Who cruises in January?

[Ozark_Kid]

Not much to do for the garden in January so it’s a great time to cruise!

[karena1]

14 hours ago, JasperCruiser said:

I just booked Harmony of the Seas leaving on January 2nd next year and I was just wondering... who sails in January? All of my cruises so far have been in the spring and summer, and the summer cruises are understandably kid-heavy. I’m not a hater - I’ve got a little one of my own, but I’m just curious if anyone has noticed if the demographic tilts one way or the other for a January/February cruise versus a May/June/July cruise.

We cruise pretty much every month.  As a rule, I would say you will see fewer little ones in Jan/Feb than in May/June when schools start to get done for the year

[karena1]

13 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Folks looking for a bargain.

Why not?  We live in Florida so pretty much cruise every month.  Easy 2-3 hour drive to the port for us and makes for great weekend getaways.

[jwelch405]

1 hour ago, thrifty99 said:

I was going to caution those dates as a large organization cruises those weeks and has had some negative impact on other cruisers in the past. But it looks like they have switched to NCL for their January cruises next year so you should be good. 
 

We cruised last January (near the end of month) on Majesty out of New Orleans and there were not a lot of kids. 
 

Jan 2nd I expect will have more kids as it is at the end of the holiday for some. 

Do you know what NCL ship or dates this Organization is sailing? 

I'm booked on the Escape Jan 8 - 15th.   Thanks for in advance notice you can provide! 

[island lady]

We cruise in January every year...well not last year.  😞  

 

We also cruise in November, December, February and sometimes in March.  😉 

 

BTW..."Sea" you on board.   We are B2B January 2nd and 9th.  

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by island lady

[crewsweeper]

Mid January to mid February are great times to cruise in the Caribbean. As others have said, fewer kids, but there will always be kids on board.  Weather is generally good. There are some large groups that cruise during these times but they aren't intrusive, don't take over the whole ship, like cruises associated with hasbeen "rock" groups or D List celebrities.

[Baby let's cruise away]

15 hours ago, dswallow said:

I've been doing the first longer cruise of the year on Anthem of the Seas, lately combining it with an adjacent sailing for an even longer B2B from Cape Liberty, NJ. It gets a lot of regulars for that sailing time-of-year, too. It's getting to be something of a reunion every year.

Yes! Cruising on Anthem of the Seas in January is an annual event; B2B’s are the absolute best.......am doing a B3B in January/February 2022🛳🛳🛳.

[thrifty99]

1 hour ago, jwelch405 said:

Do you know what NCL ship or dates this Organization is sailing? 

I'm booked on the Escape Jan 8 - 15th.   Thanks for in advance notice you can provide! 

They are on the NCL Gem. 

[MacMarauder]

January/February are prime months to cruise IMO. You are past the fun part of winter and a change of scenery feels great. Plus you can usually get a good deal on a cruise since it isn't peak time. 

[Liverpoolfan181]

We have been cruising in January for the past 15 years. Either just after New Year's or the second week. While we cruise throughout the year as well, being from Canada, we are more than ready to head to the Caribbean by then and leave our winters behind for a couple of weeks! Something to look forward to as those return to work after the holidays 🙂 And Get to advance the cruise by a week and then set sail!

 

For us, we find that it's just after the crazy rush of the holidays, the Caribbean and weather is perfect (95% of the time) and it's a great mix of passengers onboard. 

We are currently counting down to January 8th for our second time onboard Allure. Will be the hopeful first after all the cancelled and rebooked cruises.  Dreaming of a Lava Flow 'bout now... sigh.

[SuzD123]

3 hours ago, torpeedo said:

And we're getting on when you leave on the 23rd!!!!

And we will be stepping onboard as you leave on the 30th!!!  🙂

[JasperCruiser]

Thank you everyone for the input!  It sure is fun to plan a cruise again.

[Dett]

We cruise all the time in January.  We have found that the larger ships like Harmony have more children than the smaller ships.  I guess because they have more kid things like slides, etc.  Also the larger ships tend to sail 7 days or less. Smaller ships usually have longer cruises.  Remember that there are people from other countries whose schools have a different schedule than in the US.  Also we find that a lot of kids are home schooled now.  Maybe more now after pandemic.

[DaniDanielle]

Nothing like being on a beach in January!

[SNJCruisers]

We have a 5 day on NCL Joy and 7 day on Celebrity Apex set up as a side by side for 2022 and the same on the Carnival Celebration and NCL Encore for 2023.

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, JasperCruiser said:

I just booked Harmony of the Seas leaving on January 2nd next year and I was just wondering... who sails in January? All of my cruises so far have been in the spring and summer, and the summer cruises are understandably kid-heavy. I’m not a hater - I’ve got a little one of my own, but I’m just curious if anyone has noticed if the demographic tilts one way or the other for a January/February cruise versus a May/June/July cruise.

We have cruised every January from 2009 to 2019.

[kearney]

I believe this is part of the height of the season... as people escape the cold... but mostly adults and retirees. I try to avoid spring break weeks in the spring... mostly for cruise lines like Royal. Celebrity more of an adult crowd. I personally like to go after spring break and before school lets out. However the best deals are during the height of hurricane season.... Sept-Oct

[George C]

Lots of people cruise in winter to escape the weather, in USA and lots of Canadians also that goes for Caribbean resorts also.

[zdad59]

Our annual cruise with friends typically takes place in late January/early February.    We really like the season.    Warm in the Caribbean so we can send pics to our friends in the snow. 😁     Port stops are usually a little less crowd and warm.   Not in hurricane season so the seas are typically in good shape.    (That is assuming you sail our or Florida.    I've seen winter sailings from the north hit Nor'easter's and really get rocked)     Just have to avoid spring break time in late Feb and March.

[CaribbeanLover22]

We only cruise in January/February. It gets us out of the below zero temps and snow, it's not as awfully hot in the Caribbean, and it's not peak hurricane season. 

[coldflame]

22 hours ago, JasperCruiser said:

I just booked Harmony of the Seas leaving on January 2nd next year and I was just wondering... who sails in January? All of my cruises so far have been in the spring and summer, and the summer cruises are understandably kid-heavy. I’m not a hater - I’ve got a little one of my own, but I’m just curious if anyone has noticed if the demographic tilts one way or the other for a January/February cruise versus a May/June/July cruise.

 

Our last three family cruises have been Jan or Feb. Love them, specially the ones after Jan the 15th. Less people, nicer weather generally emptier ports of call. 

[cruisegus]

9 hours ago, bouhunter said:

Or folks who want out of the snow 🙂

Love to cruise January and February out of San Juan, it is our escape from winter cold and snowy weather.  Generally we do a b2b starting in last full week of January and then try to throw in another from Florida or Galveston after we take a weeks break at home.

We absolutely love the Caribbean weather this time of year.  

 

Being from Alabama you might just be escaping cool weather instead of cold and snow, but I think you  will love it!

[mcgore83]

We love to cruise during this time of year.  I have never been bothered about children on a cruise.  I love to watch them having fun and enjoying the experience.  Maybe because I am an educator.  

[Eddie Wilson]

3 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

Nothing like being on a beach in January!

 

Heck, here in Ohio it would be great to drive with windows down in January or February, on a beach gives you the ......I’m skipping school.....feeling

 

Eddie

[3kidsncats]

The weeks between thanksgiving and Christmas, and January/February are some of our favorite times to cruise.  Initially it was because my husband has  fewer gigs that time of year, but it was quickly clear that there are some great deals to be had, and sailing to the Caribbean or Mexico that time of year is lovely.  Our kids are grown, so we no longer need to deal with the school break crowds, bonus!