smooth sailing in December?

[C cruise]

anyone do the western caribbean cruise in December.... were the seas calm? was the weather warm?

[BirdTravels]

Average temp in Nassau is high 70's to 80. 

 

Sea conditions will be totally dependent on the weather on the day you depart. Probably won't have a hurricane that late in the year. 

[gmbhardy]

We’ve sailed many times in late November and December. The weather is generally pretty good (warm, sometimes hot). The hurricane season ends on Nov.30.

[kstew42]

I went on a Western Caribbean cruise in December 2017 with Norwegian out of New Orleans. The weather was amazing, hot enough to enjoy the pool and beaches, but cool in the evening. It was the best cruise I've been on and the stops were great, and the ship wasn't packed. It was before most schools got out for winter break, so there were less kids on board. I wore shorts every day, but needed a sweater or jacket at night some nights. The water was a little rough at night a few times, but I'm pretty sensitive to that and it wasn't too bad.

[Tapi]

I’d rather sail the Caribbean during winter months than at any other time of year. Weather tends to be nicer, with more sunny days and warm without being oppressively hot.

 

With that said, there are no guarantees that the seas will be calm or choppy. You really won’t know until the weather forecast for your specific week becomes available. You may have beautiful, sunny days with choppy seas and vice versa. We’ve sailed the Western Caribbean several times during those months and we’ve experienced all variations of sea conditions. During that time frame we’ve had sunny days with calm seas, sunny days with seas choppy enough to prevent tendering at a port of call, gloomy and rainy days, etc. On our las Western cruise (February), we were blessed with perfectly sunny skies but we endured rough seas for two nights that made it hard to sleep, followed by 3 nights of absolutely calm seas. 

 

So long story short, it’s hard to predict exactly what you’ll encounter. 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Tapi

[bonvoyagie]

51 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

We’ve sailed many times in late November and December. The weather is generally pretty good (warm, sometimes hot). The hurricane season ends on Nov.30.

Are you sure that the hurricanes know that

[Nebr.cruiser]

We sail in the Caribbean almost every December--probably 20 times or more.  Luckily, have never had rough seas, in fact usually very calm.  Of course, storms can happen anytime.

 

Usually the temps are in the 80's, sometimes hotter.  About the coolest we have ever had there was a day or so in the high 60's.  Sometimes a little rain or sudden downpour, but usually not.  It can be cooler at night, of course.

[gmbhardy]

29 minutes ago, bonvoyagie said:

Are you sure that the hurricanes know that

 

Yes, hurricanes are very smart. That’s why they give them names 🥴

[newmexicoNita]

9 hours ago, C cruise said:

anyone do the western caribbean cruise in December.... were the seas calm? was the weather warm?

we have done it a couple of times: the weather was mixed, but certainly, for the most part not bad and if I remember right the seas were calm. I do remember a little more rain than usual. This is true from late Nov until after the first of the year. It doesn't last long. 

[C cruise]

31 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

we have done it a couple of times: the weather was mixed, but certainly, for the most part not bad and if I remember right the seas were calm. I do remember a little more rain than usual. This is true from late Nov until after the first of the year. It doesn't last long. 

thank you....

[C cruise]

8 hours ago, kstew42 said:

I went on a Western Caribbean cruise in December 2017 with Norwegian out of New Orleans. The weather was amazing, hot enough to enjoy the pool and beaches, but cool in the evening. It was the best cruise I've been on and the stops were great, and the ship wasn't packed. It was before most schools got out for winter break, so there were less kids on board. I wore shorts every day, but needed a sweater or jacket at night some nights. The water was a little rough at night a few times, but I'm pretty sensitive to that and it wasn't too bad.

Glad you mentioned the kids because I wondered about that... I figured people wouldn't take their kids out of school early December when they will be off at Christmas anyway... 

[david_sobe]

Seas and weather are 2 different things.  The weather is nicer in winter with not being so hot but the seas in the winter can be especially choppy.  But then again you could have calm seas. I believe NCL misses GSC more during winter months than the summer.   The summer seas get choppy during hurricanes and storms but for the most part I believe they can be calmer than the windy winter months.  But then again, the choppy seas are based on weather patterns.  You could have a very stable weather pattern in winter or summer that creates calm seas.  On the flip side you could have weather patterns create choppy seas at any time, during any season or month.  There is no rule of thumb to answer the question properly.