In May, you can travel with us to the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the Norwegian Fjords and Western Europe.

There are a few good reasons to book your cruise holiday for May. In the northern hemisphere, May approaches summer but stops short of being overly hot, which is great if you’re someone who likes warm weather and sunshine but melts if it’s any hotter. Since many travellers opt for the summer months to go on a cruise holiday, you're most likely to find that there are heavily reduced crowds in many destinations in May, freeing up spots at landmarks, hike trails and beaches. And another bonus – the reduced crowds mean that prices on shore during May are likely to be cheaper than in other months, sparing you a pretty penny or two.

In May, the Baltic chill eases into much more temperate climes, though you’ll still want to pack to keep warm. Here’s what we’d recommend packing:

• Layers
• Jumpers
• Long-sleeved tops
• Casual shirt and trousers/skirt or dress (for some evenings on board)
• Waterproof or water-resistant trousers
• Sunglasses and sunscreen with SPF
• Winter jacket
• Thermals
• Boots
• Winter accessories, e.g., scarves, hats and gloves
• Your dinner jacket, cocktail dress or ballgown (for our Black Tie evening)

Temperate but prone to change is how we’d describe the weather in the Baltic during May. With fairly warm highs of 17°C and six days of rainfall in Stockholm, lows can dip to 7°C. Warnemünde (in Germany) and Copenhagen have highs of 16°C, though Warnemünde has lows a degree higher at 9°C and a week’s worth of rainfall, and Copenhagen has six days of rainfall for the month. Klaipėda (in Lithuania) and St Petersburg clock in with identical highs and lows of 16°C and 7°C, and around a week’s worth of rain during May. Similarly, Tallinn expects six days of rainfall for the month of May, with respectable highs of 16°C and lows that can creep down to 5°C. With the same rainfall for the month and lows averaging 6°C, temperatures in Helsinki can reach 14°C.

In short – warm! In Turkey, highs reach a toasty 25°C while lows tend not to dip below 15°C, and only a day of rain is expected for May; the weather in Malta and Greece is pretty much the same, though the highs average 24°C, and Greece expects two more days of rain for May. There’s more rain in Italy in May, totalling five days for the month, while lows tend not to dip below 15°C and highs reach a respectable 23°C. With six days of rain, Croatia clocks in at 22°C and lows don’t tend to stray below 15°C. Gibraltar only has two days of rainfall for the month, with temperate lows of 16°C and highs of 22°C. Spain clocks in with highs of 22°C, lows of 14°C and six days of rainfall for the month.

In May, we travel to St Peter Port in Guernsey on a Western Europe holiday. For the month, average highs clock in at 15°C and lows at a cool 9°C, with eight days of rain for the month.

It depends what you like in a holiday! For sunshine, warmth and getting your tan on early, consider a cruise holiday to the Mediterranean with us. Or if springtime is your ideal holiday climate, perhaps you’d enjoy a Western Europe holiday. In May, the Norwegian Fjords are as picturesque as a postcard with green mountains parted by gleaming blue waters that seem to go on forever. The storybook beauty of the Baltic comes alive in May, so you might consider a cruise holiday with us there. 

In May, the weather in the Norwegian Fjords can be highly variable; expect sunshine, cool weather, light showers and breezes with bite. Because of this, we’d recommend packing:

• Layers
• Jumpers
• Long-sleeved tops
• Casual shirt and trousers/skirt or dress (for some evenings on board)
• Waterproof or water-resistant trousers
• Sunglasses and sunscreen with SPF
• Winter jacket/waterproof coat
• Thermals (if you run cold)
• Boots
• Your dinner jacket, cocktail dress or ballgown (for our Black Tie evening)

In May, summer is definitely starting to emerge; days grow longer and get much warmer, and in some regions it’s even t-shirt weather. We’d recommend packing the following:

• A light jumper
• Long-sleeved tops
• T-shirts
• Sunglasses
• Casual shirt and trousers/skirt or dress (for some evenings on board)
• Cover-up or similar, e.g., canvas trousers and loose-fitting tops (dark or bright colours are better at absorbing UV rays)
• A swimming costume/swim shorts
• Trousers
• Shorts
• Sunscreen with SPF
• Flip-flops or sandals
• A good book
• Walking shoes
• Your dinner jacket, cocktail dress or ballgown (for our Black Tie evening)

With fairly temperate climes that can become pleasantly warm, Western Europe in May is comparatively mild. We’d recommend packing:

• A light jumper
• Long-sleeved tops
• T-shirts
• Sunglasses
• Trousers
• Casual shirt and trousers/skirt or dress (for some evenings on board)
• Shorts
• Sunscreen with SPF
• Flip-flops or sandals
• A good book
• Walking shoes
• Your dinner jacket, cocktail dress or ballgown (for our Black Tie evening)

In May, the Norwegian Fjords tend to be temperate and mild with plenty of sunshine, though the weather can be quite variable. Olden clocks in with average highs of 17°C and lows of 6°C, and a total of eight days of rain for the month. With highs of 15°C and lows of 6°C for Geirangerfjord, the region experiences a week’s worth of rainfall for the month.

Similarly, Stavanger clocks in with average highs of 15°C, lows of 7°C and eleven days of rainfall for the month. Ålesund experiences around ten days of rain for the month, though with slightly cooler temperatures at highs of 11°C and lows of 6°C. Haugesund expects nine days of rain for the month, with respectable highs of 13°C and lows of 7°C.