Is March 4 Spring Break season?

[mrsgthatsme]

We are planning a 5 day Eadtern Caribbean cruise on March 4, 2016. I have been reading horror stories about spring break cruises and the busy-ness, many children, etc... We could take the same cruise in January, but we chose March in hopes of warmer, sunnier weather. Is March 4 early enough to miss the spring break chaos or would you consider switching to mid January or December?

[cheeseclan]

IMO March 4 is a little early for the big rush over Spring break. That being said, we have done 8 cruises over the break and have had a great time on each one. We had more problems with kids over Thanksgiving cruise.

It will also be nicer and warmer in March:)

[queensquared]

Antime from late Februrary to late April is spring break time somewhere in the US. You would be fine in January, but December brings kids for Christmas.

[catwoman6226]

Many of the private schools in Atlanta were on Spring break from March 9-13th this year so you probably will run into some families with kids on break but probably not as much as you would a few weeks later. Easter is March 27th in 2016 - many schools set their breaks around this time. In general, I'd go for the March cruise over January.

[geoherb]

It's earlier than most elementary, middle, and high schools, but there are a lot of colleges that have spring break that early, including the three big ones near us--N.C. State, Carolina, and Duke. DH's is usually the third week of March.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Some colleges will be out on spring break around then.

[satxdiver]

Spring break will have started somewhere in the US so there might be kids aboard. It should not be many however. By going on a 5 day cruise, that will be a magnet for families and college kids due to the shorter time and less cost than the 7 day cruises.

[geocruiser]

We were on Princess 3/8 to 3/15. I saw only a few young people.

[hpeabody]

Don't forget about Canada. I got completely blindsided once on a cruise when it turned out it was Canada's Spring break. It was a repositioning cruise on the west coast LA-Vancouver. Since then I make it my general rule, no cruise in March or April or Thanksgiving or Christmas Time. It's just not fun to cruise with hundreds of kids. Yes, I do know not everyone will agree with my opinion.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The Caribbean Princess March 2, 2015 5-night cruise was filled with college Spring Breakers. It didn't ruin our cruise at all.

[Colo Cruiser]

We are planning a 5 day Eadtern Caribbean cruise on March 4, 2016. I have been reading horror stories about spring break cruises and the busy-ness, many children, etc... We could take the same cruise in January, but we chose March in hopes of warmer, sunnier weather. Is March 4 early enough to miss the spring break chaos or would you consider switching to mid January or December?

 

Yes, spring break runs from Feb-April.

[chipmaster]

We are planning a 5 day Eadtern Caribbean cruise on March 4, 2016. I have been reading horror stories about spring break cruises and the busy-ness, many children, etc... We could take the same cruise in January, but we chose March in hopes of warmer, sunnier weather. Is March 4 early enough to miss the spring break chaos or would you consider switching to mid January or December?

 

What chaos do you wish to avoid... the kids, the teens, or the drunken poor behaving adults on vacation :D

 

My 2cents as others avoid summers, last two weeks of December and all of March and April....

 

Longer the cruise, the more expensive the cruise the safer to cruise anytime too!

[BettyCruiser]

From President's Day through the end of April, you can count on some sort of school break.

[mrsgthatsme]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. This will be a 10th anniversary get away for my husband and me. We have two little ones and have not taken a couples vacation for 7 years so quiet relaxation is what we are after. :) Do you feel that the trade off of a less busy time in mid Jan would outweigh the difference in weather? Ports are Princess Cay and Grand Turk. Snorkeling is very important to my husband and sunshine is very important to me! :)

[BettyCruiser]

We've cruised many times in January and February and always had nice weather.

[Mom33]

The first week of March is the beginning of Spring Break weeks, but the majority of colleges break the 2nd and 3rd week. So although we had college students on our Caribbean Princess cruise, they were not overwhelming the ship. They slept most of the day after a hard night partying. They hung out in one pool area and appeared to have a place to gather each evening. Princess kept them pretty well occupied. They had no affect on our cruise experience.:D

[cb at sea]

March, April and May will all have some "spring breakers"....college aged is what folks worry about...younger kids must be there as a "family", which is on every cruise....they won't be partying and drinking.

 

We sail during the spring, and have never had a "frat party" experience.

[Coral]

I work at a college and in 2016, our spring break is March 7th. And students often skip out early for break....... Our K12 schools are off that week also.

[Jilliebean28]

We were on the Regal March 1-8 this year and it was wonderful. Saw very few teens or smaller kids. We spent most of our time at the Retreat pool which is adults only. Worked very well for my husband and me!

[ar1950]

If you are concerned about the college and university dates, then here they are:

 

http://www.studentcity.com/when-is-my-spring-break

 

BTW, it seems to depend on the itinerary and length of the cruise as to whether or not it will affect you cruise experience. :cool:

[dmwnc1959]

We are planning a 5 day Eadtern Caribbean cruise on March 4, 2016. I have been reading horror stories about spring break cruises and the busy-ness, many children, etc... We could take the same cruise in January, but we chose March in hopes of warmer, sunnier weather. Is March 4 early enough to miss the spring break chaos or would you consider switching to mid January or December?

 

 

Over the past several years I've gone on the first and second cruise after the Thanksgiving cruises return; for a seven night cruise it's the Saturday/Sunday after Thanksgiving Thursday. There are very, very few kids on board ship, as most will be returning to school for the final weeks before their Christmas break, which for some, begins around the middle of December. So anytime, say, departing from the last weekend of November and returning by mid-December should be fine. The weather has always been pretty nice for the most part, and the prices are usually quite good too.

 

:D

Edited April 11, 2015 by dmwnc1959