Med cruise (specifically Italy) in August - too hot?

[OuiOuiMonAmi]

None of us do well with heat. Obviously it can get to 30+ in this area... has anyone been on a cruise here and found it too hot? I'm wondering if we could have a look around early in the morning, before the real heat of the day and then come back to the ship for pool/AC time etc (in fact, do cruise cabins usually have aircon?!) I'm looking at the ones that go to Italy mainly, not Greece, in case that makes a difference.

Depends on the cruise line but I’ve never been on one without aircon.
Have a look at what time it docks in each port (obviously you can’t get off until then!) so you can see if you can get off and go out early in the day.
I have done this type of cruise at that time of year, but I like the heat. It can get VERY hot on the pool deck when you are in port, much much better when you are at sea and can get some breeze.

Yes to aircon in the cabins and the ship as a whole. Going out early and coming back to (literally) chill later sounds a good plan. We weren't too hot last August anywhere from Rome to Sicily, and we have very different personal thermostats; DH doesn't like it too hot, whereas I seem to be a reincarnated reptile.

We did an Italy/Greece/Turkey one a couple of years ago. It was around 38° most of the time we were on shore. TBH it was fine, and I'm not a heat lover at all, at home if it goes much above 23° it's too hot, but I just accept I'll be boiling, adapt with lots of water (drinking fountains all over the place in Rome for example), don't do anything too strenous, wear hats, seek shade where you can and do go ashore early in the day .

All cruise cabins have a/c because it's also how they are heated.

My concern with a cruise in high summer would be that there are only so many cities you want to see in 35°C heat (especially for those at the typical centre of the cruise passenger age demographic), so many other people will be thinking exactly like you and aiming to spend most of the day on the ship. But the pool is usually small and there are not going to be enough sunbeds for a full complement of passengers.

The Med is always hot in summer. You will be fine on the ship but anywhere it stops will be very hot in August. It would be pretty pointless doing a cruise if you never get off the ship.

If you don't like heat, why not try a Baltic cruise instead?

It's not hot on the ship - if anything, the A/C can often be set a bit low for some people. It can be hot on the sundeck where the lobsters are found, but usually fine in the shade.

On shore, again, you do what the locals do and go in the shade if it is too hot. The one place that I have been to that was really hot and shadeless was Pompeii.

It depends where you are docked, but you usually can't just get off a ship when you feel like it.
e.g. Venice, you'll need to be tendered ashore; those paying for a guided tour have priority & the tender comes & goes at set times.

Did this last year, I prefer it 25 degrees max. but we all managed fine to be honest. Just have a siesta at the peak heat time on port days. When in port you’ll find plenty of shade, like a cafe near the leaing tower of Pisa. Some italian cities have big terrace roofs to create big shaded paths/walkways.

I think the worst for us was Corfu but even there we were ok as we didn’t go sit on a beach, we went shopping etc. in the little narrow streets and tall buildings.

We were fine with P20 sun spray in t-shirts even white water rafting and segway tours. We went off ship most days - get hats to protect your necks if you burn really easily.

30 degrees is mild for our part of Italy! I’d be expecting average temps of 35+ during the day. Where abouts on the Med? Huge difference between northern and southern Italy.

Yes, Pompeii was the worst heatwise as there's virtually no shade. We got on a very early tour for that one. You normally can come and go as you please, a few ports are tendered meaning you go on small boats but they do go back and forth all day. They have on ships we've been on anyway (Royal Carribbean). Some ports are a long way from their associated city though, such as Rome (about an hour away IIRC). Whereas Naples you just walk off the ship into the city.

We did Turkey/Greece/Italy on an August cruise and it was bloody boiling! We got it cheap for a reason I think! It was 43 degrees the day we did Pompeii and Olympia.

We went on a Baltic cruise last August. It was brilliant. The sea was flat calm. All the cities we stopped at were interesting and it was around 24° every day. The Åland Islands were a huge highlight.

Thanks, everyone! I think we'll give that one a miss then. Will look at Baltic ones instead.