Weather - Med Cruise - Oct 30 - Nov 10

[harrowgirl]

Hubby and I are planning on booking a Mediterranean cruise (greece, turkey, rome area) from October 30 - November 10. Hubby is now concerned about the weather - i.e. low temperatures and rain.

 

Has anyone been on a cruise during this time in the area and can you provide your comments on the weather?

 

I personally don't mind if it is 65-70 degrees, but hubby won't want it any cooler, and now he is concerned about rain and that we won't be able to see anything.

 

Thanks!

[Scottish Cruiser]

We took a cruise in the med in mid October last year, Venice, Croatia Greece, Turkey, Malta. The temperature varied from quite warm in Turkey and Santorini - high 70s, to barely 60 in Venice - the morning we arrived back you could see your breath it was so cool. Malta, Rhodes, Athens were probably mid 60s in the heat of the day, cooler evenings and mornings. Croatia started weta nd cool - maybe high 50s and turned out a warm afternoon and evening.

 

Hope this helps.

[jplewis]

We did a cruise: Venice, Dubrovnick, Rhodes, Malta, Santorini, Naples and Rome that ended on Nov. 1 a couple of years ago. The weather was wonderful I would much rather go then than endure the heat of summer/early fall. I can't remember ANY rain. We didn't dress in shorts but did wear long pants but no heavy jackets.

This year we are doing similar that ends Dec. 1 and I am glad it's not now. People are complaining about the heat at Pompeii, etc.

[Desert Cruisers]

We did a Mediterranean cruise last year October 29 - November 10. The weather was pleasant to warm in most of the ports with very little rain. In some of the ports, it was short-sleeve weather - i.e., Naples. It was cold and windy in Athens with some rain but it was not something that one could predict. We had great weather in both Rome and Venice. If you look on www.weather.com, you can get monthly averages for many of the ports. We would rather the weather be a little cool than hot and steamy.

[KathiB]

We just returned from our Med. cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas June 16-June 28. If we ever go back for another cruise, and I sure hope we do, I would absolutely go in October or November! The weather was almost unbearably hot. It was not only hot but humid. Many people there said it was unusual for June and also the humidity was higher than usual. But the heat made many places not as enjoyable as they could have been...Pompeii, Rome, Florence, Venice. Villefranche was very pleasant...it even drizzled a bit.

 

I would also recommend Oct/Nov because of the crowds. We had been to Florence many years ago in May and I was not prepared for the amount of tourists. Granted I was one of them but the wall to wall people was a real bummer. Yes, it might be a bit cooler in some of your ports but believe me that is much better than intense heat and summer crowds.

 

Enjoy your cruise and I hope I can do another someday...in November!

 

KathiB

[Susan-M]

One other consideration is the length of daylight hours. e.g. in Athens, there is approx. 14 hours between sunrise and sunset in May. In late Sept, it is down to 12 hours and by the end of Nov. it's down to 10 hours.

Here's the calendar of sunrise/sunset times to give you an idea of what to expect: http://www.sunrisesunset.com/

[Morgans]

Bear in mind it gets dark very early as in Europe clocks are changed at the end of October. It is dark by 16.30 so there was no sitting on deck by then as it was too cold. It is also the start of the rainy season and the Greek Islands have started to close down by then. The main sites are still open such as in the big cities, however, and it is certainly true that it is cooler - you will need to bring a raincoat. Cruising in November is a big difference to cruising in October and seas can be stormy. I don't wish to sound negative but am just being honest. If you don't mind the weather then by all means come in the winter - you will still have a great holiday but without the blazing sun or the heavy crowds. The main cities will still be busy. They always are.