We did a Venice to Athens cruise in late October, and everything we wanted to see was open. It was cool and rainy in some ports (especially Venice), but not so much that we couldn't walk around and enjoy ourselves.

We did a Celebrity cruise last year in late November and the weather was FANTASTIC. However, the cruise before ours had high winds, rain and horrible weather. It is a gamble. The payoff is much smaller crowds and more comfortable weather to sightsee.

KatGio is spot on, it is a gamble, but the rewards of less crowds can be an excellent draw. We went on the May 22 sailing of this same boat and itinerary. I enjoyed the itinerary immensely. I posted a commentary on CruiseCritic, and I'll feedback some excerpts here in a bit. On ething I can say that one of my favorite parts of our cruise was brakfast on the aft fantail on the 12th deck. i fhte wx is Ok it is jsut too wonderful, however, many folks who crusie on the Gem in march did have bad waether and they said that not having access to this one eating area seriously detracted from the trip. RU coming from the states or northern europe?

Specifically, the wx in the fall can run long streaks - you can get a streak of nice wx or a long streak of bad wx. Personally, I'd go for it if I were you. Depends on how risk adverse you are.

NCL gets a bit more of a bad rap than perhaps deserved for nickle and dime tactics - it was an annoyance but only just that, to me. I thought the overall poor beverage service was a problem, food was great, and the staff was, at least in May, very, very good. They had a particularly well run exercise room. We liked all the stops. Mykonos is very lovely and Delos is highly recommended - but many have noted that is one excursion where weather can be really a problem as the wind and cause the surf to kick up. In Split you can catch a cab to the roman ruin area called "Salona" - not well developed, so unspoiled in some ways - signage there was most informative.

I cruised last Nov. & brought a coat that became cumbersome as I only needed a light jacket in the Med.

Thanks for all the replies. We have however decided to do the route to the Canary Islands

Go only if the price is really, really, really good and if missing one or more stops won't disspoint you terribly. A Nov cruise in the Med is a BIG gamble. It is no wonder the ancient traders of the region stopped sailing the Med in early October....