Western Caribbean in Oct..Good time to sail?

[cmlmich]

We are booked to sail this Jan. on the Valor but we have to move it and we are thinking about mid Oct. I have heard that it is a bad time to sail because of hurricane season....has anyone sailed then and would you sail around that time again??

 

Thanks

[tiggerman101]

I have gone Western two years in a row in mid/late October. It really is a crap shoot. It is still Hurricane season, but aside from that it is just storm season in general for the area. Last year was on the Valor and it was nasty weather for the first half of the cruise. This year we did the Freedom all the way down to Panama and had great weather. The week after was really bad though. I have another cruise booked for next October to Aruba so it obviously doesn't bother me too much.

[firefly333]

Well with all the Ida talk, and its Nov, you know why Oct is cheap its a gamble as the other poster said. I cruised once Halloween week and had 25 ft waves, but it was fine if you were not prone to getting seasick... others have calm weather like we had this year end of Sept ... who can predict. Nice time this year, perfect.

[Kurbanfan]

I wouldn't sail in Oct........I don't care how cheap it is........I like to cruise for the ports........

But I would cruise in Jan in a heartbeat.......

[bumbles]

We are booked to sail this Jan. on the Valor but we have to move it and we are thinking about mid Oct. I have heard that it is a bad time to sail because of hurricane season....has anyone sailed then and would you sail around that time again??

 

Thanks

 

We just sailed the western (jamaica & grand cayman) the first week in November and the weather was gorgeous - we hit one small squall with light rain and some small waves...but other than that it was great. Had we left the Sunday we returned, it would have been a different story with Ida in the way of our cruise path! It's all a crap shoot...

[KruznKel]

Have sailed twice in Oct.. once mid and once beginning.. beautiful weather both times.. would not hesitate to sail again during that time.. infact we will be sailing the end of Oct 2011 on another of our group cruises;)

[Georgia Peach 4]

We went to St. Thomas & St. Maartin in October and it was great, warm enough to swim, but pleasant all the same. We have cruised in October the past 4 years. There has been one rain day at one port, Belize - we cancelled our excursion and that was that. We still had a great cruise. The ships usually go around bad weather, so your ports may change if it is really bad, but has not happened to us.

[oncruisecontrol]

We risk sailing during hurricane season only because we live 10 minutes from Port Everglades. That said, of the 6 times we cruised in either Sept. or Oct. (between 2002 and 2006; and once this year, 2009); we only had a problem once: in 2004; hurricane Jeanne cut 2 days off our voyage. Instead of departing on Saturday, we departed on Monday night because the airport in Ft. Lauderdale had been closed, thus more than half the cruiseship passengers were on delayed flights. This was not on Carnival. If I had to fly in during hurricane season, I'd be less willing to take the risk. However, weather is a crap shoot no matter where you are. Back in 2003, Iwas still living in Southern NJ, and was booked on the Paradise in Sept. The weather in Florida was fine, but the remnants of a hurricane were forcast to hit South Jersey the day I was to depart for Florida. I quickly changed my flight for two days prior to the original date. I was lucky, the airline did not charge me for the change because of the inclement weather that was approaching. I'm sure they wouldn't do that today----not with the way airlines nickel and dime people for everything.

[nlb1050]

We have sailed 3 times in Oct and never had any problems. One of the nicest things about cruising then is the evenings are nice and mild temps. Even though it is still hurricane season there are few hurricanes in Oct.

 

You have to remember that hurricanes can happen any month of the year and have, not just during season.

[vacruizer]

I would do it again but I am not a sun worshipper and rough seas don't phase me. We did a Halloween cruise a few years ago. Weather in the ports was beautiful - not terribly hot and very comfortable. A tropical storm had formed in the Eastern Caribbean, though, and while it didn't directly affect us we had lots of rain and clouds on our sea days and the ship rolled side to side a fair bit. It is a gamble and depends on what is important to you. You could luck out and have great weather but you could also have rough seas and miss ports. It just depends on whether or not that's ok with you. For me, the much cheaper rates offset any weather issues we might have.

[travelntreats]

Unless there is an oddity in the hurricane season, Mid Oct. is when the probablility of hurricane % chances start their downward trend.... I have sailed Early/Mid and Late Oct. and always had favorable weather for the most part in the western caribbean. Not to say that a brief storm cannot surface, but that is on par with caribbean weather.

 

I say go for it, the odds are more in your favor than you think, of having good if not great weather for the majority of your cruise !

[gone_cruisin]

I prefer it! I have been caught up in the hurricane season many times and had my itinerary changed many times. I'm always disappointed when I can't go to Grand Cayman, but don't mind when they replace it with something like Costa Maya.

 

The one (and only) time I cruised in February, I hated it! The seas were too rough and frankly too cold down in the islands. Key West actually had a high of 51 on that cruise.

 

I like my warm weather!!!!!!!!!!!!

[suzinva]

Both of my cruises were in early/mid October. They were great, a little rain on one but that's about it. As others have said, it's hurricane season. So, if you're wedded to particular ports, it's probably not the best choice for you because if there is a hurricane or tropical storm, they will change your itinerary. If you're flexible, though, it's not big deal.

 

Our next cruise is mid-September next year so obviously, it doesn't bother us :D

[tbogie]

We have cruised in October and November. Only problem was in October we missed Grand Cayman due to weather-not a hurricane, but a front moved in just as we dropped anchor and we had to leave. We just cruised in March 2009 and once again missed Grand Cayman due to a weather front. I would cruise anytime.

[Kurbanfan]

I prefer it! I have been caught up in the hurricane season many times and had my itinerary changed many times. I'm always disappointed when I can't go to Grand Cayman, but don't mind when they replace it with something like Costa Maya.

 

 

This is the reason I won't sail in Oct........I have heard this more often then not...........

[pokergirl34]

We were on the Valor from 10/25-11/1 and the weather was gorgeous. Very hot and humid in the ports of course but we were happy with no rain. Our friends were on the same itinerary 11/1-11/8 and they had terrible weather. In 3 out of 4 ports their excursions were canceled due to rain and lightening storms and they saw very little sun.

 

So basically, it is a crapshoot that time of year.