Pros/Cons Cruising in December

[brownieboy]

my wife, friends, and I are looking into taking a cruise this coming december when the prices are low. we're planning on going to the eastern carribean, so i was wondering what is the weather like that time of year as opposed to mid-spring (april). are there any reasons not to go? as i see it, saving $500 a person and getting to go a few months early seems pretty reasonable, right?

 

we just went on a cruise this past october and had a horrible time with all the hurricanes stuff going on, so if you all could answer what you know about that time of year, that would be great!

 

happy sailing! :D

[kitty9]

Early December and all of January are my favorite times to cruise. We were on the Millennium on Dec 4 and the weather was perfect with highs in the low 80's.

[runner15km]

We sailed in the 1st week of December and went to St. Thomas and St. Martin. The seas were calm and the air temps were in the low 80's. And we also saved a bundle in cruise cost.

[captNcrunch]

There is no "bad" time to cruise, unless of course you don't want a boat load of kids, in which case stay away from the summer months!

[brownieboy]

thanks for the comments! keep 'em coming!

 

oh and by a "horrible time" with the hurricanes, just meant the weather was bad and the seas were rough. we still had a great time being there!

[captNcrunch]

thanks for the comments! keep 'em coming!

 

oh and by a "horrible time" with the hurricanes, just meant the weather was bad and the seas were rough. we still had a great time being there!

 

Always cruise in Sept. and Oct. best rates and have yet to have a problem.

[geoherb]

Some of the best bargains are between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We've taken four cruises then. Unfortunately, my DH's new job makes it impossible to get off those weeks. We're now stuck going at Christmas--but we've had two great cruises in a row during Christmas by sticking to longer cruises and older smaller ships.

[TDCRose]

We have sailed several time the first two weeks of Dec. and never had bad weather. We have done both eastern and western Caribbean in Dec. and have always found the temps to be in the 80's and the water warm. We have also found service on the ship to be better-less people on the ship usually= better service. Enyoy your cruise!

[bibb]

We have sailed late Nov and early Dec and had great weather and, like you said, saved a bundle. I have passed this on to several clients and they are stuck on this time period also.

 

We did get stuck in Tampa for a couple of days in Dec 2003 when they had the big snowstorm that closed Boston's airport and we couldn't get home but the cruise was great.

[cruzin girl]

We sailed last Dec. to the Mexican Riviera and loved it. I really enjoyed the festive atmosphere on the ship which only comes one time each year.It was great escaping the cold Oregon weather and I can't wait to cruise in December again.

[wrp96]

thanks for the comments! keep 'em coming!

 

oh and by a "horrible time" with the hurricanes, just meant the weather was bad and the seas were rough. we still had a great time being there!

 

Sailed this past December embarkation day and the first sea day were very cold and windy, had very rough seas the first sea day, it warmed up to the 80s in Cozumel but rained on us. It was in the high 70s in Progreso. We had a warm but windy sea day back to Galveston. Seas were definitely not calm but nowhere near as rough as the first sea day. And we disembarked to sunny and 70 degrees in Galveston.

 

Ships that sailed out of Florida the same week we sailed reported the same conditions on the first sea day - cold and very rough seas.

[KamloopsCruisers]

We sailed the 1st week of December - Eastern Caribbean on the Explorer - great cruise at a fantastic price. We did have to miss Nassau because of a storm there, but the captain kindly found sunshine for us all 7 days.

 

We also cruised the Mexican Riveria this past December, again the first week, on the Vision. A little cool on our 1st and last day, but again we had a great cruise. Calm seas, very, very, very, few kids on both cruises.

 

You can put your savings to shore excursions, or foo-foo drinks, etc.

Enjoy!

[brownieboy]

is it just cool when the ship is still up near the US or is it still cool outside when you get to the carribean area? if it is just near the US, i think i can handle it being cool outside on the first and last days...i just wouldnt want it to be in the 60's when we're at port is all.

[L0204]

We did early Jan 2005 and mid Jan 2006 both western and eastern Caribbean from Tampa/Miami. It was cool 1st and last days both cruises, but in high 70's and low 80's all other days. Port days were beautiful, warm & sunny. Officially hurricane season ends 12/31 - so late Dec is probably okay. (We live in Florida so watch the hurricane season closely.)

[KamloopsCruisers]

is it just cool when the ship is still up near the US or is it still cool outside when you get to the carribean area? if it is just near the US, i think i can handle it being cool outside on the first and last days...i just wouldnt want it to be in the 60's when we're at port is all.

For us, it was only cool on our E. Caribbean cruise the day we left Miami - next morning was warm and sunny.

 

Mexician Riveria was a cooler cruise - needed a windbreaker or sweatshirt embarkment day and early morning/late afternoon on the second day too. It was also cool when we were getting closer to LA - the we did have 5 days of hot, sunny weather.:)

[Andee]

For us, the con would be a ship full of Christmas decorations. We don't celebrate Christmas, and would find it overwhelming.

[brownieboy]

thanks again for all the replies! :D