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Sailing in October

sunset785

By sunset785,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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sunset785

sunset785

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Ok give it to me straight- what's it like to cruise in fall versus spring break and summer break? We are going on our very first October cruise. We have always cruised over spring break and the summer so what are the main differences? I love how much money we saved on this cruise versus the last time we sailed on the Magic. I know it's hurricane season but we live in Florida so hurricane season is 1/2 a year for us [emoji15] We are just going to hope for the best with the weather!

 

 

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coevan

coevan

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The rates are better because of the fear of hurricane season. The fear is very overstated as the advanced equipment the ship has and NOAA. They are well aware of store paths days in advance. Captains will change the itinerary to keep the passengers safe. We love travel to the Caribbean in the fall.

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lizzyplague

lizzyplague

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We were supposed to sail Oct 8th on the Glory but Hurricane Matthew caused our flight to be canceled so we had to back out. Reviews of that cruise just said the water was a bit more rough than usual for the first couple of days.

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sunset785

sunset785

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Well, our older kid will be happy that he won't have to wait too long in line for the waterslide then :) We will be fine with an itinerary change if that happens, and worst case scenario, if it gets canceled, we will have a back up plan for a vacation.

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Saint Greg "Live from...." Rare

Saint Greg

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Well, our older kid will be happy that he won't have to wait too long in line for the waterslide then :) We will be fine with an itinerary change if that happens, and worst case scenario, if it gets canceled, we will have a back up plan for a vacation.

 

There will probably be no line

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Tapi Great Review Rare

Tapi

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It's a big roll of the dice ....

 

 

While the probability of a hurricane does increase, specially in mid September, I wouldn't call it "a big roll of the dice". I grew up in a Caribbean island and then lived in South Florida for about a decade. In my 40+ years of life and 30 cruises, I've only seen 3 hurricanes, none of which terribly affected my cruises. The "closest" we came to being affected was a few years back when a hurricane hit Cozumel months prior to our sailing which damaged the piers, so we went to Costa Maya instead.

 

To the OP, I LOVE sailing in the fall, not only because the prices are much better, but also because the temperatures aren't as oppressively hot. Plus the ships are not at max berth occupancy as they are during the summer and spring breaks, which translates into a less chaotic atmosphere and shorter lines.

 

Enjoy! [emoji3]

 

 

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SadieN

SadieN

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Be careful of the Fall Break schedule.

We thought an Oct 3rd cruise would be fine. Didn't realize all of Arizona would be on the Miracle with us.

 

 

 

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sunset785

sunset785

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Be careful of the Fall Break schedule.

We thought an Oct 3rd cruise would be fine. Didn't realize all of Arizona would be on the Miracle with us.

 

 

 

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What the heck is fall break? We live in Florida and no such thing exists for our schools.

 

 

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SadieN

SadieN

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What the heck is fall break? We live in Florida and no such thing exists for our schools.

 

 

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Neither does Southern California. But seems to be popular in AZ and many east coast states.

 

 

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Lerin

Lerin

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It depends on where you are going and where you are from but we prefer to sail in the off season. Not only are the rates cheaper, but there are very few kids and rowdy 20-somethings. We are from Idaho so pretty much any time of year it seems warm. For you in Florida, you may be cold!

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LadyBeBop

LadyBeBop

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What the heck is fall break? We live in Florida and no such thing exists for our schools.

 

I know a number of school districts are off for some or all of the second or third week in October. Kids don't bother me, but I hope there will be fewer kids on our cruise.

 

When in October are you sailing th Magic. I will be on the last full week of October (October 21-28).

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Saint Greg "Live from...." Rare

Saint Greg

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What the heck is fall break? We live in Florida and no such thing exists for our schools.

 

 

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It's oct 9-13 where I live (Louisiana). We didn't have it when I was in school but we also started school late August back then. They start at the beginning of August now.

 

 

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evandbob

evandbob

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I booked my 1st ever B2B on the Conquest in mid October 3 yrs ago. 1st Leg was eastern, 2nd was western. Before we left Florida, the Captain informed everyone that the eastern leg was being switched to a western itinerary. There was a small hurricane forecast to hit St Thomas and San Juan just as the Conquest was getting there. Well about 300 or 400 cruisers elected to leave the ship and I had 2 weeks of the same western ports and smooth sailing and had a great time.

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NotTheBatesMotel

NotTheBatesMotel

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Just go into it knowing that the route/itinerary can easily change due to the weather that time of year. We lucked out on our October cruise but the few weeks before we left, several ships were being re-routed due to a hurricane and various storms. Weather wise much of my October cruise was very drizzly/overcast. It wasn't my favorite time of the year to sail, but it was so much cheaper!

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naxer

naxer

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My very first cruise was in October (Conquest), and my second in early November (Splendor). It was the price that attracted me, and I liked them enough that they got me addicted to cruising. The weather was great for both--never had a problem with missing a port or anything. But, I'm one of those who likes the ship, so wherever it's at and whatever it's doing, I'm pretty happy. I really can't say I saw any difference between sailing in October and February, other than the price.

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beachbum6264

beachbum6264

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Being another Floridian, you know how hurricanes are. Just be prepared - if you book an Eastern Caribbean be prepared for a Western - you never know. It's happened to me, more than once. Eastern turned Western, Western turned into Eastern... lucky I was ready for the change in itinerary and knew what I wanted to do in the new ports.

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