Mediterranean Cruise - your experience?

Question

I'm planning a Med cruise in mid November for 2 wks. We'll start in Venice, Italy and end up in Barcelona, Spain. The stops along the way are Dubrovnik, Croatia, Athens, Greece, Kusadasi, Turkey, Naples and Rome and Florence, Italy, and Villefranche, France on Celebrity Cruise Lines (ship Millenium).

I checked the weather average temps that time of year and they appear to be upper 50°s to lower 60°s F. What's been your experience with weather that time of year, did you enjoy the ports of call, the ship, etc.

I've only cruised with Carnival (2 Caribbean cruises) thus far, so this will be a different experience. I hoped to get some sun time, but I fear it won't be the time of year for that. Any info or experiences you can relate would be appreciated.

Answer 1

if you need any advice, please feel free to consult with any travel agent that is nearby your house or you can send a message to my friend, soar_2307, who is an experienced travel agent for 27 years.

Answer 2

WE went on a cruise of the Mediterranian two years ago on the Royal Caribbean ship Brillance of the Seas.  Our cruise began October 12 out of Barcelona, Spain, was for 12 days and some of the same stops you will have.  

First of all the Celebrity ship will be head and shoulders better than your Carnival experience.  Better service, ship and better food.  We went on the sister ship to Millenium  (Constellation) to the Baltic last year.

The weather in November should be good; you are about right on the predicted temps.  We had 70's most days and rain showers a couple times.  A light jacket should do you fine.  Use this web site to check the weather close to your departure time:  

http://worldweather.wmo.int/

Our stops were Nice, Monte Carlo; Florence/Pizza; Rome; Naples; Kusadas (Ephesus); Athens, Santorini; and Mykonos.  To my surprise the weather was even nice enough to sit on the cabin's balcony at night.  There were some areas where the seas were rather rough for about a couple hours, but other than that it was like cruising in the Caribbean as far as flat water is concerned.

Ports of call:

We stopped first in Villefrance for Nice and Monte Carlo.  That stop was OK.  We did a tour to the old city of Eze I think it was called and then on to Monte Carlo after a lunch.  The bus ride through Monte Carlo was OK but seeing the sights was a pain because all tourists buses park and then everyone must get on one of the three elevators to take you up to the level where you can see the palace and see the old casinos.  My advice is for sure skip the casino as it costs $10 a person to go in, you cannot take pictures; you must check cameras and backpacks and stuff at the door (and they even asked for a tip).  Plus the casinos was small and dinky looking compared to what you see in big hotel/casinos in the US.

We did a tour to Florence and Piza.  That was a good tour.  PS: watch out for gypsies and pickpockets (go to Target or Brokestones and get a pouch that you can carry your money and passport in and wear it UNDER your clothes; I wore mine around my waist in my drawers).  Don't give the Gypsies any money or they will all converge on you.

Athens was good to see the Acropolis; its a long walk uphill but worth it.  The rest of Athens was OK.

In Rome we did a tour to The Sistene Chapel, Vatican City and the Forum.  That was a great tour.  The port is about an hour from Rome so be sure to use the potty before you leave; our bus didn't have one and we were in dire need by the time we got to a potty.  The line to get into the Vatican city is reeeeeeaaal long, like maybe a couple blocks.  So be prepared to stand in line.  I loved the Forum also; it was awesome.

In NAples we did a tour of Pompei and a Tuscany olive farm.  Pompei was great, the other was OK.

In Turkey we had Ephesus as our tour with a lunch at a local restaurant.  I loved Ephesus because of its Biblical history.

Answer 3

If you can provided me with the dates that you are going to travel then I can investigate for you, via my reliable sources in each port that you have mention, what is the lcal time and temperature for you!!!

all I require is two thumbs up and 10 points as well.