cruising in June, July , or August, big gamble?

[FMCowboy]

I'm looking at booking our 2nd cruise, and I know June, July, August, and Spet. are the height of hurricane season. How big of a gamble is it to book and sail during those months? I'd like August as rates are cheaper due to the weather I would imagine, but I wouldn't want to have bad weather, and get sick or miss ports of call etc....

 

Any thoughts? Which are the best months to travel the Carribean and still get good rates?

 

FM

[ckrobyn]

I'm looking at booking our 2nd cruise, and I know June, July, August, and Spet. are the height of hurricane season. How big of a gamble is it to book and sail during those months? I'd like August as rates are cheaper due to the weather I would imagine, but I wouldn't want to have bad weather, and get sick or miss ports of call etc....

 

Any thoughts? Which are the best months to travel the Carribean and still get good rates?

 

FM

 

Many folks on here sail exclusively during the summer months - which is also the height of hurricane season, and have great cruises. The risk of missing ports due to hurricanes is a reality during these months.

 

I personally choose not to sail during this time. Me being the nut case person that I am would be way to paranoid about bad weather, and it would ruin my pre-cruise anticipation!!! That's just me though :rolleyes:

 

You can get great rates on Caribbean sailings if you book far enough in advance. For example: I am booked on the AOS for a B2B the weeks of Feb 24/08 and March 2/08 - I booked onboard the AOS a year ago, and paid $1199 for a JS. If I were to book the exact same cabin today - the rate is now over $1800 :eek: Plus, if you are a C&A member, you have the potential save even more with a balcony discount and on any coupons that may be available for your sailing. Worth looking into.

 

Just my 2 cents :o

[cravingacruz!!]

i personally wouldn't want to cruise in the summer/ early fall (sept.) months either. like ckrobyn said- i too would be way to stressed before the cruise that i think it would ruin the excitement and anticipation! one of the great things about cruising, is being able to have fun waiting for the date to come! don't ruin one of the fun parts by being worried about wheather! either way you go, Happy Cruising!:)

[Retired LEO]

Consider sailing during this time as an "Adventure" If you're scheduled to go Eastern you might go Western. If you're scheduled to go Western you might go Eastern. Some ports might be missed and you end up with sea days.

 

Ships steer clear of Tropical storm or Hurricanes but the seas can sometimes be rough. There's not much they can do about that.

 

There's also been times where a 7 day cruise has turned into an 8 or 9 day cruise because the ship can't get back due to the storm. Hey, nothing wrong with that.

 

It's just a chance you take.

[ckrobyn]

What is a C&A member please?

 

 

I'm sorry - I should have clarified. C&A means Crown and Anchor Society. You can become a member after your first completed cruise with Royal Caribbean. After the first cruise, you will become a Gold Member. After 5 cruises, a Platinum Member - and after 10 cruises a Diamond Member, then a Diamond + Member after 24 cruises. You can make it to each level faster if you sail in a Junior Suite or above, as you will receive 2 cruise credits instead of one. The balcony discounts increase with each C&A level. Hope this clarifies??

[39august]

Typically, the first 2 or 3 weeks of Sept. are most prone to hurricane activity. So earlier in the summer is less likely to be impacted. I won't cruise in the summer because of the high prices. We get much better deals sailing in the fall. And if you sail after mid-October, hurricanes are very unlikely, tho', of course, possible.

[98Charlie]

There's also been times where a 7 day cruise has turned into an 8 or 9 day cruise because the ship can't get back due to the storm. Hey, nothing wrong with that.

Unless you're on the next cruise when your 7 night turns into a 6 or 5:eek:

 

 

Back to the original question

Which are the best months to travel the Carribean and still get good rates?

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas often yeild good rates. Likewise after New Years and before Spring Break period kicks in. Then again from the end of Spring Break period to Memorial Day.

 

Post Labor Day September through October is another time to find a good bargain. If the hurricanes worry you during that time, consider the Mexican Riviera, Alaska or a repo on the west coast.

 

If your time off is flexible you have a number of options.

 

Charlie

[Priusprof]

Hurricane season is June1 to November 30. The peak of hurricane season is mid September until mid October. We have been on cruises in June and July with great weather. The hurricanes form off Africa and travel across the Atlantic and impact the eastern itineraries. The water between Africa and the Caribbean heats up over the course of the summer and is most likely to fuel hurricane intensification when the sea water surface temps are close to 90 degrees. Even in December the water temps in the Caribbean and in the Atlantic near St Thomas are in the low to mid 80's. The other area most prone to hurricane formation is the Caribbean itself. The storms form and start in the eastern Caribbean and move west or northwest and either hit the Yucatan or curve northwest and hit Cuba, Jamaica, Grand Cayman before coming further north into the Gulf of Mexico. It is relatively rare that a cruise is cancelled entirely but an existing cruise can get extended or the start can be disrupted if a homeport is facing the arrival of a hurricane or strong tropical storm. Once the cruise sails they can alter the itinerary to avoid the bad weather and change ports of call as needed. Shore excursions are disrupted when the ports change but that is part of the game that you play.

Here in Florida the tropical weather forecast is part of every day weather forecast. If there's a hurricane out there we track it even if it is nowhere close.

[Mydnite]

We have booked our first cruise for September, saying that we are well aware of the risk, and are booking it with a very relaxed attitude that the itinerary may change :)

[bplazo]

We have cruised a couple times the first week of December and have had great cruises.

[Lionesss]

When we sailed the disney cruise in 2006, we left Cape canavral, as a Tropical depression was climbing up the coast. Yes, it did make for some interesting sailing, a little rough waters, but, it is the only time we could sail. We booked the RCI this upcoming August, and hope for calmer seas, but if not what is one to do.

We were in Disney when hurricaine Charlie went through, and learned first hand how to survive a hurricaine at the Wilderness Lodge. Those people were awesome, and we felt very secure.

I have also heard of ships not being able to dock at ports and changing itineraries, I guess it would become a suprise cruise.

[Pumbaamd]

Yes, June, July and August are a gamble. Not just the hurricane season. It is HOT HOT HOT! There are children of all ages on board. Nothing against them, or the college students, but it is much more quiet at other times.

We have cruised many times the first half of January. It is wonderful to leave the cold and snow of North America and sail the Carib.

Check out something in January.

Rick and Deirdra

[jillyfish]

We were out there during Hurricane Jeanne. We were scheduled to go East, but went West. We ended up with just two ports even though we did stop in Grand Cayman to drop off water, food and supplies to them as they had just also been hit by a hurricane (no one was allowed off the ship). As we headed back to Port Everglades we found out Hurricane Jeanne, which we thought was long gone by this time, had done a loop-de-loop and was still swirling off the southern coast of Florida. They closed Port Everglades. We ended up on the ship 10 days instead of 7 and only got off the ship once :eek: We love days at sea, but by this time we were ready to get off. Yes, it was an adventure, ten foot waves and all. :o I wouldn't say we would never go during hurricane season again, we would just be sure to bring more things to occupy ourselves in case we were on the ship longer than intended.

So FMCowboy, if you book during hurricane season, just be prepared for anything. We even had a wedding party on our ship that was suppose to be married in St. Thomas, their entire plans were cancelled!!

[aqhacruiser]

We hit Tropical Storm Barry on our way to Bermuda in early June. We just came home from Hurricane Noel 11/4. I suppose we'll hit a Nor'easter on the 12/2. Good thing we do not get seasick:) You just can't control the weather so I think anytime is a good time to cruise:) middle to late Oct. is our favorite time.

[SeaSprayTB]

We've been on 4 cruises so far:

 

RCI's Nordic Empress to Bermuda - End of June/Beginning of July 2003: great weather

 

Disney Magic Western Caribbean August 2004: our 7-night cruise turned into a 10-night cruise due to Hurricane Frances. We NEVER saw a drop of rain and had excellent weather. We missed 1 scheduled port, but they took us to 2 additional ports, plus the extra sea days. We had to return to a different port than where we left from due to damage at the original port (Port Canaveral).

 

Disney Magic Western Caribbean August 2006: great weather

 

RCIs Explorer of the Seas Eastern Caribbean - End of Oct/Beginning of Nov 2007: Hurricane Noel - We missed 2 ports but they added 1 new port, we had rain on a couple of the days, and fairly rough seas coming back. We had an extra 8 hours on the ship getting back to port due to the rough seas.

 

So you see, you just can't tell.

 

My only advice is BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE! :)

 

 

P.S. We had a blast on EVERY single one of these cruises :cool:

[jackdiamond]

We do not cruise in hurricane season, primarily due to the fact if our home was impacted we would not be available to secure same. Also, we would not be able to crank up the generator to save all our food in the refrigerator and freezer. On the other hand, we do take beach vacations during that season, but not usually more than a hundred or so miles from our abode.

[Thing2]

I'm looking at booking our 2nd cruise, and I know June, July, August, and Spet. are the height of hurricane season. How big of a gamble is it to book and sail during those months? I'd like August as rates are cheaper due to the weather I would imagine, but I wouldn't want to have bad weather, and get sick or miss ports of call etc....

 

Any thoughts? Which are the best months to travel the Carribean and still get good rates?

 

FM

 

I am a Florida girl so have a little experience with hurricanes............don't worry about it! The peek is usually September and October but even so we always cruise in September. :D

[Leafpeeper]

I'm looking at booking our 2nd cruise, and I know June, July, August, and Spet. are the height of hurricane season. How big of a gamble is it to book and sail during those months? I'd like August as rates are cheaper due to the weather I would imagine, but I wouldn't want to have bad weather, and get sick or miss ports of call etc....

 

Any thoughts? Which are the best months to travel the Carribean and still get good rates?

 

FM

 

Alaska, California, Vancouver-Hawaii, New England-Canada are all great summer cruises.

[AMommyof2]

All of our previous cruises have been between mid to late July. Perfect weather on everyone so far.

[bubbie617]

I worked for a school district for many years, so we were usually only able to cruise during the summer. Fortunately, we never hit a hurricane. In fact, in 2006 (I had taken early retirement) we cruised at the end of October in the Caribbean. At the time we booked, we were a little concerned about the possibility of a hurricane because 2005 was a particularly bad year for storms, but we had beautiful weather.

 

Weather can be changeable at any time. Ships' captains are pretty good at going around big storms.

[DonnaK]

We have to cruise during the summer (kids in school), and find the rates are best the last two weeks of August, so this is when we travel. Thankfully, we've never had a problem with weather (other than it being VERY hot in the Caribbean). We always by insurance, and we arrive at the departure port a day or two in advance, just in case, and we have a flexible attitude regarding itinerary changes. We think it's a gamble worth taking.

[maxs mom]

In cruising for over 22 years, the majority of those cruises were in June, July, August, or even September. We have never had any real problems. There is that chance but we have been lucky.

[willysgrandma]

We ALWAYS cruise between September and November - much cheaper!

 

And we've never been hit with a hurricane issue yet. We've skirted some, but never had on that impacted our cruise. The one time we cruised in April, we didn't make two ports due to wind- that was worse than cruising during hurricane season.

 

Just make sure you buy insurance.

[MINIDRVR]

We have to cruise during the summer (kids in school), and find the rates are best the last two weeks of August, so this is when we travel. Thankfully, we've never had a problem with weather (other than it being VERY hot in the Caribbean). We always by insurance, and we arrive at the departure port a day or two in advance, just in case, and we have a flexible attitude regarding itinerary changes. We think it's a gamble worth taking.

 

Hello DonnaK, Jim and Girls~Nice to see you again........wishing you a Merry Christmas!:)

 

Oh, by the way has anyone heard from the OP lately....guess we gave him enough info to keep him busy for awhile......

 

We agree with DonnaK.....we travel during August....we live in FL and hurricane season isn't a real concern.....and the tropics are hot during that time......:eek:

[DonnaK]

Hello DonnaK, Jim and Girls~Nice to see you again........wishing you a Merry Christmas!:)

 

Oh, by the way has anyone heard from the OP lately....guess we gave him enough info to keep him busy for awhile......

 

We agree with DonnaK.....we travel during August....we live in FL and hurricane season isn't a real concern.....and the tropics are hot during that time......:eek:

 

 

Hi Joyce!!! Great to run into you here! Merry Christmas to you and Lynn too.