Spring Break or Summer? What is better?

[MnAsMom]

I am sure they are both crowded times. We priced out the first week of our sons summer vacation (will be close to $5000) and then thought we might check out spring break. It might be closer to $4000. My husband seemed to warm up to the idea that spring break might not be such a bad idea... especially for the pocketbook! This would be a 7 day mexican riviera. I was also looking at the temps for the area... March they are around 80 degrees... in June it is closer to 90 degrees. I just would hate to get down there and find the ocean is too cold and no fun. I also wonder if the cruise down would be cold? I know the boys would be bummed if it was cold and they couldn't swim or use the waterslide.

 

would you hold out and fork over the extra $ for Summer or jump on the Spring Break cruise? Are we setting ourselves up for a horrible time filled with loud obnoxious spring breakers on Carnival? Our sons Spring break is from March 14th through the 23rd.

 

Thanks for your advise/suggestions

[crusinmama06]

That's kind of a toughie for me. True spring break IS a party crowd. It's not so bad on a 7 day than on a shorter cruise. But you will have a younger crowd around, pending on the ship.

 

When do your kids go back to school? The prices start to take a dive about the 3rd week of August since other kids go back early (mine don't)

[MnAsMom]

hmmm I didn't think about the very end of the summer. School began on September 5th this year... will probably be sometime the first week of September again for the 08-09 school year. My only hesitation would be that it will be SUPER HOT in Mexico at that point... 95 as opposed to 85. I don't know if it would make a huge difference though?

 

The price we got for June was $1249 (+tax and fuel charges) for 1st and 2nd and then $799 (+ tax) for 3rd and 4th. The carnival website is showing $1299 for June and $1079 for August 24th. Hmmm maybe I'll have the carnival agent run rates for late August too. I hope my boys won't be too bummed having to wait till the end of the summer though!!!

 

Thanks for the idea... I'll run it by my hubby and see what he thinks!

 

So you would probably say skip Spring Break then??? I want my boys and my husband for that matter to have a fun time. If the pool will be full of idiots making a scene I might consider waiting.

 

~Tondi

[crusinmama06]

So you would probably say skip Spring Break then??? I want my boys and my husband for that matter to have a fun time. If the pool will be full of idiots making a scene I might consider waiting.

 

~Tondi

 

You live in So Cal so I could't imagine the heat being more oppressive for you than it is for me living up here in the frigid North East :) And I didn't have a problem with the end of August.

 

March is a very bad time for being on a ship. I see complaints every year around that time from people who swear they will never step foot on a ship in March again.

 

I've cruised at the end of April and it was wonderful. But that would mean pulling the boys out of school.

[MnAsMom]

Thanks for that... I've never heard of March being a bad time but I can see where it might be true... being that it's the tail end of sick season etc. I think we'll skip the spring break idea and figure out what time to go in the summer! Now if the carnival agent would call me back! :)

 

I wish we could pull our son from school but he is in an LAUSD school and they are not understanding at all, from what I understand! Not worth it to fight with them!

 

I appreciate your responses!

 

~Tondi

[SelectSys]

... I just would hate to get down there and find the ocean is too cold and no fun. I also wonder if the cruise down would be cold? I know the boys would be bummed if it was cold and they couldn't swim or use the waterslide.

 

would you hold out and fork over the extra $ for Summer or jump on the Spring Break cruise? Are we setting ourselves up for a horrible time filled with loud obnoxious spring breakers on Carnival? Our sons Spring break is from March 14th through the 23rd.

 

Thanks for your advise/suggestions

 

I was on the competitors ship (RCCL Vision of the Seas) during spring break 2 years ago. By the time you wake up on the first sea day south the weather should be fine for hitting the pool. Same story on the return north.

When we went, the ship was full of families and not really the traditional spring break crowd - large groups of single, drinking kids. Here is the booking policy from Carnival:

 

How old do you have to be to travel alone?Guests are required to be 21 years old (on embarkation day) to travel. Guests under the age of 21 must be accompanied in the same stateroom by a parent or guardian 25 or older. The exceptions Carnival will make to this policy are:

 

Married minor couple - The booking must be documented that the couple is married. The couple must have proof of marriage at embarkation or they will be denied boarding without the benefit of a refund.

 

Domestic Partners/Same-Sex Union minor couple - The booking must be documented that the couple are legal Domestic Partners/Same-Sex Union. The couple must have legal proof of partnership/union at embarkation or they will be denied boarding without the benefit of a refund.

Guest ages will be verified at embarkation. Guests not conforming to this policy will be denied boarding and assessed a 100% cancellation penalty. NO exceptions will be made at embarkation.

 

The Group policy is slightly different because of stricter group terms and conditions including mandatory chaperones, damage deposits and other considerations.

[rebeccalouise]

i think that you will have nice weather in March. Perhaps you should read about the cruises from 07 in that time frame under "Reviews"- that might give you a better idea of temps and the vibe on the ship.

[rebeccalouise]

duplicate

[crusinmama06]

i think that you will have nice weather in March. Perhaps you should read about the cruises from 07 in that time frame under "Reviews"- that might give you a better idea of temps and the vibe on the ship.

 

Yeah good idea...I just took a quick look. It's not good. These were literally the first 3 I clicked on and they had high numbers, but the review said it all...lol

 

March 07 Carnival Glory

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=26958

To my husband’s and teenage son’s great delight, the boat had a tremendous amount of spring breakers– mostly pretty young women - aboard from both the US and Canada. Drinking was way up and for the most part they behaved themselves, but I was rather alarmed by the way the staff would continue to serve an already (obviously) drunk person. At a late night comedy show, one young lady was celebrating her birthday and I really thought before the show was over she was going to show us the top half of her birthday suit. She didn’t, but they kept bringing her drinks during the show even though she was heckling the comedian, constantly jumping up, screaming and twirling some sort of pom pom. She was definitely the side show.

 

March 07 Glory

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=27255

Other: The pool areas were great, typical of Carnival ships. Since this was a “Spring Break” week they were full of kids.

 

March 07 Glory

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=26887

"The cruise that I was on had TONS of crazy and out-of-control college spring breakers on it. My hat is off to the staff, crew and captain of the Carnival Glory for an OUTSTANDING job of properly and appropriately handling the behavior of quite a few of these disrupters. Security was in force in all trouble spots. I know of several who had personal visits and consultations by security. They were told that their behavior was not acceptable, it would have to change and had to sign forms stating they would discontinue their disruptive behavior or be removed from the ship. This was not done in an embarrassing manner but handled appropriately and there was a change in behavior by the disruptive spring breakers. Once again, hats off to Carnival Glory for a job well done."

[SelectSys]

Yeah good idea...I just took a quick look. It's not good. These were literally the first 3 I clicked on and they had high numbers, but the review said it all...lol

 

March 07 Carnival Glory ...

 

I took a look and noticed that these reviews were for the Caribbean rather than Mexico. I think the Mexico cruises are generally quite a bit tamer than those in the Caribbean for Spring Break.

 

Take a look at the Pride reviews as this was Carnival's ship on the Mexico run last year -

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=190

 

My quick review didn't turn up too much. See this review -

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=27323

Carnival Pride - Mexican Riviera

Cruise Review 3/25 – 4/1 Carnival Pride General and Background Information We sailed on the Carnival Pride to celebrate our 10th anniversary with my in-laws, celebrating their 25th anniversary. This was our fifth cruse, fourth with Carnival. I am composing this completely from memory, very fond memories. For being a spring break cruise, the ship did not seem to be over run with unruly teens as I had expected. As a high school teacher, I can spot that from a distance. On the last sea day we did see some groups congregating in stairwells, and the in-laws did see some underage drinking on the ship on one occasion, but the children were well behaved for the most part. It was much better than I expected from the reviews I have read about spring break cruises. The pool area (especially the first and last sea day when the roof was closed over the pool) was crowded with children, but that can be avoided by heading to the adults only aft pool.

[crusinmama06]

I took a look and noticed that these reviews were for the Caribbean rather than Mexico. I think the Mexico cruises are generally quite a bit tamer than those in the Caribbean for Spring Break.

 

Ohhhh, I didn't see the OP wanted Mexican Riviera. I never noticed a difference but you're right, the ones I grabbed were from the Carribean.

 

Do you honestly think those cruises are tamer? What would the difference be? For instance, I know the Med cruises are tamer because no spring breaker is going to pay the price for one...lol. And longer cruises are tamer, once again price (and possibly time away). But since Mexican riviera cruises are priced generally the same, what would the difference be?

 

PLEASE don't take this as me being argumentative. I am genuinly interested (I know it's hard to tell tone on these boards ;) ) We always try to cruise the last week of April because we like the weather and like to avoid the spring break crowd...but if there is a way to avoid the crowd and not have to push it to the last week of April, then I am all ears :D

[SelectSys]

Ohhhh, I didn't see the OP wanted Mexican Riviera. I never noticed a difference but you're right, the ones I grabbed were from the Carribean.

 

Do you honestly think those cruises are tamer? What would the difference be? For instance, I know the Med cruises are tamer because no spring breaker is going to pay the price for one...lol. And longer cruises are tamer, once again price (and possibly time away). But since Mexican riviera cruises are priced generally the same, what would the difference be?

 

PLEASE don't take this as me being argumentative. I am genuinly interested (I know it's hard to tell tone on these boards ;) ) We always try to cruise the last week of April because we like the weather and like to avoid the spring break crowd...but if there is a way to avoid the crowd and not have to push it to the last week of April, then I am all ears :D

 

I really think the Mexico cruises are tamer. A few reasons -

 

- We only have a few ships on the west coast doing these 7 day cruises. I actually believe prices are higher here than what I see for cruises departing Florida.

 

- Spring break isn't as big a deal on the west coast. I think this is probably due to the fact that the weather ion the west coast isn't quite as severe in the east and population. The kids driving south out of NY, MA, NJ, and PA are all looking to thaw out after a pretty harsh winter. We just don't have the same numbers coming south out of Washington and Oregon.

 

- Reputation - cruise ships on the west coast aren't really talked about as spring break destinations. Most of the kids out here want to go Hawaii or Mexico or maybe out to the deserts of CA or AZ.

 

My experience on the Vision of the Seas was that it was a fairly tame ship. Not all that much different than we saw on our 2 Caribbean cruises (also at school break time) on Disney. Perhaps we were just lucky or go to bed too early to see the real party start! :)

[crusinmama06]

I really think the Mexico cruises are tamer. A few reasons -

 

- We only have a few ships on the west coast doing these 7 day cruises. I actually believe prices are higher here than what I see for cruises departing Florida.

 

- Spring break isn't as big a deal on the west coast. I think this is probably due to the fact that the weather ion the west coast isn't quite as severe in the east and population. The kids driving south out of NY, MA, NJ, and PA are all looking to thaw out after a pretty harsh winter. We just don't have the same numbers coming south out of Washington and Oregon.

 

- Reputation - cruise ships on the west coast aren't really talked about as spring break destinations. Most of the kids out here want to go Hawaii or Mexico or maybe out to the deserts of CA or AZ.

 

My experience on the Vision of the Seas was that it was a fairly tame ship. Not all that much different than we saw on our 2 Caribbean cruises (also at school break time) on Disney. Perhaps we were just lucky or go to bed too early to see the real party start! :)

 

That all makes perfect sense! Thanks :D

[MnAsMom]

Thanks ladies for pointing me to the reviews from March 07... I wouldn't have thought of that! That said after sitting down with my hubby we decided we will stay local over spring break and shoot for something in the summertime. I still have to get a passport for my 2 year old.... actually going today to get his passport photos done so we can get the process underway!

 

I appreciate your help greatly!

 

~Tondi

[QTMichele]

Hi there! I just want to add that the weather shouldn't be a major concern. Yes, it can be rainy at times, but the temps should be warm, if not hot. We went at the end of February/beginning of March last year and LOVED our weather. It was a little breezy leaving Port Canaveral, but we were so busy checking out the ship that we didn't mind not spending a lot of outdoor time. The next morning it was quite warm. We never had any rain either, despite the forecast we saw before we left. Good luck finding a week that fits your needs. We're starting to plan our cruise for next year - cannot wait!!! (If they'd just release the dates!)