Best time to cruise Caribbean??

[Sunshine required]

Hi there,

We are looking into a caribbean cruise for our honeymoon.:D (we have not set a date yet but probably June or August 2012) Can anyone suggest when its best to go to caribbean. I know nothing about when hurricane seasons are etc, etc.

We are looking to cruise on the Oasis of the Seas so any comments on this ship would be great, we would like it to be special obviously as its a special occasion but have cruised Royal Caribbean (Voyager of the Seas) before so maybe time to try something different??

Any comments appreciated!! :D

[PrincesScuba]

Hi there,

We are looking into a caribbean cruise for our honeymoon.:D (we have not set a date yet but probably June or August 2012) Can anyone suggest when its best to go to caribbean. I know nothing about when hurricane seasons are etc, etc.

We are looking to cruise on the Oasis of the Seas so any comments on this ship would be great, we would like it to be special obviously as its a special occasion but have cruised Royal Caribbean (Voyager of the Seas) before so maybe time to try something different??

Any comments appreciated!! :D

Any time is great - that's why it is such a successful vacation/tourist destination.

[danp]

When it is cool or cold in the UK and you want to enjoy the sun the time to go is in the winter months.That is when we go and will be sitting on a beach somewhere and say I wonder how cold it is at home LOL.

[melodieRN]

hurricane months are aug to oct but the cruise ships are pretty good of staying away from them even if they have to re-route.

[Sunshine required]

Ideally we would like to go in August but i'm very concerned about the hurricane season...

 

We would probably have a weeks cruise and then stay on at a resort for another week. So even if the cruise can re-route a hurricane we may still be affected at the resort.

 

What month would you ideally recommend?

[PrincesScuba]

May is a lovely month to get married AND to cruise. So is October. When you skip the summer months, the prices are lower both on land and sea.

[bigeagle12]

January through March are our favorite times. Actually June through December is hurricane season. I would recommend June .. but like previous poster they will re-route the cruise in the case of a hurricance. I would not hesitate to book a cruise any month of the year.

[Mr. Luckytoo]

Ideally we would like to go in August but i'm very concerned about the hurricane season...

 

We would probably have a weeks cruise and then stay on at a resort for another week. So even if the cruise can re-route a hurricane we may still be affected at the resort.

 

What month would you ideally recommend?

 

If you're REALLY worried about hurricane's and you can only do summer then go earlier like May or June.

 

You're more likely to encounter a hurricane in August-September.

 

If you come in February you won't have hurricane's but will sometimes get some chilly weather in Florida

[yogimax]

Seriously, the odds are highly against a hurricane having an impact. As someone has already said, "anytime"!

[Sunshine required]

Thank you all for your very helpful advice, apologies for my naivety with the hurricanes!

 

Unfortunately living in the UK, the best time to get married is in the summer months.

 

My friend is planning to get married in May 2012 so I dont really want to jump in there before her. June would be a possibility. Again ideally it would be August. I will have to speak to the other half and see what we think of June....

 

I have just noticed Allure of the Seas launches this year so by 2012 we may be better cruising on Allure rather than Oasis??

[cruiselvr04]

I would avoid August and September just because it is the height of hurricane season. The ships do avoid the storms but your ports may be altered and there is always a chance that San Juan or Florida could be effected so you can't embark or debark. For sure get insurance if you go during these months! Many cruise during these months but I wouldn't want to chance messing up my honeymoon - a vacation maybe.

[NordicPrince]

DW and I have prefeered to cruise in January in Caribbean both western and southern trips. DW is the queen of bargain hunters and has found by experience that fares are often discounted for the 2 weeks before Christmas and the 2 weeks after New Year.

 

Presumably because people are saving for Christmas and have already spent their money on the holidays and are recouping after New Year.

 

No hurricanes to worry about, winter for us in Northeast U.S is in full blast

and it breaks it up so it doesn't get as dreary all these are other benefits.

 

Also found the last week in January was a savings time this year.

 

If you do go this time of year most recommend that you get to port of embarkation a day early so you don't get stuck in a winter travel delay.

Guess you just have to suck it up and sit in the sun and relax an extra day!

 

Best wishes on your upcoming nuptials and enjoy your cruise.

[ssb]

Officially season is July to October. But But But?

 

Mother Nature is everywhere 24/7/12!!!!!

 

GO GO GO anyway at time of your wedding.

 

As said before cruse ships can easily run from hurricanes.

 

Best Wishes and have fun.

 

Remember on a cruise especially!!!!!!!!

 

"Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure"

[fi'fi]

October or November

[MellowMel]

Hurricane season is June 1-November 30. Previous posters are right that the hurricanes are worse in August-October. While the cruises may be able to get around them, if you have to fly in, a potential hurricane could impact your flight and your ship leaving/returning.

 

I'd go as early in June as possible.

[NordicPrince]

OP, just wondering why you are limiting yourself to the Oasis when there are so many other options available to you.

 

To many and me in particular the size of the ship and the number of people getting on and off the ship can be limiting factors.

 

Due to its size Oasis is only stopping at Labadee, St. Thomas and St Martin. Any idea what 6000 people descending on a port at a time can do to ruin the experience?

 

May I recommend an alternative plan to Oasis and that is to take a Southern Caribbean trip leaving from San Juan on either Adventure of the Seas or Serenade of the Seas.

 

There is not a substantial premium in the air fare to San Juan as compared to Florida.

 

The destinations are much more varied and interesting.

 

As far as the ships are concerned, IMHO Serenade is one of the most beautiful ships that RCI has. Most posters will back this up about the Radiance class ships. It has glass and views of the water all over the ship (that is why you go on a cruise right to be on the water?). It holds

about 2100 passengers but never feels crowded. OK, so the main pool is not the biggest, in which case you can use the glass covered climate controlled Solarium and its pool which is rarely crowded.

 

Adventure of the Seas is bigger with about 3100 passengers and has the skating rink and the indoor Royal Promenade which many people really like.

 

None of these ships is small (don't let anyone tell you otherwise). Serenade is 90,000 tons and Adventure is 138,000 tons.

 

Oasis on the other hand is 225,000 tons! Twice the tons does not directly translate to 2x the fun. Do you really think you will get as much personal attention on this ship than on the smaller ships?

 

As an experienced RCI cruiser my preference is Serenade.

 

Good luck and bon voyage.

[wolv4life]

May is a lovely month to get married AND to cruise. So is October. When you skip the summer months, the prices are lower both on land and sea.

 

Actually, in my experience winter is the high season on land in the Caribbean. Summer is the high season for the cruise lines.

[kyriecat]

If the choices are June or August, I would pick June as early as possible.

 

Reasons:

1. Hurricane season starts June 1, but it's rare to get a hurricane that early

2. Many schools are still in session the first week or two of June so that limits the number of kids

3. Even if you don't experience a hurricane in August, one may have come through already. If it goes over one of your scheduled ports, you may have limited activities or a changed itinerary

[PrincesScuba]

Actually, in my experience winter is the high season on land in the Caribbean. Summer is the high season for the cruise lines.

 

........which is the reason that I suggested May or October. :cool:

[KeysRes]

If you don't need to have the honeymoon right after the wedding, I vote early December. As someone mentioned earlier, I've found the first couple of weeks in December the best deal for cruising in the Caribbean. You would think it would be during hurricane season, but it's not - or at least not until last minute bookings. October and April are my favorite weather months here in the Keys, and December can be cool here - but it should be a tad bit warmer further south.

But since you're from the north, my 'tad cool' might be your 'perfect' or 'hot'! ;-)

Early December cruises are also fun because the ships are decorated for the holidays....and so are the islands, but you are not paying the holiday premium for your cruise.

[irish colleen]

Also - if youre going to do a cruise / resort combination, might I suggest doing the resort first?

We did a cruise once and then did a few days post cruise at a beautiful hotel. However - the "come down" after the cruise was UNREAL. The pure luxury / dining choices / variety of entertainment / waking up at new ports does not compare to staying a land based resort. Well that's my biased opinion anyway!

Now when we cruise, we fly straight home when we disembark as cruising is THE BEST VACATION you can have - I promise you that!

So do your resort first - you will enjoy it far more when you have the cruise to look forward to :D

[COMBOY]

Hi there,

We are looking into a caribbean cruise for our honeymoon.:D (we have not set a date yet but probably June or August 2012) Can anyone suggest when its best to go to caribbean. I know nothing about when hurricane seasons are etc, etc.

We are looking to cruise on the Oasis of the Seas so any comments on this ship would be great, we would like it to be special obviously as its a special occasion but have cruised Royal Caribbean (Voyager of the Seas) before so maybe time to try something different??

Any comments appreciated!! :D

 

There is a whole article in CC regarding hurricane. This might answer your questions:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=146

 

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov 30th with the highest probability in Aug/Sept/Oct. There is no way to predict hurricanes so you should book based upon your required dates. If you completely want to avoid hurricanes than select a date outside of hurricane season and book a cruise from Dec to May. As far as the Oasis is concerned it's a biggest, boldest ship with all the bells and whilst with over 6000 passengers. There are a ton of reviews on CC about the ship. I would read them and see if this is what your want for your honeymoon.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=368

[cruiselovincouple]

We've been at the end of the hurricane season and the weather is gorgeous but the snorkeling is sometimes less than stellar because of the northern swell and hurricane season. It doesn't mess with beach weather, but if you're an avid snorkeler/scuba diver then the water is ok, but not crystal clear and you have choppier conditions (on some islands, had cloudy water on Grand Cayman and the next day in Cozumel we had clear, glassy, fabulous snorkeling). For example, Trunk Bay on St. John was fun, but the even the gate personnel were steering people away if they expected calm clear seas. We didn't care (we're easy to please) and they were right, couldn't see 2 feet in front of you under water and the waves were high with a strong current.

 

Still, nothing even close to bad!! We are just gonna try and go in the spring some year so we can see the smoother seas and crystal clear water we see in other visitors' pictures. If you don't give a hoot about snorkeling/scuba then the hurricane season is WONDERFUL and less expensive. We've always had amazing times.

 

~Lisa :p