Christmas cruise beach day

[Paul2+A]

We’re looking at a 12/26/21 departure and hope to spend Christmas Day on a Florida beach.  Which Florida port has the best nearby beach? We’d be flying in on 12/24

[rkacruiser]

My opinion:  Fort Lauderdale.

[CruiserBruce]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

My opinion:  Fort Lauderdale.

Agree, but it depends where you stay. Miami can have pretty close beaches as well.

[rkacruiser]

20 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Agree, but it depends where you stay. Miami can have pretty close beaches as well.

 

Agree.  I debated about mentioning Miami, but I am better acquainted with Fort Lauderdale than I am with Miami.  

[capriccio]

Fort Lauderdale or Miami Beach.

 

For tourist information about Fort Lauderdale check out www.sunny.org.

[JohninDC]

14 hours ago, Paul2+A said:

We’re looking at a 12/26/21 departure and hope to spend Christmas Day on a Florida beach.  Which Florida port has the best nearby beach? We’d be flying in on 12/24

Welcome to the boards! 😎

 

While it might seem very warm compared to NY, it can often be a little chilly to spend time on the beach in late December.  I hope you get lucky and get warm weather.

[Noxequifans]

1 hour ago, JohninDC said:

Welcome to the boards! 😎

 

While it might seem very warm compared to NY, it can often be a little chilly to spend time on the beach in late December.  I hope you get lucky and get warm weather.

Agree .... have an alternate plan if the weather doesn’t cooperate. 

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, JohninDC said:

Welcome to the boards! 😎

 

While it might seem very warm compared to NY, it can often be a little chilly to spend time on the beach in late December.  I hope you get lucky and get warm weather.

 

That's the truth!  Two late Decembers in a row, the wind was off the ocean so strongly that beach umbrellas at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort were tied down, no one was on the beach, sitting outside or on one balcony was tolerable for a few minutes.  

 

One stay at that hotel, I was sitting in the lobby reading, wearing shorts, when an Assistant Manager started a conversation with me.  (She was wearing a sweater and long pants.)  "Where are you from?", she asked.  I said:  "Ohio".  "I thought you were from the Northern states because of the way you were dressed" , she said.    

[capriccio]

19 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

I was sitting in the lobby reading, wearing shorts, when an Assistant Manager started a conversation with me.  (She was wearing a sweater and long pants.)  "Where are you from?", she asked.  I said:  "Ohio".  "I thought you were from the Northern states because of the way you were dressed" , she said.    

 

The female newscasters and meteorologists on South Florida TV stations switch to sweaters and boots when the temp goes below 65 degrees outdoors (I'm sure the studios are kept at a higher temperature).  When it goes below 55 (which luckily doesn't happen very often) many people start wearing scarves and gloves along with boots and heavy coats. 

 

One of the funniest weather related sights I've seen was on a cloudy, cool (in the 50s) day stopped at a stoplight a block off the beach in Pompano Beach.  I wasn't surprised to see a surfer (I had been watching them from my condo) but this guy was leaving the beach in his wet suit wearing a heavy parka with a fur hood.  It was all rather incongruous and laugh out loud funny.

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

 

The female newscasters and meteorologists on South Florida TV stations switch to sweaters and boots when the temp goes below 65 degrees outdoors (I'm sure the studios are kept at a higher temperature).  

The TV studios I have been in have been kept pretty cold...like around 60 or so, as the lights generate so much heat.

[capriccio]

41 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The TV studios I have been in have been kept pretty cold...like around 60 or so, as the lights generate so much heat.

Then they must freeze in Florida summers when they are dressed like it is 90 degrees 😃

[phabric]

A few years ago, I was in FLL on Dec 24-26.  I contacted a few restaurants in advance to see if they would be open Dec 24 & 25.  A few were open or reduced hours.  We made a reservation.

 

Check Port of Call - Florida for suggestions on restaurants in your hotel area to contact.

[JohninDC]

On 9/1/2020 at 5:18 PM, capriccio said:

 

The female newscasters and meteorologists on South Florida TV stations switch to sweaters and boots when the temp goes below 65 degrees outdoors (I'm sure the studios are kept at a higher temperature).  When it goes below 55 (which luckily doesn't happen very often) many people start wearing scarves and gloves along with boots and heavy coats. 

 

One of the funniest weather related sights I've seen was on a cloudy, cool (in the 50s) day stopped at a stoplight a block off the beach in Pompano Beach.  I wasn't surprised to see a surfer (I had been watching them from my condo) but this guy was leaving the beach in his wet suit wearing a heavy parka with a fur hood.  It was all rather incongruous and laugh out loud funny.

On the flip side, we were visiting my daughter a few  years ago while she was doing a study abroad in Dublin Ireland.  The news was full of warnings about the predicted heat wave, with warnings to drink lots of water and notices that many offices and businesses would shut down early.  The predicted temperature, when I converted from C to F, was 74! 😨

[BlueHerons]

We've spent Christmas Day on the beach the last ten years or so and I don't remember at all the daytime high being in the 50s or 60s.  Every single year.

 

However the sun sets early around 530 or so so you start to lose the heat of the day by 3PM.

 

I always pack a tofurkey, cocktails, and wear my Santa hat while sitting on the beach in my bathing suit listening to Christmas Carols.

 

It's lovely.

 

The past couple of years the cold front hits New Years Day.

[Cienfuegos]

Open Table shows several good restaurants are open on Christmas Day in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.