful!

[Sny]

We did Riviera, Venice to Barcelona, in November 2016.  Aside from rain in Kotor, the weather was warm and pleasant.  Popular stops, like Rome and Florence were not as crowded as peak season; but they certainly were not deserted.  Did not use the pool, as that's not our thing.  We loved the cruise and were very happy with the timing.  I recall one night of rough seas.  Aside from that, pretty calm.  

[ShopperfiendTO]

You're actually travelling near the middle of November into the end of November.

 

Weather-wise, it will likely be fine in the Athens area until you pass the toe of the boot (Italy), but a bit touch-and-go as you head further north and west, higher chance of rain.  You definitely should consider bringing layers and raincoats.  Obviously sunset comes sooner in the early evening as well. 

 

Crowd-wise, it will be quiet.  We were on a cruise that stopped in early November and the quaint towns (Eze, Monaco, Saint Paul de Vence) were very quiet.  The larger cities (Marseille, Florence, Barcelona) were fine.

 

As it looks like you're from the Northeast, the weather should be easy for you to handle 😎

[Vertygo]

We did Riviera Venice to Barcelona 11/1-11/13 2018. Very rainy in Venice, luckily missed a high tide flood by one day. Weather was comfortably cool most of the time with intermittent rain. Monte Carlo was rainy, but got around with umbrellas & hop on/hop off bus Tul it stopped in afternoon. No problem with seas or any missed ports. I think it's worth the risk to avoid crowds & miserably hot weather.

[clairol]

Thanks, everyone!

[Redtravel]

I was on Marina last Oct. Nov. 14 nights Venice to Monte Carlo. Weather was variable.  We had warm, cold, dry, wet, etc.  rain was heavy in Sardinia, Messina, Corfu, and Toulon. We still went out. Used our umbrellas often.  I have sailed other years in November when the Med was warm and dry. It’s a gamble.  November is past season in the Med. that can be good or bad. Visiting St. Tropez, most shops and boutiques were closed. However, those that were open had excellent sales.  The other positive is ports are less crowded.  November is quiet in most places.  

[SM77]

We did the Riviera Athens to Barcelona, Oct 24th to Nov 13th 2018 - B2B cruises - first time on Oceania and in the Mediterranean and loved the cooler temps - the only horrible day was in Venice; our sail-in was spectacular but San Marco was flooded & a mess, the next day it was massive downpours & terrible flooding.  The rest of the cruise we had great weather except for a bit of rain in Monte Carlo.  The ports are still pretty busy, especially Venice since there was a holiday while we were there.  We booked an Oceania Athens to Athens for Nov 2020 (that includes an overnight in Istanbul) - I wouldn't hesitate to travel the Mediterranean in November.  We prefer the cooler temps & lesser crowds (though I would say that there are still a lot of tourists). Enjoy!