What are the best cruises to do
month by month across the year?
I'm Gary Bembridge, this is another
of my cruising tips for travellers
I want to share with you my recommendations,
my tips, on what cruise I really think
you should do month by month
based on the best time to visit a destination.
So let's first of all acknowledge
that there are two fundamental cruises that you can do
largely speaking, all year round
so that's the Caribbean and the Mediterranean,
the two biggest cruising destinations in the world.
The Caribbean season, it really sort of runs
from round about October time
through to about March, April time
that's the real peak of the season.
Then the Mediterranean season kicks in from about April time
and runs through to about September, October time.
A lot of the cruise lines will shift their ships
between those two regions
so those are the times of the year when you can pretty much
go to the two biggest and most popular cruising destinations
but what should you really be doing month by month?
So let's start with January.
In January, it's a great time to head to
the Southern Hemisphere because that's the summer season.
The thing that I like to do in January is really focus
on South America and Panama because although it's quite hot
and quite sticky at that time of the year
it's great weather,
there's lots of options so you get lots of choices,
and it's a brilliant time of the year
to see South America, the great parts of South America
and head right down to the lower parts of South America
and certainly you can do the whole area of Central America,
and particularly you can transit or you'll find many cruises
that go part of the way through the Panama Canal.
So really focus on cruises in the Southern Hemisphere.
February is actually my favourite time of the year to go
to the Caribbean for a couple of reasons,
first of all because it's still great weather,
you're going to have really nice weather
that's not too crazy hot.
But really importantly it's past the busy hectic period
so there's quite a lot of capacity still in the Caribbean
you'll get great deals, there's lots of choice
but it's not manically busy so you'll find
the ports are not busy, the destinations,
the beaches aren't crazy busy, and it's lot's of choice,
really great prices.
So February is a great, great time to head to the Caribbean.
So that you're not restricted because of kids and holidays
pretty much all the schools, all those kind of things
are not out and so you also have quite
a great adult cruising period.
So February is a great time to go to the Caribbean.
March is a fantastic time if you want to go much
further afield and head down to Australia and New Zealand.
It's the end really of the peak Australian periods
so you'll find tricky as I mentioned earlier,
because it's the Southern Hemisphere,
so January, February time is really busy
lots of Australians go cruising at that time.
It's great weather but in March, the weather's still great,
there's still a lot of choices you can do
a lot of cruises around Australia, parts of Australia,
the circumnavigations of Australia,
cruises include New Zealand and Australia.
It's a great time to go, there's still quite
a lot of choice, prices aren't completely crazy and you get
to see beautiful sights without
the big busy peak summer time in Australia and New Zealand.
So if you want to travel afield, it's a great time to go.
And also increasingly,
you're finding more and more cruise lines are moving ships
to Australia to cover this time of the year,
the whole peak period and so you're going to
find lots and lots of different brands
and lots of lots of choice.
You often find round about this time,
you're just going to catch parts often
of cruise lines passing through Australia,
on their extended voyages, and their world voyages
you will need to go much earlier though in the March period
to really catch those, but lots and lots of choice.
April's another great time to go somewhere exotic,
and one of the fastest growing areas is Japan
and I've cruised to Japan at this time of the year.
The reason for April it's when the cherry blossoms
and all the blossoms come out and it is
a very beautiful time of the year to go and see Japan.
It's getting a little bit warmer because of course
it's heading into springtime it's still not massively warm,
but it's absolutely beautiful
and you're going to find lots and lots of festivals
around the blossom time, getting increasingly more
and more choice because it is a really popular time.
The downside is it will be relatively expensive
because loads of people want to cruise Japan
at this time of the year and there's lots of people also
on land based vacations, so places are really busy.
If you are thinking of going to Japan, one key watch-out is
you have Golden Week, which is normally
around April 29th to May the fifth.
This is a time when there's lots of holidays,
lots of travel so you want to avoid that time period
because it is a little bit crazy
but certainly, Japan it's a magnificent place to go,
cruising in Japan is a great way
to go to Japan for the first time
because although actually once you're there,
you'll find getting around even though
you don't speak the language, the Japanese people
are very welcoming, they're very calm, they're very kind
and you'll find in all the key places you want to go to
that they do cater for tourists but it's a great way
of going to Japan for the first time.
And if you're going to go,
go in April when you get all the blossom.
It is absolutely beautiful in Japan
at this time of the year.
What is my tip for May?
Well May for me is Alaska month,
it's really the beginning of the season.
The season in Alaska really runs from about may to October.
May is normally when you get the least amount of rain.
I really like going in May for a couple of reasons,
it's the beginning of the season
so places aren't still crazy busy you know Alaska
it's really really busy.
Prices tend to be a little bit better and as I mentioned
you have a great chance of having good weather.
Now some people don't like to go in May,
because you don't get as much wildlife
the wildlife really tends to come out
like bears once the salmon season
starts, so you're probably going to see less wildlife
but you are going to still see the great sights
and it is less busy, it's the beginning
of the season and everyone's invigorated and enthusiastic
in the towns, they're not sort of worn down
by all the hordes.
Of course in May in Alaska, it's not going to be
as warm, it is later but if you're going to Alaska,
you're not really going for the warmth
you're going for the beautiful scenery.
What about June?
Now in June if you want to be really exotic
and go somewhere a little bit on the pricey side
but absolutely magnificent, June is the month to go
to Tahiti and the French Polynesian islands.
It is beautiful this time of the year
you're heading into the drier time of the year,
so you're less likely to have rain.
We went in June, you know, friends of ours had gone in May
all their pictures are pretty grey.
We went in June and we had beautiful, beautiful weather.
Once you head into July and August time, the Tahiti
and the French Polynesian island gets really busy
because it's school holiday time, the French people
particularly like to go, a lot of people from the West Coast
of the US like to go, you'll find lots
of weddings take place so it is much busier.
So June is a great time to go less rain, beautiful scenery
and less busy, really, really great.
If you don't want to go somewhere quite as exotic
as Tahiti, you want to go somewhere that's perhaps
a little bit more affordable,
look at the Mediterranean because June is a great time
to go to the Mediterranean, it's getting warm
and it's before the manic, manic holiday period,
do not go to the Mediterranean in July and August,
it's crazy, crazy busy so June is a good time although
I actually have coming up an even better month to go
but certainly June is a good month to go
to the Mediterranean particularly if you want a more
adult-focused cruise 'cause it's not holiday time
for all the schools and universities and colleges.
What about July?
Now July is the time in my view to go
to the Norwegian fjords, the season for the fjords
is pretty similar to the Alaska season it runs really
from round about April, May time until
sort of September, October time.
Now you can also go to Norway in winter if you want
to go for the snow and snow related activities
you know dog sleighing, reindeer sleighing, ice hotels
and you want to head right up much further
and perhaps get a chance of seeing the northern lights
in the Arctic Circle but if you want to go
for just the scenery, the beauty of it,
July is a great time to go.
The temperatures are much warmer
and the scenery is beautiful also you get a very long day
so as you cruise through the fjords, ride into the night,
you get a beautiful scenery around you and long long days.
It is a busy time of the year because it's holiday time
but out on a cruise of course the magic of seeing
the fjords is actually cruising through the fjords,
so you do avoid a lot of the crowds.
The crowds will come much more when you're in the cities
and towns and you head out on your excursions
but definitely, July's a fantastic time to go to really see
the beauty of the Norwegian fjords.
And Norwegian fjords is a bit like Alaska,
it's one of those cruises that you must do
at some point in your life.
What about August now?
August is peak holiday time, so you probably going to
want to avoid the really busy places.
However, there is one place it will be busy
but it is absolutely magical and again,
it's one of those places you probably want to have
on your list of things to do, Iceland.
I've been on two cruises now to Iceland,
both of those in August.
And the weather is a little bit unpredictable
one time I went It was pretty sunny,
not massively warm but pretty sunny, the other time
it was more overcast and cold but it's
the best time of the year to go, again you have longer days,
it is very busy but you do get to see
the magnificence of Iceland.
Iceland a really strange, unusual place
from a landscape scenery story point of view.
You see incredible things
with geysers, phenomenal waterfalls
and it's a beautiful time of the year to go
it really is at its most beautiful in August.
So avoid the craziness of the Mediterranean,
avoid the craziness perhaps even of the Caribbean
although you're heading into hurricane season,
but it's still a really busy time
and consider cruising to Iceland.
If that doesn't appeal to you of course,
if you decide it's school holidays and you really want to go
somewhere warm and hot, of course the Mediterranean
is a great place to go at this time of the year
but it is going to be more expensive
and really, really busy.
So if you want to go somewhere exotic,
Iceland is the one to consider.
Now in September, there are probably two key recommendations
for September, the big one is Canada and New England.
This is becoming more and more popular
and you're heading into autumn time and a lot of people
like to head to Canada and New England on these kind
of cruises this time of year because it's when you start
to get the beautiful foliage,
so it is a little bit more chilly but you do get
to tour some of the big cities whether it's Ottowa
or Montreal, places like that when it's not
as hot and sticky as it is in the summer
so you get to see those when it's less busy.
But you do get to see the beautiful, beautiful scenery.
And suddenly, that's one of the cruises that really sticks
in my mind as a very beautiful place to go.
But outside of going to Canada and New England in September,
it does tend to be a bit more expensive than going
in October but October is really the end of the season
and September is really when it's still, I think,
a good balance of not too cold, beautiful scenery
but it's going to cost you slightly more than if you wait
a little bit later in the season.
October for me is the absolute best time to go
to the Mediterranean, particularly on the cruises
that go between Venice and Athens.
The temperatures are going to be early 20 degrees Celsius,
it's normally very sunny but the places are not crazy busy,
it's kind of post a season, but everything's still open,
everything is still vibey, things are still going
and you can still find you can go to the beach
or swim if that's the kind of thing you want to do.
But it's a really great time to go, it's just before
the ships sort of head away mostly to the Caribbean
and I've had fantastic times in the Mediterranean
in October because good weather and not crazy busy,
not crazy expensive, tours aren't really crazy,
the places you go to visit aren't crazy busy
and really I'd strongly recommend if you don't have kids,
you don't have to worry about school holidays,
October's a great time to go there's still a lot of choice,
because very few of the cruise lines will have moved
their ships out of the Mediterranean so there's lots
of choice, prices tend to be pretty good.
But think a lot about that Venice to Athens leg,
it really is quite magnificent at this time of year
I've done it a couple of times and really can recommend
it very, very strongly.
November is another great month to go to the Caribbean.
After February, November is my other key time
that I would look at going to Caribbean
for very similar reasons to the February.
However, if you really want to do something really exotic,
very special, a once in a lifetime, Antarctica in November
is a fantastic time to go, it's the beginning of the season.
It's where it starts up towards the end of October,
beginning of November, it's at its most pristine
so all the places you call would have had
almost nobody calling on them
right through the whole winter period,
there's going to be lots of ice around and it really
is quite magnificent, the weather is a little bit
more unpredictable than a little bit later in the season,
the peak is really December time.
December is a very, very expensive time to go to Antarctica,
November at the start of the season,
it's a great time to go, it's also when a lot of
the wildlife are starting to have their chicks.
So if you go on one of those longer tours,
which include things like the Falklands
or South Shetland Islands, you're going to see lots
of very young chicks, et cetera.
It's not the best time for whale watching,
that tends to be a little bit later in the season
more sort of January, February time,
but it is a magnificent time, it's where you're going to see
the Antarctica at the most pristine.
Of course, as I mentioned, if you don't want to go
to the whole extravagance of Antarctica,
because you're probably going to go there
maybe once in your life, the Caribbean at this time of year
is a really great option if you want to go somewhere
a little bit more affordable and of course, warm.
So what about December?
Well, one of the most fantastic things
to do in December is embrace the whole festive season
and go on a river cruise, take advantage of the fact
that most river cruise lines in Europe are now doing
river cruises focused on the Christmas markets.
These are really fun cruises, they do some from five days
up to seven days it's cold of course it's chilly,
but it's a magnificent time of the year, the fantastic
and famous Christmas markets, definitely,
I would say river cruising in December it's cold,
it's chilly, but it's really a way of getting
into the whole festive period and festive time.
But of course, if you don't want to do
the whole Christmas market cold thing,
two things to take a look at if you're based in Europe,
take a look at some of the Christmas cruises
or winter cruises, which go down to the Canary Islands
a lot of them sailing out of the UK or parts of Europe.
It's not going to be massively warm in the Canary Islands,
but you might get temperatures in the day
between sort of 18 degrees Celsius
up to the early 20 degrees Celsius.
And of course, if you are more US-based,
you might want to look to the Caribbean.
It is going to be expensive time,
it is going to be a busy time but it's absolutely
the most beautiful time weather-wise
to head off to the Caribbean.
Those are my tips across the year for what I think
are the absolute best cruises to do, of course,
a cruise at any time of the year is a great thing to do.
Hopefully you found those tips helpful, remember
I have loads more of cruising tips and advice
so why don't you watch another one
of those videos right now.