Looks like rain...

[newtocruising18]

Has anyone been on a cruise when it rained the whole time? I've been checking the 10-day forecasts for our Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Jewel next week and it's not looking good for us. Scattered showers or just straight-up showers listed just about every day. What can we do to brighten our spirits if we can't go to the pool or beach, and can't take a walking tour of the islands without getting soaked to the bone?

 

It wasn't supposed to be rainy season for any of these islands right now :(

[weloverunning]

Newtocruising:

A little bit of advice. Do not look at the weather forecast. There is not a thing you can do about it so why stress yourself out about it. Keep in mind the weatherpeople on TV can't even get the forecast right one day ahead of time. How would they ever get it right ten days ahead of time?:) We were going to Cancun for ten days last August. The weather channel website forecast showed rain the entire ten days we were to be there. Guess what??? It never rained one drop the entire trip.

[calmac]

Just remember that it will be WARM rain - makes all the difference :D

[geojobes]

It rarely rains more than a few minutes at a time in this part of the world. I lived in Puerto Rico for 4 years back in the 70's. It will pour for 10 minutes, then stop. You can watch the water dry off of things, then it gets warmer than it was before it rains. Don't worry too much. That said, we went on a Bermuda cruise in May, it rained every day in Hamilton. We still had fun, we got to enjoy the ship more.

[linnealee]

I went on the Jewel Dec. 17 to the 24th & the forecast was for showers for every port we were supposed to stop at. It only sprinkled for a few seconds in San Juan & in St. John. So, I would just ignore the forecast & wait till the actual last minute. When I went to Alaska the forecast was rain every day when it was the complete opposite, warm & sunny.

[5668200]

Take the forecasts with a grain, very small grain, of salt! Several cruises ago the forecast showed rain every day, all day. We had about 15 minutes total.

[mitsguy2001]

One thing that I have found in pretty much any part of the world is that the weather forecast seems to usually be a worst case scenario, and the weather is usually better than predicted.

[madhouseinc]

I am cruising on the 7th and have read the same reports. Taking them with salt, but still brining my umbrella.

[suezyq50]

I had looked at the forcast for our Dec. cruise and saw "liquid sunshine" as some say. It did rain some, but before long the sun was out. We did take some card games in case we needed them.

[agabbymama]

Yes, it rained everyday we were in San Juan Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Martin. 6 days out of 6 days. And I don't mean just a little rain, I mean it poured. It was funny on the tour in St. Thomas the bus had plastic roll up windows, and the driver was continually stopping to either roll them down or roll them up. He thought the rain was done, so he'd roll the things back up, then it would start pouring again, so he had to stop and roll them down. I think he did that about 6 times, then finally just left them down. It was warm but if you are wet, it's still miserable.

 

There isn't really anything you can do about it, just take an umbrella and lightweight rain poncho. You will still have a great time. The ship is still lovely and the food is still wonderful. If you have a balcony, you might be able to sit on it and watch the rain (a favorite pastime of mine).:p

[newtocruising18]

Thanks guys! I certainly hope that we only get a few minutes of rain each day and the sun is allowed to come out! I'm getting really excited about my trip and am overpacking already, of course :)

[newmexicoNita]

As already mentioned, normally rain forecast in the tropics can mean 10 minutes only. Don't let it bother you. Now, to answer your question about rain the entire time: NO, never have we had that but we did get quite a bit on our Amsterdam cruise last month as well as cloudy skies all but 1 day. It wasn't much fun. We did lots of reading and the ship did have a sliding roof thus we could lay out by the pool even if the weather wans't particularly pleasant. The worst part, we couldn't go snorkeling.

 

On our transatlantic cruise last year (well 2005) we did the northern route; it rained for about 4 or 5 days in a row, we missed a port and of course it was cold to boot. Lots of time spent in the casino, they ship showed extra movies, we played trivia games more than usual and did the wine tasting etc. It was fine. Remember cruising is a total experience, not just about the sun. NMnita

[alabama gal]

We went on the Western route last June. We hardley had any sun, it rained every day, but we still had a great time. Between the rain times we were able to go on our excursion. I have some wonderful pictures where you could see the storm clouds coming in on us. As everyone says don't worry, just go and enjoy. I can't wait for my cruise on the eastern route.