Caribbean in September

[sdd1841]

I know the weather is questionable ...will I regret a Sept cruise? Other options would be April or July.

 

[kmix78]

Not September, but set sail on October 1 (close enough? Lol) last year and Hurricane Matthew interfered with our sailing. We didn't experience bad weather on the cruise, but we did miss CC and ended up "having to" spend an additional day on the cruise... that worked to our advantage, personally I would not hesitate to sail during that timeframe again. Just make sure you have travel insurance!

 

[Otimon]

Only Mother Nature knows for sure whether or not September will not be the best month to cruise as far as the weather goes.

Given your choice of April or July as an alternative, I would pick April for sure.

Whenever you do decide to cruise, have the best time ever! Bon Voyage.

 

[havaneselover]

Best two cruises (out of five total) I've had were in early September. Weather was beautiful, water at castaway cay was warm. I wouldn't go without travel insurance but I always have it when I cruise. I also remind the kids it's possible we won't get into Castaway Cay. The one time we barely got into Castaway Cay (only for a few hours after several attempts to dock) was April.

 

[cheermom2four]

We went on a Western Caribbean this past September and it was still hot and absolutely beautiful!. We actually had hurricane Matthew approaching Florida hit as we were supposed to fly in so it was iffy if we would even be able to fly in the day before our cruise. Everything turned out great and I agree, I always cruise with travel insurance (we hunt our own down as imo DCL's is expensive).

 

[Trera]

We have had many sept cruises and they are always great and typically the boats are not full because school is back in.

 

[clten]

I think if you regret a September cruise depends on two things - first, the weather; which we have no control over and can't predict how it will affect travel this far out and the more important thing - what kind of traveler you are. If you can roll with the punches, then you should have a good vacation even if it is changed due to Mother Nature. If you are the type that would be upset because things change at the last minute and you may not be able to enjoy exactly what you envisioned would happen on your cruise (getting into Castaway Cay, visiting a particular island, etc.) then you may likely regret booking a September cruise (not that changes can't happen at other times of the year).

We were on the Magic cruise affected by Hurricane Matthew last year. (This was in October.) We had booked back to back sailings so we had gone to Canada and then learned our Florida/Bahamas sailing became another Canada cruise. We rolled with it and had a great time - just had one day in Sydney that was VERY wet. A lot of people canceled (DCL gave them the option) but since so many cancelled, DCL combined dinner seatings into one - at 7 pm so it was later for the first seating people and earlier for the late seating people - everyone had to compromise. We listened to some that were early seating that complained the whole week that it should have been combined but at the early time. These were definitely not "roll with it" kind of people. Anything can happen.

 

[jrabbit]

If money is an issue, I think most cruises in April will tend to be on the more expensive side due to Easter and Spring Breaks.

Like others have said, any cruise CAN Change at any time - for ANY reason (see United's deplaning of a passenger because of the "contract of carriage" - DCL has a similar contract - anything on a cruise can change at any time: Ship, Destination, etc)

And no matter what so many people think, Disney cannot control the weather (at this time). On the other hand they will typically avoid really bad weather (hurricane) whenever possible (a few years back San Diego to Miami - they had to sail "through" a hurricane and a tropical storm to get to the Panama Canal). They have changed Eastern itineraries into Western and vise versa - or flipped the order of ports or totally different ports. How DCL does control the weather is on sea days they go looking for good weather whenever possible. When doing a Bahamas cruise with a sea day they usually sail in the sunshine and position the ship / direction / speed to minimize the wind across the deck. When doing east / west Caribbean routes - they have places to be at a certain time and that limits their ability to minimize wind across the deck.

Wow I just typed a lot - for a pretty simple answer ... sorry.

 

[Bellechin06]

Parents have gone on the Fantasy in September 2014 and 2015 ( Mom's birthday is Sept 25) and both times was good. Apparently it rained on their Castaway Cay day but otherwise weather was great.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know the weather is questionable ...will I regret a Sept cruise? Other options would be April or July.

I never regret any cruise, regardless of when it is.

I've cruised in the Caribbean in May, Sept, and Oct. For me, personally, the weather was fine.

Yes, September is pretty much right in the Hurricane Season (June-Nov), but the ship's captain will do all he can to keep you out of the way of the storm, if there's one during your cruise.

July - I'd worry about too much humidity/heat. May was good.

 

[sdd1841]

Thanks for the info - leaning towards a Sept 2018 cruise - its a long way off but there are some good deals out there!

 

[Sytrace]

We have sailed the Caribbean In January (1x) , February (1x) , April (2x) , September (3x soon to be 4 )and November (1X)
The weather in September has been incredible and my favorite time of year to go. We were on the cruise before Matthew so we missed the extra day but got an extra sea day because we skipped t. Thomas.

I really don't think you would regret sailing during September at all. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

[KarenMP59]

Our last two Dream cruises were in late September and both were affected by hurricanes, Joachim in 2015 and Matthew last year. No big deal to me or my husband but the rough seas did get my daughter a bit. We were unable to go to Nassau, which was fine. We stayed right along the Florida coast to avoid the storm. CC was really windy and we docked late but we got to go. If anything, it made the cruise more exciting lol. Last year we watched from our veranda as they stripped the beach at CC in anticipation of Matthew coming. The cruise after ours was more affected, with an extra day at sea while they waited to see what would happen to Port Canaveral. I would't hesitate to cruise again in September or October but agree you need travel insurance.

 

[Buckeye218]

The weather during our Sept 2016 Western was nearly perfect. It rained for maybe 10-15 minutes in Cozumel, but was sunny and warm the rest of the time. Clouds gathered late afternoon in Jamaica, but it never rained. But as you noted, you're rolling the dice during the peak of hurricane season. The cruise just after ours was affected by Hurricane Matthew.

 

[RedSox68]

We've cruised many times in September and October. The only hurricanes we had problems with were on August cruises! But it has not kept me from booking cruises again in August either. September is a nice month and, depending on your itinerary, maybe won't be so hot where you are going. April is another nice month -- I don't like traveling in July -- too hot in some places.

 

[cruiser21]

September is the best month to cruise. Yes it's hurricane season, but as long as there's no hurricane it's perfect. Every time I've cruised Jan--Feb I've had rough seas and cold winds. I'll l take hurricane season over winter storm season anytime.