January Weather in Caribbean

[Pluto1976]

The DW and I are planning a DCL cruise to the Caribbean and were wondering what to expect from the weather in January. Is it shorts and swimming weather?

Our other thought is early November timeframe. However, a little afraid of hurricanes.

 

[DVCconvert]

It will be better than what's in MD!

I'd say most folks would have no problem wearing shorts or swimming, especially if they're not from a tropical climate.

HTH

 

[SnowWhite2]

If you are going to the Caribbean then expect 80-85 degrees during the day and lower 70's at night. It's the tropics. It's warm.

If you are going to the Bahamas, it will most likely be in the 70's. Some will think it is too cold but notherners don't have too much problem with it. It might be warmer or colder, but on average it will be in the 70's.

On deck in the evening, it will be windy and chilly so I'd advise a light jacket. I've spent a few nights on deck watching Arielvision wrapped in towels from the pool.

 

[scootch]

My brother just got back from a cruise to Jamaica, Cozemel and St. Martin and they were tan and in swim suits or halter tops in all the pics. I would gather that the nights might be a bit cooler on the ship, but I think you find this alot due to the wind.

 

[clawmachine]

Pluto - I live very close to you in MD and am headed on our DCL cruise this weekend. I'll report back the temps, but packed a variety of clothes just in case!

 

[Pluto1976]

Pluto - I live very close to you in MD and am headed on our DCL cruise this weekend. I'll report back the temps, but packed a variety of clothes just in case!

Looking forward to the weather report Clawmachine!

Thanks to everybody for their feedback! Given this info. I think we are going to go ahead and book our preferred choice of January for our first 7-night cruise. We can certainly handle anything above 70 and sunny as long as the "wind chill" is not too bad, but I think if it is getting into the 80s the "wind chill" becomes a "tropical breeze".

 

[thechief]

Google

 

[NancyIL]

I would expect the Caribbean to be warm in January. The Bahamas are further north (not far from SE Florida), and if FL is cold, Castaway Cay won't be much warmer.

 

[KSandbergFL]

The DW and I are planning a DCL cruise to the Caribbean and were wondering what to expect from the weather in January. Is it shorts and swimming weather?

We have cruised 4 years in a row, on January 3-night'ers (2007-2010). That's 12 days on the boat, in Jan. The weather has always been fantastic, except for one brutally miserable day (in the 50's, with 30-35mph winds) in Jan 2009. Definitely shorts weather, at least during the day. Bring sweaters to wear in the evening.

The only "downside" is that the water temps are too cold for prolonged swimming. But perfect for walking, bike-riding, playing frisbee on the beach, etc.

 

[Sir William]

If you are going to the Caribbean then expect 80-85 degrees during the day and lower 70's at night. It's the tropics. It's warm.

If you are going to the Bahamas, it will most likely be in the 70's. Some will think it is too cold but notherners don't have too much problem with it. It might be warmer or colder, but on average it will be in the 70's.

On deck in the evening, it will be windy and chilly so I'd advise a light jacket. I've spent a few nights on deck watching Arielvision wrapped in towels from the pool.

We just returned from the Western Caribbean on the Magic (Jan 8-11) and found the temps much cooler than anticipated. Mostly in the 60s. CM and locals told us an unusual cold front was moving in. It rained most of the day at Cozumel and we had rough seas for about two days as well. Some of the CM who live on CC said it was the coldest Jan they had ever experienced in some years.

My point being, that while the weather "should" be nice in Jan, it could change. If we had been a week earlier or later we'd have had much better weather - just the luck of the draw.

 

[WiscBill]

The DW and I are planning a DCL cruise to the Caribbean and were wondering what to expect from the weather in January. Is it shorts and swimming weather?

Our other thought is early November timeframe. However, a little afraid of hurricanes.

We have done three cruises in January, one Eastern, one Western, and one Bahamas (4 day).

On all three cruises, the weather was variable, with some of the days warm and sunny (high 70s) and other days windy and cold (40-50s ). In each cruise, a cold front came through and made for some rough seas. You will need to take a fleece or sweater with if you want to be outside at night. On the Bahamas cruise, the weather was nice, but a cold front had gone through the week before and it was too cool for swimming (and I'm from Wisconsin)