Best Time To Cruise?

[Rigby]

Looking for advice on the best time to cruise. We've taken 2 trips on the Fantasy both times in early Feb. Both trips were amazing but I always felt like we got lucky to be able to dock at castaway and on the last one we hit some high seas. Ideally we'd be getting out of Colorado in the winter but open to all suggestions. Thinking March, April, May 2018 so we've got time to plan. And would love to see the Tangled show and the Millennium Falcon kids room. Not sure if they're on the same ship. Thanks!

 

[squirk]

Looking for advice on the best time to cruise. We've taken 2 trips on the Fantasy both times in early Feb. Both trips were amazing but I always felt like we got lucky to be able to dock at castaway and on the last one we hit some high seas. Ideally we'd be getting out of Colorado in the winter but open to all suggestions. Thinking March, April, May 2018 so we've got time to plan. And would love to see the Tangled show and the Millennium Falcon kids room. Not sure if they're on the same ship. Thanks!

Currently, Tangled is only on the Magic; the Millennium Falcon is only on the Dream.

"Best time" is subjective - do you mean "best" in terms of price? If so, then the rule of thumb is to sail when school is in session. Len Testa states that September is traditionally the cheapest time to sail, but if you have kids and don't want to take them out of school, then consider the week right before the school year starts or the week right after it ends. If you are set on Spring '18, avoid Spring Break, and Easter weeks if at all possible.

"Best" in terms of weather? There isn't a whole lot of fluctuation in the temperatures in the Bahamas and especially in the Caribbean. I would probably avoid hurricane season, so your March/April '18 window is good for that. I find water temperatures under 80 degrees too cold for comfort, but I'm from Louisiana. Being from Colorado, you might find 77-degree water just fine.

 

[Trera]

we go in early september. Weather is still warm and the prices are some of the lowest.

 

[over50visits]

Agreed on the late February/March/April time (before spring break), or late October/November. We are lucky enough to be able to choose, so we avoid the high cost spring/summer dates. We also have quit sailing the hurricane season August/September dates since if there is a hurricane at best our itinerary will be changed, and at worst we will have very rough seas (as seems like lately some cruise lines, including Disney, choose to sail into dangerous weather). December and January tend to be calm seas and sunny weather (and we have sailed several times in that time frame), but it has been chancy as to how warm Castaway Cay would be. Sometimes the weather has been perfect in January, once it was just plain too cold (and many folks stayed on the ship). But with the several months we've settled on, we have two windows a year for great sailing and good prices!

 

[princesspiglet]

We have sailed 3 times. Once in early November- Castaway Cay water was a little chilly for me, but overall weather was wonderful (low 80's) and the price was relatively low. Once in May- water temp was warm, high 80's most days, a little more expensive. Once in June- water temp was like bath water- not very refreshing, price was high.

 

[KingRichard]

ANYTIME!