Up next in 10
What are the best cruises to go on month by month? I explore the top cruises to do in each month of the year, and discuss why that month is the best time to cruise to that destination. The very top and best cruise itineraries by month to get the most of the places you want to visit.
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY:
Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
Booking your next cruise with CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise
WATCH THESE POPULAR RECENT VIDEOS:
10 Cabins to Avoid: https://youtu.be/PgTGLma919A
European River Cruise Watch-Outs: https://youtu.be/oqhz54wStyk
5 Cruises To Avoid: https://youtu.be/CNiPzK4IRWA
Alaska Cruise Need-to-Knows: https://youtu.be/Tn7dpNw5kSI
Things Cruise Lines Don’t Want You to Know: https://youtu.be/cs5UKha9ALc
Rules Passengers Break Most: https://youtu.be/djZLZ3XV_f0
Things You Can’t Do On A Cruise Any More: https://youtu.be/zas6F4wMD0Q
Should You Pay Cruise Gratuities: https://youtu.be/QBYzqxXjEXQ
Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 77 cruises at time of making this video.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
what are the best cruisers to do
0:02
month-by-month across the air
0:05
I'm Gary this is another of my
0:07
cruising tips for travelers I want to
0:09
share with you my recommendations my
0:11
tips on what cruise I really think you
0:14
should do month by month based on the
0:16
best time to visit a destination so
0:18
that's first of all acknowledge that
0:20
there are two fundamental cruisers that
0:22
you can do largely speaking all year
0:24
round so that's the Caribbean and the
0:26
Mediterranean the two biggest cruising
0:28
destinations in the world the Caribbean
0:30
season it really sort of runs from
0:33
around about October time through to
0:35
about March April time that's the real
0:37
peak of the season then the
0:39
Mediterranean season kicks in from about
0:41
April time and runs through to about
0:43
September October time a lot of cruise
0:46
lines will shift their ships between
0:48
those two regions so those are the times
0:50
the year when you can pretty much go to
0:51
the two biggest and most popular
0:53
cruising destinations but what should
0:55
you really be doing month by month so
0:57
let's start with January in January it's
1:00
a great time to head to the southern
1:02
hemisphere because that's the summer
1:04
season the thing that I like to do in
1:06
January is really focus on South America
1:09
and Panama because although it is quite
1:11
hot and quite sticky at that time of the
1:13
year it's great weather there's lots of
1:16
options so you get lots of choices and
1:18
it's a brilliant time of the year to see
1:20
South America the great parts of South
1:22
America can head right down to the low
1:24
parts of South America and certainly you
1:27
can do the whole area of Central America
1:29
and particular can transit or you'll
1:31
find many cruises that go part of the
1:33
way through the Panama Canal so really
1:34
focus on cruises in the southern
1:36
hemisphere February is actually my
1:39
favorite time of the year to go to the
1:41
Caribbean for a couple of reasons
1:42
first of all because it's still great
1:44
weather you're gonna have really nice
1:45
weather it's not too crazy hot but
1:47
really importantly it's past the busy
1:48
hectic period so this koala of capacity
1:51
still in the Caribbean you'll get great
1:53
deals there's lots of choice but it's
1:54
not manically busy so you'll find the
1:56
ports are not busy the destinations the
1:59
beaches aren't crazy busy and it's lots
2:01
of choice really great prices so
2:02
February is a great great time to head
2:04
to the Caribbean so if you're not
2:06
restricted because of kids and holidays
2:08
pretty much all the schools all those
2:10
kind of things are not out and
2:12
you also have quite a great adult
2:14
cruising period so if every is a great
2:16
time to go to the Caribbean March is a
2:19
fantastic time if you want to go much
2:21
further afield and head down to
2:22
Australia and New Zealand it's the end
2:25
really of the peak Australian period so
2:28
you'll find particular as I mentioned
2:30
early because it's the southern
2:31
hemisphere so January February time is
2:34
really busy lots of Australians go crazy
2:36
at that time it's great weather but in
2:37
March the way there's still great
2:39
there's still a lot of choices you can
2:40
do a lot of cruises around Australia
2:43
parts of Australia the circumnavigations
2:45
Australia cruises include New Zealand
2:47
and Australia it's a great time to go
2:49
there's still color of choice prices
2:51
aren't completely crazy and you get to
2:53
see beautiful sights without the big
2:55
busy peak summertime in Australia and
2:58
New Zealand so if you want to travel
2:59
further afield it's a great time to go
3:02
and also increasingly you're finding
3:03
more and more cruise lines are moving
3:06
ships to Australia to cover this time of
3:08
the year the whole peak period and so
3:12
you're gonna find lots and lots of
3:13
different brands and lots of lots of
3:14
choice you'll often find a roundabout
3:17
this time you're just gonna catch parts
3:20
often of cruise lines passing through
3:22
Australia on their extended voyages and
3:25
their world voyages you will need to go
3:26
much earlier though in the March period
3:29
to really catch those but lots and lots
3:31
of choice April is another great time to
3:35
go somewhere exotic and one of the
3:37
fastest-growing areas is Japan and I've
3:39
cruised to Japan at this time of the
3:41
year the reason for April it's when the
3:42
cherry blossoms and all the blossoms
3:43
come out and it is a very beautiful time
3:46
of the year to go and see Japan it's
3:48
getting a bit warmer because of course
3:49
it's heading into springtime it's still
3:50
not massively warm but it's absolutely
3:52
beautiful you're gonna find lots and
3:54
lots of festivals around the blossom
3:56
time getting increasingly more and more
3:58
choice because it is a really popular
4:00
time the downside is it will be
4:02
relatively expensive because loads of
4:04
people want to cruise Japan at this time
4:05
of the year and there's lots of people
4:07
also on land-based vacations so places
4:08
are really busy if you are thinking of
4:10
going to Japan one key watch out is you
4:14
have Golden Week which is normally
4:15
around April 29th to May the fifth this
4:18
is a time when there's lots of holidays
4:19
lots of travel so you want to avoid that
4:21
time because it is a little bit crazy
4:23
but certainly
4:24
it's a magnificent place to go cruising
4:26
in Japan is a great way to go to Japan
4:29
for the first time because although
4:31
actually once you're there you'll find
4:32
getting around even though you don't
4:33
speak the language the Japanese people
4:35
are very welcoming they're very calm
4:38
they were kind and you'll find on all
4:41
the key place you want to go to that
4:42
they do cater for tourists but it's a
4:43
great way of going to Japan for the
4:45
first time and if you're going to go go
4:47
in April when you get all the blossom it
4:49
is absolutely beautiful in Japan at this
4:51
time of the year what is my tip for May
4:54
well may for me is a last command it's
4:56
really the beginning of the season the
4:58
season in Alaska really runs from about
4:59
May to October May is normally when you
5:02
get the least amount of rain I really
5:04
like going a May for a couple of reasons
5:05
it's the beginning of the season so
5:07
places aren't still crazy because you
5:09
know Alaska it's really really busy
5:11
prices tend to be a little bit better
5:13
and as I mentioned you have a great
5:15
chance of having good weather now some
5:17
people don't like to go in May because
5:18
you don't get as much wildlife the
5:20
wildlife really tends to come out to the
5:22
Bears etc once the whole salmon season
5:24
starts so you're probably gonna see less
5:26
wildlife but you are gonna still see the
5:28
great sights and it is less busy it's
5:31
the beginning the season everyone's
5:32
invigorated and enthusiastic in the
5:34
towns they're not sort of worn down but
5:36
all the hordes of course in May in
5:37
Alaska it's not going to be as warm it
5:39
is later but if you're going to ask
5:40
you're not really going for the warmth
5:43
you're going for the beautiful scenery
5:45
what about June now in June if you want
5:49
to be really exotic and goes somewhere a
5:51
little bit on the pricey side but
5:53
absolute magnificent June is the month
5:55
to go to Tahiti and the French
5:57
Polynesian islands it is beautiful at
5:59
this time of the air you're heading into
6:01
the dryer time of the year so you less
6:03
likely to have rain we went in June no
6:05
friends of ours had gone in May all
6:06
their pictures are pretty gray we went
6:08
in June and we had beautiful beautiful
6:09
weather once you head into July and
6:12
August time the title in the French
6:15
polygen Island gets really busy because
6:16
it's school holiday time lots of French
6:18
people particularly to go a lot of
6:19
people from the west coast of the US
6:23
light to go you'll find lots of weddings
6:25
take place so it is a much busier so
6:27
June is a great time to go less rain
6:29
beautiful scenery and less busy really
6:32
really great if you don't want to go
6:34
somewhere quite as exotic as Tahiti you
6:37
want to go
6:37
somewhere that's perhaps a little bit
6:39
more affordable look at the
6:41
Mediterranean
6:41
because June is a great time to get the
6:43
Mediterranean it's getting warm and it's
6:46
before the manic manic holiday period do
6:49
not go to the Mediterranean July and
6:50
August it's crazy crazy busy so June is
6:53
a good time although I actually have
6:55
coming up a even better month to go but
6:57
certainly June is a good month because
6:59
the Mediterranean particularly one or
7:00
more adult focused cruise because it's
7:02
not holiday time for all the schools and
7:05
universities and colleges what about
7:08
July now July is the time in my view to
7:11
go to the Norwegian fjords the season
7:13
for the fuels is pretty similar to the
7:16
Alaska season it runs really from around
7:18
about April May time until sort of
7:20
September October time now you can also
7:22
go to Norway in winter if you want to go
7:24
for you know the snow and snow related
7:28
activities your dog slaying reindeer
7:29
slaying ice hotels and you want to head
7:31
right up much further and perhaps get a
7:33
chance of seeing the Northern Lights in
7:35
the Arctic Circle but if you want to go
7:37
for just the scenery of the beauty of it
7:39
July is a great time to go the
7:40
temperatures are much warmer and the
7:43
scenery is beautiful also you get the
7:44
very long days so as you cruise through
7:47
the fuels right into the night you have
7:50
beautiful scenery around you and long
7:52
long days it is a busy time of the year
7:54
because it's holiday time but out on a
7:57
cruise of course the magic of seeing the
8:00
fjords is actually cruising through the
8:01
fjords so you do avoid a lot of the
8:03
crowds the crowds will come much more
8:04
when you're in the cities and towns and
8:06
you head out on your excursions but
8:07
definitely July's a fantastic time to go
8:10
to really see the beauty of the
8:12
Norwegian fjords and Norwegian fjords is
8:15
a bit like Alaska it's one of those
8:16
cruises that you must do at some point
8:18
in your life what about August now
8:21
August is peak holiday time so you're
8:23
probably gonna run avoid the really busy
8:25
places however there is one place it
8:28
will be busy but it is absolutely
8:30
magical and again it's one of those
8:32
places you probably want to have on your
8:33
list of things to do Iceland I've been
8:36
on two cruises now to Iceland both of
8:38
those in August and the weather is a
8:40
little bit unpredictable one time I went
8:42
it was pretty sunny not massively warm
8:44
but pretty sunny the other time it was
8:45
more overcast and cold but it's the best
8:48
time of the year to go again you have
8:50
longer days
8:51
it is very busy but you do get to see
8:53
the magnificence of isolate I send it
8:56
them really strange unusual place from a
8:59
landscape scenery story point of view
9:02
you see incredible things with you know
9:04
Jesus phenomenal waterfalls and it's a
9:06
beautiful time of year to go it really
9:08
is at its most beautiful in August so
9:10
avoid the craziness of the Mediterranean
9:13
or the craziness perhaps even of the
9:14
Caribbean although you're heading into
9:15
hurricane season but it's still a really
9:17
busy time and consider cruising to
9:19
Iceland if that doesn't appeal to you of
9:22
course if you decide it's cool holidays
9:23
and you really want to go somewhere warm
9:24
and hot of course the Mediterranean is a
9:26
great place to go at this time of the
9:28
year but it is going to be more
9:30
expensive and really really busy so if
9:31
you want to go somewhere exotic Iceland
9:33
is the one to consider now in September
9:36
there are probably two key
9:37
recommendations for September the big
9:39
one is Canada and New England this is
9:42
becoming more and more popular and
9:43
you're heading into autumn time and a
9:45
lot of people like to head to Canada New
9:47
England on these kind of cruises at this
9:49
time of year because it's when you start
9:51
to get the beautiful foliage so it is a
9:53
little bit more chilly but you do get to
9:55
tour some of the big cities whether it's
9:57
Ottawa or Montreal places like that when
10:00
it's not as hot and stickier as it is in
10:02
the summer so you get to see those when
10:04
it's less busy but you do get to see the
10:06
beautiful beautiful scenery and
10:07
certainly that's one of the cruises that
10:09
really sticks in my mind is a very
10:11
beautiful place to go
10:13
the downside of going to Canada New
10:14
England September editors tend to be a
10:16
little more expensive than going in
10:17
October but October 8th at the end of
10:19
the season in September is really when
10:21
it's still I think a good balance of not
10:24
too cold beautiful scenery but it was
10:27
gonna cost you slightly more than if you
10:28
wait a little bit later in the season
10:30
October for me is the absolute best time
10:33
to go to the Mediterranean particularly
10:35
on the cruises superb between Venice and
10:37
Athens the temperatures are going to be
10:39
early 20 degrees Celsius it's normally
10:41
very sunny but the places are not crazy
10:43
busy its kind of post season but
10:46
everything's still open everything's
10:48
still buy these things are still going
10:49
and you can still you know fine you can
10:52
go to the beach or swim if that's the
10:53
kind of thing you want to do but it's a
10:55
really great time to go it's just before
10:57
the ships sort of head away mostly to
10:59
the Caribbean and I've had a fantastic
11:01
times in the Mediterranean in October
11:04
good weather and not crazy busy not
11:07
crazy expensive tours aren't really
11:09
crazy the places you go to visit aren't
11:10
crazy busy and really I strongly
11:13
recommend if you don't have kids you
11:14
have taught about school holidays
11:15
October is a great time to go there's
11:17
still a lot of choice because very few
11:19
of the cruise lines will have moved
11:20
their ships out of the Mediterranean so
11:22
there's lots of choice prices tend to be
11:23
pretty good but think a lot about that
11:25
Venice to Athens leg it really is quite
11:27
magnificent at this time of year I've
11:29
done that a couple of times and we can
11:31
recommend it very very strongly November
11:33
is another great month to go to the
11:35
Caribbean after February November is my
11:37
other key time that I would look at
11:40
going to Caribbean for very similar
11:41
reasons to the February however if you
11:44
really want to do something really
11:45
exotic very special or
11:46
once-in-a-lifetime Antarctica in
11:48
November is a fantastic time to go it's
11:51
the beginning of the season it's really
11:52
starts up towards the end of October
11:53
beginning of November it's at its most
11:55
pristine so all the places you call
11:57
we've had almost nobody calling on them
12:00
you know right through the whole winter
12:02
period there's gonna be lots of ice
12:03
around and it really is quite benders
12:06
and the weather's a little bit more
12:07
unpredictable than a little bit late in
12:08
the season the peak is really December
12:10
time December is a very very expensive
12:12
time to go to Antarctica November at the
12:14
start of the season it's a great time to
12:16
go it's also when a lot of the wildlife
12:18
are starting to have their chicks so if
12:20
you go on one of those longer tours
12:21
which include things like the Falklands
12:23
or South Shetland Islands you're going
12:24
to see lots of very young chicks etc
12:27
it's not the best time for whale
12:29
watching that tends to be a little bit
12:30
late in the season more sort of January
12:32
February but it is a magnificent time
12:34
it's where you're going to see their nod
12:36
to get the most pristine of course as I
12:38
mentioned if you don't want to go to the
12:40
whole extravagance of that article
12:41
because you probably only go there maybe
12:43
once in your life the Caribbean at this
12:45
time of year is a really great option if
12:47
you want to go something a little bit
12:48
more affordable and of course one so
12:51
what about December well one of the most
12:52
fantastic things to do in December is
12:54
embrace the whole festive season and go
12:57
on a river cruise take advantage of the
12:59
fact that most River cruise lines in
13:01
Europe and now doing river cruises
13:03
focused on the Christmas markets these
13:05
are really fun cruises they do some from
13:07
five days up to seven days it's cold of
13:10
course it's chilly but it's a
13:11
magnificent time of the year that
13:12
fantastic and famous Christmas markets
13:15
definitely I would say river cruising in
13:16
December
13:17
it's cold it's chilly but it's brilliant
13:20
into the whole festive period and fest
13:23
at a time but of course if you don't
13:24
want to do the whole Christmas market
13:26
cold thing two things to take a look at
13:27
if you're based in Europe take a look at
13:29
some of the Christmas cruises or winter
13:31
cruises which go down to the Canary
13:33
Islands did a lot of them selling out of
13:35
the UK or parts of Europe it's not going
13:37
to be massively warm in the Canary
13:38
Islands but you might get temperatures
13:40
in the day between sort of 18 degrees
13:42
Celsius after the early 20th degrees
13:43
Celsius and of course if you are more US
13:46
bechamel and look at the Caribbean
13:47
you're just going to be expensive time
13:49
it is going to be a busy time but it's
13:50
absolutely the most beautiful time
13:52
weather-wise tear off to the Caribbean
13:54
those are my tips across the year for
13:57
what I think are the absolute best
13:58
cruises to do of course cruise at any
14:01
time of the year is a great thing to do
14:02
hope you found those tips helpful
14:04
remember have loads more of cruising
14:05
tips and advice so why don't you watch
14:07
another one of those videos right now
#Travel & Transportation
#Cruises & Charters
#Tourist Destinations
#Travel Guides & Travelogues