Help me pack for our Mediterranean Cruise!!

[Clare]

We are not first timers on DCL, but this summer will be our first cruise to the Mediterranean. In addition, it's been a few years since our last cruise. So, I'd love some help from more experienced/recent cruisers…..

1. Tips on what to pack for the Mediterranean in early June...….I know it will be warm (especially in Pompeii), but are evenings on deck still cool? We know we will need to cover shoulders and knees for certain locations, but any other tips would be much appreciated!

2. Any other tips for cruising the Mediterranean? Just anything you wish you'd known or tips for the Magic...…..

Thank you!! So thankful for a place to ask!

 

[GPaLarry]

We loved this cruise but, as it is known and you control it, it is port-intensive. For the Capri/Pompeii, Rome and Florence DCL excursions, you will leave early (8:30ish) and get back around 5:30-6. Let your wait staff know which days you will be a bit late, they appreciate knowing. When we came to Monte Carlo's port, the water was too choppy to tender, so we got an "at sea" day that day and stopped at Marseilles the next day, formerly an "at sea" day. They offered about a dozen excursions there and we went to Avignon and a winery, which were awesome. Now, Pisa, we thought, was a waste of time...too many people, lines too long to climb steps and loads of vendors you have to wade through. If you just gotta have that photo of your wife trying to hold up the tower, like 50-60 others are doing continually, then you gotta go there. Florence, on the other hand, was great...wish we had more time. Dan Brown's recent book, "Inferno," takes place all over that city, if you are a fan. Read it on the way over. If you are in Barcelona, another of his books, "Origin," takes place in several Gaudi structures, including the La Sagrada Familia. We had this cruise as the first of a B2B with a WBTA...we felt the next cruise was truly a vacation from our first vacation. Best of luck!!

 

[fredandkell]

We never used our jackets last July on our Med cruise, but we did use them in Switzerland afterward. The Med was hot, hot, hot! You didn’t say if you are traveling with children, but one thing that was helpful to us especially for the Rome day was to dress each member of our family in a very bright neon colored shirt. It was extremely crowded so this helped us assess where everyone was at all points in time. Also battery operated handheld fans were very useful, especially at the Cannes stop, it was the hottest of the trip. My husband and son both had the Boy Scout type pants where the bottom can zip off to make shorts so that was helpful for entering churches. My daughter and I wore Capri pants and had no problems getting in churches with them. I would recommend reading the trip reports of Mediterranean cruises at the top of this forum, there are several super helpful ones. Oh one more packing tip, I recommend bringing half plus one of the number of outfits for the days you were going to be gone. For example, we were gone 12 days on our trip last year and each person brought seven outfits. That gives you one to wear on the day you are doing laundry in the middle.

 

[aggiedog]

The Med is hot. Like surface of the sun hot. LOL I'm from Texas and no stranger to the heat, but man was it hot. Pack clothes that will wick moisture, a good sun hat, and comfortable shoes for lots of walking/standing. Pickpockets can be bad in Rome, make sure your bag is secure, valuables kept close (money belt for passports or leave them on the ship), limited items in exterior pockets, etc. Either bring an outfit for every day or plan on laundry. You will almost certainly not want to wear the same outfit twice without washing.

 

[Kellycanada]

Bring shoe spray- my kids sandals stunk from the high temperatures. It was over a 100 degrees (42 C) when we were in Rome and Naples. If you have kids, the mighty like Gladiator school. We toured the coliseum first and then headed there. We didn’t go to Florence as it was a long day of traveling with kids. We hopped the train and went to the last village of Cinq de Terre and spent the day sailing from village to village. It was beautiful and the kids loved it as there were swimming stops.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

It will be warm in port, but I found the ship to be cold and almost always wore a hoodie on the ship. Also, make sure that you bring something to cover your knees and shoulders if you tour ports, you will most likely visit a cathedral. I went in July and found that lightweight travel moisture wicking capris to work great for touring.

 

[cedricandsophie]

As others have said it’s very warm. Capris are fine with a top with sleeves if you are visiting churches. Don’t be the ugly American who thinks they can wear shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt.

We have been on several med cruises. Personally I would never do early dining. If you go off ship it tends to be a long day. The last thing I want personally is to get back and have to rush to dinner. We much prefer late dining. I usually don’t even go to the 630 show anymore but my husband still loves them. He has rushed off to the show still in his day wear and then comes back to the room to shower and clean up for dinner.

Also the European cruises tend to be dressier at night. There are more Europeans on the cruises and they dress much nicer than a lot of us. My husband always brings a tux or at least a suit for formal nights. And also a sport coat to wear to Palo. I don’t wear a formal dress but I do bring sparkly tops and good jewelry for formal night plus nice heels. And the rest of the time I tend to wear stuff I would wear to a cocktail party. Of course you can wear what you want and there are lots of people that dress very casual every night. We like dressing up.

 

[anjuan]

I was on the Med cruise the first week in June last year. It was warm but I definitely would say it was NOT surface of the sun hot for us. Maybe we were just lucky with gorgeous weather but it was in the high 70s low-mid 80s for most of the cruise. So I definitely say the weather depends on when you go. I would definitely bring along at least one jacket. As others have said this can be especially helpful onboard the ship at times because the dining rooms and other locations on the ship can be cooler.

Because this is a 7 day cruise you do have the formal and semi-formal nights but I didn't find that people were super dressed up on the other nights. We had first seating and there were a couple of days that we (and others) didn't have time to change for dinner after we returned from our excursions. But it wasn't a big deal at all.

If you do have first seating and know you have a longer excursion it is nice to give your servers a heads up that you might be later to dinner. But they're really used to that on this cruise. They were so flexible with first seating so I was glad that I had kept it since I had thought about trying to switch to second seating. I ended up going to bed earlier on this cruise because I was so tired from the excursions and the last thing I would have wanted to do was to try to go to sleep with a full stomach right after dinner. So the first seating worked out well for us.

 

[kiford]

We have been on a Med cruise in early July. Our September one was hot but July was something entirely different. Forty degrees in Rome, 42 in Turkey (Celsius, obviously). Fortunately, I had anticipated this and brought a larger number of short-sleeved and no-sleeved tops than I normally would. Unless I was planning to do laundry (which I don't on vacation), I would definitely not be wearing anything a second time. We changed at least twice a day - once as soon as we got back from our tour and then again for dinner. So be prepared for either more clothing or doing laundry. Few places in Europe have air conditioning other than the buses so it's almost impossible to escape until you're back to the ship. Even on the previous early September cruise, it was still in the low-30's in Rome (80+ Fahrenheit) and high humidity. And with lack of access to occasional AC unless you're on a bus, even the "cooler" temperatures can be hot. This also makes the contrast after dark sometimes a little chilly and no matter what temperature the air is, when that ship is sailing, it can still be breezy and chill on deck. I also find the theatres like the Arctic unless it's full of people producing heat. So, yes, I bring a jacket/fleece/sweater and wrap for dinner.

Regardless of the temperatures, we always wore long pants in port. Europeans aren't much for shorts so you really stand out and you can't go into the churches. If you want to go into a nicer place to eat when in port, long pants - even khakis - just look a little better. I usually have lightweight linen or knit pants or khakis/cotton pants which also prevents my legs from sunburn. Often they are made from UV protective materials so I don't even need to worry about putting sunscreen on my legs. I might wear shorts and capris on the ship but not in port when I don't know when I will be able to get out of the sun. Hats and sunglasses are a must. Dark hair in 80+ F temperatures in a sunny climate is at best uncomfortable and at worst asking for heat stroke. And the comfort of preventing sun in your eyes even if you're wearing sunglasses is not to be overstated. When it's that hot and/or humid and you have sun on your head and in your eyes and you're having to constantly squint can give you a headache in no time flat.

Bring refillable water bottles. Usually DCL tours will provide a bottle of water either before or after the tour but you really want to have one with you. Some places - museums especially - won't allow you to bring bottles in with you, or if you do, they have to be emptied first. On our Italy trip last year, I bought the bladder style bottles with a carabiner on them. Made it much easier to carry especially as you emptied them and they didn't get in the way when we were in museums. We found lots of places to refill them.

 

[Travel60]

As mentioned in a couple of posts, Europeans dress better than many of us. Shorts are for sports or the beach. White tennis shoes are laughed at as "marshmallows". And there are the rules for churches and some other places. You can, of course dress as you please but I preferred not to be so obviously American. (For security reasons if nothing else).

It can be hot. Linen pants and lightweight dresses (at least knee length) work well. Carry a shrug or lightweight jacket if wearing sleeveless.

Pickpocketing is an art form...consider using one of those bags that hang around neck UNDER your shirt and only carry a credit card and your passport.

Rather than sneakers, I wore rubber-soled walking type shoes - Clark's, Grasshoppers, etc.

Have a great trip!

 

[tlprice]

We did the DCL Med cruise last June. We were in the Med. from June 13-26. It was not super hot anywhere really. Monaco was the hottest. Pompeii was quite warm, but not really hot. It rained 2 of the days we were in Rome. I think June probably isn't quite as bad as later in the summer.

 

[Clare]

I was on the Med cruise the first week in June last year. It was warm but I definitely would say it was NOT surface of the sun hot for us.

We did the DCL Med cruise last June. We were in the Med. from June 13-26. It was not super hot anywhere really. Monaco was the hottest. Pompeii was quite warm, but not really hot. It rained 2 of the days we were in Rome. I think June probably isn't quite as bad as later in the summer.

I'm SO glad to hear you both say this!!! Some reports were scaring me, but I'm hopeful that by cruising on June 1 it will be slightly less surface-of-the-sun-like!

 

[Kellycanada]

My husband and son wore golf shorts and golf shirts in Italy and they were fine. My daughter and I just wore sun dresses. We all wore nice walking sandals. Most people wore shorts on the excursions. Just make sure your shoulders are covered for church visits. We put 2 silk scarves in our purse for church visits.

 

[sunmoon620]

Many churches in Europe require that shoulders and knees be covered in churches. FYI! Have a great time....the Med is beautiful! I'm from Louisiana so the heat was normal to us...LOL!