European Cruise - Best Time to Take One?

[SassyGirl]

Hi Everyone

I have been on a few cruises. All were in the Caribbean. Now, I am thinking of planning a European cruise for myself and some friends and don't even know where to start.

For those of you who have taken European cruises, can you tell me what would be the best time to take a European cruise based on:

good/decent weather
Cost of airfare from US
Cost of cruise
least amount of kids on the cruise

Thanks for any tips you can give me!

[George C]

what area of europe?? we did a Athens to Rome in March we had perfect wather for walking around, I would avoid summer to hot and crowded and it will cost more. I would do March/April or October/November ( we always avoid travel when school is out)

[Funnel]

As Georga said, where in Europe are you thinking of cruising?
It's a big difference between a cruise in the Med and Northern Europe (coast of Norway, the Baltic Sea, around the British Isles) regarding the weather and temperature.

In general I think cruising the Med is best in April/May and September/October as June, July and August can be very hot and humid. You will probably explore ancient cities and doing that in 90F+ heat and high humidity may, according to me, not be the best.
If you are planning on cruising the Northern Europe the summer (June to August) may be better as the temperature is not as high (but it can be 90F+ and high humidity for short periods even here during the summer).

About rain - I think it's less risk for rain around the Med in the summer months, but in the Northern Europe it's no big difference from April to September. Maybe a bit better during the summer months but I have seen statistics saying that it's more rainy days during the summer, so...

If you cruise in the Norhtern part of Europe I would not think the number of kids onboard will be a problem, according to my experience. I have to admit I have not been cruising the Baltic or Norwegian coast during the summer vacation period (normally beginning of June to mid August) so there may be more kids onboard during that period.
I have only cruised the Med in October and November and never had many kids onboard. As George said, you may want to avoid periods when shool is out.

In general cruises are more expensive in Europe than in the US. It is in general more expensive during the summer (when school is out).

Good luck in finding a cruise in Europe! I hope you'll like it here!

/Erik

[BruinSteve]

For the Med, IMHO, the best combination of weather and prices is May to early June--puts you after any chance of rain and before the really hot months of July and August...With school still in session most places, prices are a bit lower as demand is less...

Just after Labor Day should be good, too...but weather is just a bit riskier--could still be quite hot...

Of course, some of us like hot weather---

In the Baltic/Norwegian Fjords/Northern Europe, July might be close to perfect--though it seems to rain in Britain all the time...

Actually, in my book, whenever I am able to go is a good time...never a bad time to cruise...

[SassyGirl]

Thanks everyone! This advice was just what I was looking for. Sorry, I forgot to specify that it is the Mediterranean that I am looking at. So it looks like there is concensus on spring....May seems to be highly recommended for what we are looking for.

We frequently take our trips in May because it's usually shoulder or low season in most places AND our wedding anniversary falls in that month, so this is a good thing.

In your opinions, do certain cruise lines do Europe better than others? I am not loyal to one line.

[Charles]

My vote is for the fall. The weather is decent, and there are much less people in the normal tourist sites.

charles

[Gayle V]

Good thread. I'm taking notes for the future. A Med. cruise is definitly on my wish list.

[Funnel]

In your opinions, do certain cruise lines do Europe better than others? I am not loyal to one line.

I have only sailed RCI so can't really give you any advice on that. I think Costa and MSC gives a more European "style" to the cruise, but that is not to say they do Europe better than other cruise lines. I guess there are more Europeans onboard those lines too.

/Erik

[Priscilla]

Taking a European based company will give you more of a feeling that you are actually in Europe. The cruise lines thaqt are mostly in the Caribbean just don't have the samee local "feel."

[cliptix]

My aunt and uncle swear by Viking river cruises. They have been all over with that line, but I'm not sure if a river cruise is what you would want.