HELP -- Anyone gone in July?

[invaderzim]

We were all set and booked to take the Eastern Caribbean cruise in November with another couple and they have backed out. Now we are left with the dilemma of trying to change our cruise to a Western Caribbean -- which was our first choice to begin with but the other couple didn't want! Of course, the prices are all much higher now and the only date we can seem to get so far from MouseEars Vacations that is not too much over our original price is July 17th. QUESTION: Has anyone sailed to the Western Caribbean in July? How hot is it? Is there a lot of rain? Any information would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[MaryPSU]

While we haven't done the Western cruise before, we have sailed twice in July ... once for four days on the Wonder (stopping in Nassau) and another time on a seven-day Eastern Magic cruise.

We are now booked on the July 17 Western cruise that you're considering (two families with DD11, DS10, DD8, and DD7 - as well as two grandparents).

July is not the ideal time to cruise if you don't like the heat, but since we've traveled with other families we have had to be flexible to fit in with their schedules.

We NEVER were uncomfortably warm while on the ship, perhaps becuase of the breezes while it's in motion. It is hot on the islands, so if heat bothers you I'd recommend excursions that help cool you off - beaches, snorkeling, boating, etc. It is hot on Castaway Cay but I can't say it bothered us since we spent lots of time in the water.

Other than some showers on departure day, we never experienced any rain in our two previous July cruises.

Hope this helps ... if you choose the July 17 cruise, we'll be cruising together!

 

[kcashner]

Well, I'll be the party pooper. We did WDW and the cruise once in July. It was 106 degrees on departure date. Even the water was too hot to enjoy. We had fun, but personally, I wouldn't do July again. We much prefer September--warm, but not opressively hot.

 

[KarenB]

We will be there this July. After this winter, I am ready for hot weather!!!!!

 

[inkkognito]

We sailed on the Wonder this past Fourth of July, and the weather was not as hot as I expected it to be. I still was comfortable enough to enjoy our verandah, and it was great for swimming at Castaway Cay. Also, no rain, just lots of beautiful sunshine. It was windy on Nassau day...I remember that because there was a Fourth of July fireworks display, and the winds affected which side of the ship the fireworks were launched from (they were set off from a barge).
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[dznynut]

We have only cruised (DCL of course!!) in December, but we (myself, DH, DS - 14 and DS's best friend - 14) are all set for the 7/17/04 western. I know that it will be really hot. In fact, we really wanted to do the all day ruins tour in Cozumel, but I think it would really zap our energy to be out in the sun all day. We are going to WDW for a week after the cruise too. DS is in 8th grade in a Catholic Jr. High with very tough standards. He is also a straight A student, so taking him out of school for 2 weeks during the school year just isn't a possibility, so summer is our only choice for a long vacation.

I'm sure that as long as we have the right attitude we'll all have a great time. We have visited WDW in June or July the past 4 summers and yes it is hot. It's actually been a few degrees hotter back home when we're there though. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be hot in WDW than hot back home and at work!!

Hope to see you on the 7/17/04 western!!

 

[Doctor P]

We did the Western cruise on 7/19 this past summer. When we got to Florida (driving from Illinois) we really wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. However, the cruise was nowhere near as bad as we expected, and we don't think it was just because we got used to it. These are our after the fact observations: 1) Key West was by far the worst port for heat. It was stifling and very uncomfortable--we took the Bone Island shuttle (instead of the Conch Train or the Trolley) which proved to be one of the best decisions we made since the shuttle is air conditioned and the other options are open air (though covered); 2) Deck 9 of the ship tended to be somewhat uncomfortable at times due to the plexiglas enclosures and lack of air movement, but Deck 10 was exceedingly pleasant at almost all times (especially when the ship was moving); 3) the ship was generally well air conditioned, but the hallways on our deck (deck 7 aft) would get warm at times from the laundry room and due to lack of significant air conditioning with people movin around, and our room would take a little while to cool down at night but it did get cool enough; 4) Grand Cayman and Cozumel were warm but not at all unbearable as the humidity did not seem to be as stifling; 5) We did the Tulum Ruins tour on a hot day and it really was not very bad--we brought water bottles and wore sunscreen and we all felt it was not anywhere near as bad as we expected or had been told--there was a bit of a breeze and there was much more shade than we had been led to believe (it's not heavily forested but there are some trees and there are also a couple of shelters to stand in the shade). I do not like heat, and we went when it was pretty much peak heat (mid-90's the whole time) and we would still not hesitate to do it again.

 

[minimahaki]

We are sailing the western on 7/31. We also did the western this past 1/3. I only went into the pool once because the water was to cold for me. I like the water temp warmmmmmmmmmmm!
I found the most uncomfortable part of the warm weather on board to be the life boat drill. Standing there for 10 min. feels like an hour! I think this next cruise I will take a dip prior to the drill!
Lauretta

 

[tigger53]

we always do the crusies in july and i don't have any complaints about the heat. i agree with the fact that key west was by far the hottest port i've ever been too. outside of that all was well.

 

[noahsmom]

we went to WDW and 4 night cruise in July of 2002, we go again this July. Since my dh is a teacher we don't have much choice. WDW was VERY hot and uncomfortable. But we stayed at the Poly which made it easy to hit the pool in the afternoons. I thought the cruise was very comfortable. Warm but there was always a breeze and we spent lots of time around the pool or at the beach. The weather was perfect and the seas were like glass! No sea sickness at all.

I have a coworker who sailed last January and they wore sweatshirts! I'd rather be hot than have to wear sweatshirts on a cruise. They were only able to swim one day because the weather was so cool. We live in Wisconsin so anything above 50 in January is warm to us!

Go, have fun and enjoy the sun and warmth!

Kelli

 

[CRSNDSNY]

We are hoping to cruise this July! We've only ever cruised in December and January, so the very hot weather will be new to us! I'm looking forward to swimming at Castaway Cay...the water has always been just too chilly for me in Dec and Jan. We really want to parasail!


CROSS YOUR FINGERS!

 

[mmouse37]

We have sailed in July twice and yes, it is hot, but no hotter than New York in July!!! And I would much rather be cruising than sitting at home or work!!!

Actually the cruise itself was delightful due to the constant breezes, but as other mentioned....Key West was unbearable. We have also sailed in January and Key West was freezing.....I'll take July over January!!!

MJ

 

[DDluvstitch]

I agree with Docotor P , in fact we were on the same cruise this past summer! Yes, Key West was stifling - but we enjoyed it nonetheless. They tell you that Key West never gets hotter than 92 due to the sea breezes, but it was clearly 96 while we were there.

We had no problems at all on the ship. In fact, we were usually cold in the dining rooms. We were not near laundry rooms so I cannot comment on that. But we really had no problems on the ship at all with the heat. But we live in MD, so maybe we are just used to the heat in the summer Anyhow, we have booked another cruise this summer and it will be our third cruise during the July/August timeframe.

happy cruising!