A GAME OF "WOULD YOU RATHER"........SOUTHERN SOLO

[sportscruiser]

I'm about to pull the trigger on my first solo cruise. I'm booking now but cruise isn't for 2 years, so I figure that should be enough time to get used to the idea being solo and prepare myself! At the time of the cruise I'll be about 62 and will luckily still be as active. It's a Southern Caribbean itinerary to some awesome ports on what will be the new Norwegian Viva! Only problem for me is that this itinerary seems to only be available between Dec. 2023-Mar. 2024. During that time frame, due to work, there is only about 2 of those weeks that I could realistically take vacation. One in January and one in March. I've been going back and forth for weeks, done a lot of research, make a decision and then change again. 😕

 

The week in January is doable but would need to do a little work if any problems come up. In March, the rest of the staff would be off too, so no work. January is about $250 cheaper than March for same room, so that's a definite + for Jan. I love warm Caribbean weather and have always cruised there in July, so no experience with winter weather in that area, so i did some research on the weather in those months and there isn't too much difference except it seems it might rain less in March, definite + for Mar(see chart attached). Next, I checked other ships that'll be in the ports(also attached), again not much difference except the March week has no other ship in a port that I really want to see, so another + for March. Being that it'll be a solo cruise, I'm thinking in January there might be less people on board but the average of those that are on board may be more in my age range, a + for January. However, in March when there would be potentially more passengers on the ship, which could also be a good thing, but average age may be much younger than myself. Apologies for the jumbled post but that's how my brain has been while trying process this decision. 😁

 

Sooo....given all those parameters, if you were me, given your own previous experiences, Would You Rather go in January or March? If there's something that I haven't listed that you think might be a deciding factor one way or the other, please share.

 

I know in the end it's about what I think would work best for me but I'm just really not sure what that looks like at this point. 😁

WEATHER CHART-JAN, MAR.pdf PORT SCHEDULE CHART-JAN,MAR.pdf

[Sprigs616]

I've been in January and February.  I like to snorkel and January was a bit too chilly for me.  If I were you, I'd go in March, especially if you plan to enjoy the beach and/or water. Also, if Covid becomes seasonal, we might see a spike in cases in January again.   Whichever way you chose, I hope you have a lovely time!

 

[bhsolo]

A couple of thoughts but first YAY for you for booking a solo cruise.

 

Work - while there is wifi and streaming options on ships it can sometimes be stuck and not work like it does on land. Would that cause issues and/or stress for you in January if you were to have work to do?

 

Price - I do this for Royal so hopefully someone can chime in regarding Norwegian. When I book my cruise, I keep checking online and if the price goes down I call for it to be repriced, up until final payment. Then if it goes down again after final payment I can get obc (onboard credit) of the difference. You might be able to catch some good deals if you keep checking.

[SheSailsFL]

I avoid March, because its spring break all month for colleges across the country and the high schools on a rotating basis.  It is warmer in March but in the southern Caribbean, you will still have nice, warm weather in January, with less crowds and herds of drunk college kids.

[sportscruiser]

On 3/8/2022 at 1:50 PM, Sprigs616 said:

I've been in January and February.  I like to snorkel and January was a bit too chilly for me.  If I were you, I'd go in March, especially if you plan to enjoy the beach and/or water. Also, if Covid becomes seasonal, we might see a spike in cases in January again.   Whichever way you chose, I hope you have a lovely time!

 

I'm definitely like you in that I prefer warmer weather/water! I plan on doing the Baths on Tortola/Virgin Gorda which would require being in the water and I'm thinking it might be too chilly as well. According to the chart I made though the water temp seems only to be off by a degree or too so I appreciate your "real world" experience with the temp in January! Thanks for the good time wishes.

[sportscruiser]

On 3/8/2022 at 1:57 PM, bhsolo said:

A couple of thoughts but first YAY for you for booking a solo cruise.

 

Work - while there is wifi and streaming options on ships it can sometimes be stuck and not work like it does on land. Would that cause issues and/or stress for you in January if you were to have work to do?

 

Price - I do this for Royal so hopefully someone can chime in regarding Norwegian. When I book my cruise, I keep checking online and if the price goes down I call for it to be repriced, up until final payment. Then if it goes down again after final payment I can get obc (onboard credit) of the difference. You might be able to catch some good deals if you keep checking.

Thanks for the YAY for booking solo. I'm a little nervous but I was on a cruise in January with my family but had my own cabin for the first time so was on my own alot which gave me some courage to try a true solo. I did get lonely at times but I think it was more because my family was there but they were doing their own thing and had a little bit of FOMO. Great points on price. I wonder if Norwegian does handle price cuts the same way. Not sure if they'll price cuts since it'll be a new ship but ya never know.

[sportscruiser]

On 3/8/2022 at 5:32 PM, SheSailsFL said:

I avoid March, because its spring break all month for colleges across the country and the high schools on a rotating basis.  It is warmer in March but in the southern Caribbean, you will still have nice, warm weather in January, with less crowds and herds of drunk college kids.

Did you do a cruise in March before and had a bad experience with all the drunk college kids? That's one of the main drawbacks for going in March that I was worried about. I thought maybe since it's a 7 day cruise out of Puerto Rico, it wouldn't be a booze cruise!😧 Even if not a booze cruise I was thinking average age of solo cruisers would be younger which is what made me even think about going in January. Have any solo cruisers gone in March and can tell me if it was mostly a younger group of solos or a good mix of ages?

Edited March 10, 2022 by sportscruiser
Added remarks

[Sprigs616]

13 hours ago, sportscruiser said:

Did you do a cruise in March before and had a bad experience with all the drunk college kids? 

My very first cruise was a 3-night cruise in March on Carnival out of Los Angeles.  Yes there were tons of "spring breakers" on the ship but I never saw anyone acting inappropriately.  In fact, I quite liked the energy the younger set created on the ship.  They did tend to hog the pool and hot tubs but it didn't bother me.  I would be surprised if you had a lot of college age kids on a 7-night itinerary embarking in Puerto Rico.  If you haven't done so already, you might want to post this question on the NCL forum and/or the roll call for your specific sailing.

[brillohead]

I would definitely do the January cruise.  March is going to have more families and kids and people in general.

Water and air temperature from January to March are not going to differ enough to matter.  That area is so close to the equator that the temperatures don't fluctuate much at all.  January water temps in Curacao are typically 80F, to give you an idea.  The pools on the ship are cooler than that in the middle of summer!

 

[brillohead]

Just now, brillohead said:

I would definitely do the January cruise.  March is going to have more families and kids and people in general.

Water and air temperature from January to March are not going to differ enough to matter.  That area is so close to the equator that the temperatures don't fluctuate much at all.  January water temps in Curacao are typically 80F, to give you an idea.  The pools on the ship are cooler than that in the middle of summer!

For the record, I'm not some meteorological wizard who randomly knows the average water temperatures of islands -- I was actually researching snorkeling in the ABCs earlier today for my own upcoming cruises in a few weeks, so I just saw this tidbit of info at just the right time to regurgitate it here!  LOL

[sportscruiser]

On 4/5/2022 at 10:47 PM, brillohead said:

For the record, I'm not some meteorological wizard who randomly knows the average water temperatures of islands -- I was actually researching snorkeling in the ABCs earlier today for my own upcoming cruises in a few weeks, so I just saw this tidbit of info at just the right time to regurgitate it here!  LOL

I actually included the water temp information on the weather chart I attached in my original post lol, so we don't have to be meteorological wizards 😛 I actually ended up booking the March cruise because there's a slight chance of someone being able to come with me(still booked a solo studio) because their spring break is the same week as the cruise but if they end up not being able to go I'll probably switch to the January cruise if I know before final payment is due. Have a great ABC cruise!

Edited April 11, 2022 by sportscruiser
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