Cruising in January

[ManyMore]

We are looking to cruise on the Destiny in January for my 50th (ouch) birthday. I have cruised 19 times but never in the winter. Is it worth getting a balcony cruising out of Miami in the winter? I know this past winter was unusual for Florida and that after the first night you are probably far enough south that it would be much warmer, what do you do?

[firefly333]

I think you could lay out, but there might be days its too cold to swim. Folks go to Florida in the winter in droves, we call them snow birds ... they go to swim because its too hot in the summer, but perfect in the winter. Mid Feb is the high point, and January a close second.

 

Id say it should be perfect more than likely.

 

btw I cruised on Caribbean Princess late January out of Ft. Lauderdale and there was one day too cool to swim (the day we went to the private beach unfortunately so I lost my excursion, as I wasnt going into the water) ... but the other days its was in the 80s).

 

I cruise from Galveston in January and stayed on the beach last January, and loved walking along the beach, but the water was a bit too cool. I love January cruising.

[ManyMore]

Thanks Fire. It's good to know there are people out there who like to cruise in January and the weather can still be warm. I'm not much into the pool or water at the beach, so long as I am not wearing a jacket the whole cruise lol There is a reason I don't cruise to Canada lol

[Luluwa]

We've cruised in January and have another one already booked.

As you get further South it's very nice on the balcony and although I don't swim in the winter I do walk the beach and do a bit of wading. ;)

[seguincruiser]

We are booked on the Destiny for Jan 24, 2011. If you end of with this choice come join our roll call. We have an OS booked and will be our first balcony. Coming from MN if its cold we'll have our winter jackets with us so will still enjoy our balcony.:D

[amready]

The balconey definitely will get used. I just wrap up in the robe that Carnival provides.

[Magic City Cruiser]

We cruised from Coz and Progreso around the end of January 2009. We sailed out of New Orleans. The sea days were comfortable. I sit in the sun but don't frequent the pool unless it's really hot so I can't say if the water was comfortable. We snorkeled with a shorty in Coz and was quite comfortable. Okay, so the tequila helped;). Progreso was windy and partly cloudy but around noon when the sun came out it was glorious!

You asked about a balcony, though, and as most of the trip will be down Mexico way, I'd say you have a great chance at having many a pleasant hour on your balcony in January!

[happy cruzin]

We are looking to cruise on the Destiny in January for my 50th (ouch) birthday. I have cruised 19 times but never in the winter. Is it worth getting a balcony cruising out of Miami in the winter? I know this past winter was unusual for Florida and that after the first night you are probably far enough south that it would be much warmer, what do you do?

 

We usually book last week of January or first week of February and the weather has always been warm enough to sit out on deck - or our balcony when we sail from Florida.

 

Now....sailing from San Diego was another story :rolleyes:......

[jtm22372]

we had a balcony on the destiny this past jan. the only time it was cold was when we were leaving we had sweatshirts on .coming from ma where the temp was around 15 i'll take it

[Socref124]

We went on the Miracle out of Ft Lauderdale in Jan of this year and it was magnificent. It is, however, the first time I got on a ship with my leather jacket on:(. It was the coldest winter we have had in the 33 years I have lived in Florida. It was to cold to swim on embarkation day but was great the rest of the cruise. We try to cruise in Jan or Feb every year and have never had a problem with swimming or diving. In fact, last year we were diving in Cozumel in Feb and I did not wear a wet suit or skin, just my swim suit and a t-shirt.:D

[cruisinsly]

This past January was my first time to cruise in January. I would do it again. But, because of the horrible weather we had here in FL, it was extremely cold on the day we left. We were all in long pants, long sleeve shirts, jackets. After that first day, it was beautiful. We had a few days of rain, but it didnt last all day. We went snorkeling whilein Roatan and it was fine. The last sea day was a bad bad day. The sea's were rough and the ship had to slow down. We arrived back into Tampa almost two hours late. Like I said, it was really horrible weather. Usually we dont have weather like that. If all goes well, then we are looking at another cruise next January.

[mr. cruiser]

Most of our cruises have been in Jan and we have been lucky that we didn't hit any bad weather and always enjoy our balcony. We went out of L.A. a couple of times and it was cold both times and that wasn't even in Jan.:)

[ManyMore]

we had a balcony on the destiny this past jan. the only time it was cold was when we were leaving we had sweatshirts on .coming from ma where the temp was around 15 i'll take it

 

We are from Mass too so I know it will feel warm to us anyway lol but I'm still a wuss when it comes to the cold lol Some will be coming from Michigan.

 

We are looking at the Jan 20th sailing but with any luck I would love to turn it into a B2B for me if that is possible closer to cruise time. :rolleyes:

[golfadj]

Went to panama out of ft lauderdale this past feb.

 

First time we got on the ship in jackets.

 

Next morning and the rest of the trip we were in shorts.

[golfadj]

In feb we took the freedom out of ft lauderdale to panama.

 

Got on the ship wearing jackets but by the next morning we were in shorts.

Sorry double post

[SailinDude]

Took a cruise out of Miami January of this year. Just our luck we were there during "record" cold periods in Florida.

 

Arrived in Florida day before this cruise, 75 and sunny. Day of the cruise it was 55 and rainy. Coming from Illinois in January it was still 50 degrees warmer then at home, but it does put a damper on the cruise when you cant sit out on the lido deck under the sun with a cold beer.

 

Only stop that was to cold was Half moon cay, I think it was still 55 but it was cloudy and windy, as soon as we got more south into st. thomas, grand turk, and puerto rico it was warm and sunny.

 

Id cruise again in the winter, but you just take that chance of cold weather during the "winter" months.

[richbum]

We took a rccl cruise in January a few years ago out of Miami. I remember thinking about how warm it was in January (85 degrees). I am from Maine, and when we left home it was 6 degrees out! We have another one booked Jan 11. It really helps break up the cold winter. By the way, we always get a balcony, and spend quite a bit of time on it. We love it!:D

[ChefSusan]

It was unseasonably cold this past winter, and when we boarded Legend, we were in jackets, long sleeved shirts, and jeans! It was bitter cold when we were at sea that Monday, which meant that we could only enjoy the hot tub.

 

By the time we got to Grand Cayman Island, we were able to start to enjoy the Adults-only aft pool area.

 

This coming winter should NOT be as miserable as the past one. You may want to check the weather a couple of days before sailing, and pack at least one long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans just to sure.

 

Regardless, enjoy!

[Yvonne]

I have always cruised in January, except once. The only time we were really chilly was leaving Port Canaveral and when we got back, if Florida was having a colder-than-normal week. But the further South you go the better it gets. We spend a lot of time on our balcony, and in loungers by the pool. We're not beach people but for port excursions we are always able to wear shorts and t-shirts. The times we were at Disney's private island we did swim, the water felt fine to us, since we're from Michigan. :)

[bean-si]

We cruised out of Port Canaveral last Jan, and I have the pictures of us on the Serenity Deck in fleece jackets ( on a sea day) But that was a strange cold winter. The wind on the ship makes it feel colder. In port, we were fine with a sweater. so not swimming weather

[Upandadam]

We are looking to cruise on the Destiny in January for my 50th (ouch) birthday. I have cruised 19 times but never in the winter. Is it worth getting a balcony cruising out of Miami in the winter? I know this past winter was unusual for Florida and that after the first night you are probably far enough south that it would be much warmer, what do you do?

 

Three trips out of Miami in the winter, we've always had a balcony. Once it was raining lightly but always warm by our standards.

[skittl1321]

I can't help you with Miami, but for anyone else jus wondering in general about january cruising- we did the Mexican Riveria out of San Diego on Jan 1 a few years ago. In San Diego I alternated between fleece and no fleece all day long. On the ship, it was chilly on the decks due to the movement of the wind, but plenty of people still out sunning and swimming- I was in shorts/tank tops the whole time, but didn't stay out on the decks for a very long time.

 

Once in Mexico- the ports were fantastic, very warm. We swam in Acapulco and Zihuateneo, and would have in Manzanillo except we did a city type tour.

 

Except for the wind when the ship was sailing, it was quite warm, and I was able to completely forget the snow back home!