Cruise Easter Week or in June?

[BuzzLightYear3]

Hi....we've never been on a cruise before and would need to go during the kids' school breaks. The options essentially become either their Spring Break (always the week immediately following Easter) or June. We aren't planning to go until 2005, so I think we still have time to book. Which option would be better. I assume there's a price premium Easter week....is it significant? Is the weather considerably better during one time or the other? Thanks for the help!

 

[Mjasp]

When in June do the kids get out. Early June may still be reasonably priced. You can compare the 2004 rates of Easter week and the time in June and at least get an idea.

Hope that helps
Joanna

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

Thanks for the reply.....the kids usually get out of school around June 8, so we'd be able to go either the 2nd or 3rd full week of June.

I tried comparing Easter and June rates for 2004, but Easter week must be sold out because I wasn't given that week as an option. Anybody have any rough guesses on the price difference?

Also, how's the weather compare? I saw another post on this board indicating June/July was 'horridly humid'. According to the Disney Cruise website though, average highs in the Bahamas in March are 72 whereas in June the average high is 80. (Certainly much different than Orlando!) Sounds like the weather actually might be better in June than March (or am I missing something?)

Thanks for all the help!

 

[dianthus]

I read on the boards somewhere 4/18/04 was sold out. We went that week in 2002. The ship was at capacity also, as it's vacation time for most New England Schools. It wasn't that bad, but the ship was much busier than when we cruised at Halloween the year before. We still had a great time. The week after our cruise was about $1000 less, as the kids are back in school.

The weather in April was delightful, picture perfect. But maybe it's because we were coming off a rough winter. But you are paying a premium price. Early June is cheaper & not too hot yet down there. I would stay away from late June thru August.

We love the fall in the Caribbean. The weather is also delightful- Oct. & Nov. If your kids are good students, or small consider taking them out for a week. Maybe Columbus Day etc... where they 1 day off, so only 4 days are missed. It's not as crowded & cheaper to cruise. That's what we do now & it works out well.

The April dates sell out fast with people booking on board to get the onboard credit~ it's a very popular time.

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

dianthus--thanks for the reply. That helps a lot. I would love to go during the school year, and the kids are great students. Unfortunately, their school actively tries to discourage that, e.g., won't give any make-up work in advance, and makes the kids' lives unbearable with demands on taking all test on schedule when they return and making up the work (and every last minute of the work) in an unreasonably short time-frame.

How is early June weather on the cruise? I know early June is already really hot in Orlando. The DCL reference indicating that Bahamas highs averaged around 80 made me think that cruising then would be fine (and a March high of 72 might even be a little too cool).

Thanks again for the help!

 

[GayleH]

We cruised this past March for our son's senior trip and the weather was very nice. We did the western caribbean for this cruise trip and it was hot in Haiti and Jamaica. We cruised in July 1999 on the Disney Magic and had real nice weather at that time of year also. It is not hot out at sea like it is on land. With the nice ocean breezes it makes it more tolerable. We are going to cruise with Disney the middle of May this next year as we had better conditions for snorkeling in the summer than we did in march and april. The seas can be choppy in the winter months due to the cold fronts that come now from the north. I hope this helps a little.

 

[nisiemouse]

BuzzLightYear3: What cruise are you looking at for 2005? (3,4, or 7). We are looking are early June 2005 also. Our school makes it too difficult to take the kids out also. Spring break is usuallly a bad time for dh to take off of work.

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

nisemouse: We're planning on booking a 7-day....guess we'll go for June 2005. Sounds like the weather isn't too bad (thanks dianthus and GayleH), and not only would it save us a little money on the cruise, but it would save us money on the flights as well.

 

[nisiemouse]

We are planning on the 7 day also. Maybe we'll wind up on the same cruise. We have never done a cruise before so we have lots to learn between now and then.

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

nisiemouse: I see you're from Lexington.....maybe we'd end up on the same flights too! We haven't cruised before either. I'm waiting for my DCL Passporter to arrive in the mail!

 

[nisiemouse]

BuzzLightYear3: I am waiting for my Passporter too. We do try to fly through Cincinnati. I may pm you in the future to see how your plans are coming if you don't mind.

 

[dianthus]

BuzzLightYear3~ We have never cruised in June, but have been the Virgin Islands in early June & the weather is in the 80's with a nice breeze. I would think being on the ship, out at sea it would be great. Sounds like early June will be your best bet.

A friend of ours cruised DCL in August & complained that it was very hot in all Ports ( Eastern) and very humid on the ship.

On the school issue ~ My school sounds like yours. My daughter encountered the same thing the first time I pulled her for vacation- overwhelmed & dumped on when she returned- no work was given ahead of time as requested. Almost like it was punishment for going...

Here's how I fixed the problem with the teachers with attitude. I went to the Principal & explained what happened to her. I told her we view travel as an extension of the classroom, so we will be doing this at least once a school year. My daughter is a distinguished honors student & I didn't feel she was deserving of this treatment, as she proves herself everyday in the classroom. I requested the Principal request the work from the teachers a week before- I go directly to her with the dates. If no work was given, my DD would need a week after to make it up. This way the Teachers would not give my daughter attitude by her asking them for work directly. The Principal was agreeable & we've never had a problem since. She actually has a few teachers now who get excited about the travel & ask her to bring things back, check stuff out, etc... During our Oct. cruise a few years ago, Her Science Teacher had her doing wind velocity calculations based on the miles and speed of the ship to each Port. She had a ship's officer help her, which was really cool for her. He taught her alot about the ship!She spent a few hours on the Bridge with the staff. ( Pre-9-11)

Maybe that would work for you in your school?

Good Luck!

 

[Dreamer04]

I just checked the allseastravel.com website. The 7 day leaving 6/12 for a cat 6 was for 4 people was 5449 and the same cat for 4/10 (Easter 2004) was $6215. Big difference.

Also, Easter week will be more crowded, more kids. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.

Airfare will also be higher during a holiday week.

The weather is also less predictable in April.

I would go for June, 2005. Your school year ends earlier than most, so it will be cheaper and less crowded.

I also recommend All Seasons Travel. Their website is allseastravel.com

Good luck!

Ursula

 

[BuzzLightYear3]

dianthus.....thanks for the school ideas. Unfortunately, at our school the Principal is the problem. Most of the teachers would be reasonable, but the Principal requires that they strictly follow the policy, and I must admit, the policy is documented and very clear. It's a private school, so I think their attitude is if we choose to go there, we agree to follow the rules. I wouldn't mind being a rebel and challenging the system, but the problem is that my kids are the ones who pay the consequences, and I don't think it's fair to them. The good news is that it sounds like June is a pretty good time for DCL. The more frustrating thing in June is the WDW vacations; it'd be great to go during the school year and avoid those crowds. Maybe I'll use this logic to make a case to DH for cruising more often!

Dreamer04....thanks for all the price comparison info! I agree....a pretty compelling case for June!

Now, I just need to wait for the rates to be released. Thanks again to everyone!