Cruising in January ?? Weather/ Water temp, rain??

[kkmcan]

Previously I have been looking for November for cruising but now I see I can book cheap in Jan also. So, my question is how's the weather this time of year, rainy? And how is the water temp? We will just be doing beach days instead of excursions. Kids love the beach and will be entertained for hours!

Thanks in advance,
Kelly

 

[CPM]

We went on the 4 night Jan 9th. We had spectacular weather! Cool water but I'm a Floridian, plenty of people were in the water.
That being said. January can be very *IFFY*.
We did rebook for Jan 14th a 7 day hoping for the same kind of weather.

 

[Lisa]

We've done two cruises in January. January, 2003 was cooler (western) but no problems going into the water in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Castaway Cay. Key West was cooler, around mid 60's air temp. We wore jeans and sweaters off the ship.

This past January, (eastern) the weather was fantastic - 85 the whole week.

We love cruising in January, the temp down south certainly is better than in New England!

 

[TheWog]

I'm with Lisa. January is when we choose to do it. We had great weather the last two cruises in January we have taken. Weather in the 80s each port, with high 70s CC. We swam on the ship each day and in the water at each port. So it was great for us. Total rainfall was for about 10 mins or so in St. Maarten.

 

[branv]

FYI: if you're also going to the parks at that time, here's a good post that just occured on the Theme Park board regarding January weather: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=858565

Seems like it's a toss up Near as I can tell, what I have to learn before my Jan trip is the fine art of "layering". Cool mornings, warm afternoons, cool evenings.

 

[UGAFan0829]

The DH and I also cruised this past Jan. and loved it. The weather was very nice for us. Our day in Nassau was almost perfect as it was definitely warm enough to wear shorts, and the water seemed fine.
CC was nice also, but the water was a little rough and chilly, so they had to cancel some of the excursions. Other than that, it was wonderful!

 

[tvguy]

We did the NYE cruise on Disney, so 3 days of it was in January, and did another cruise on RCCL in January, weather wasn't too much of an issue.
On the RCCL cruise, it was during a big freeze in Florida, so the air temperature was colder than the water temperature in the Bahamas, but the water was plenty warm.

 

[TheWog]

Near as I can tell, what I have to learn before my Jan trip is the fine art of "layering". Cool mornings, warm afternoons, cool evenings.

just part of our daily lives here in New England.

 

[mickey minder]

We absolutely love January.

 

[kkmcan]

Thanks so much for the replies! Now if I can just decide what to do! I think I should just book SOMETHING! I keep changing my mind on when to go, how many days, where to go and whether to go at all or just go do Disneyland since I'm in Az and we can drive there.

I'm driving dh crazy with all this Disney talk and he may just say "FORGET IT" if I don't make a plan and stick with it.

Thanks again!
Kelly

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi,

I absolutely love cruising in Jan.!
You just can't beat the rates and theirs no hurricanes to deal with! I know I will one day be dissapointed when everyone else starts cruising in Jan. too and they no longer offer any discounts to cruise then, cause' their is absolutly no reason not go then. I have lived in Florida all my life and I love to run to the caribbean to warm up during that time. And, yes I pack my shorts and my bathing suit, but I usually don't go into the ocean cause' that waters usually too cold for me. The water tempature here in Florida right now is almost 90 degrees, so I am a bit spoiled when it comes to ocean temps.
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
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Mmketeer

 

[ibouncetoo]

Glad I found this thread, as I was about to post this question. CPM, I have my fingers crossed for the Jan 14th Magic! Ours will be a last minute decision/booking, pending a home sale/rebuy this fall. I'm hoping there will be room for us, as my friend can't get off work in Feb, then there's all the spring break stuff in March/April, and friend can't go in May (or July, or November), then we're into summer and fuller ships and God knows I don't want hurricane season.....and I don't want to wait A YEAR


But, I will if I have to

 

[CPM]

Glad I found this thread, as I was about to post this question. CPM, I have my fingers crossed for the Jan 14th Magic! Ours will be a last minute decision/booking, pending a home sale/rebuy this fall. I'm hoping there will be room for us, as my friend can't get off work in Feb, then there's all the spring break stuff in March/April, and friend can't go in May (or July, or November), then we're into summer and fuller ships and God knows I don't want hurricane season.....and I don't want to wait A YEAR

But, I will if I have to

You should book it, then cancel if you have to. That is MLK week, so it may be a busy cruise.
Hope you can join us!!!

 

[CPM]

Hi,
<a href="http://www.TickerFactory.com/">
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Mmketeer

How did you get your ticker to show??

 

[TheWog]

Hi,

And, yes I pack my shorts and my bathing suit, but I usually don't go into the ocean cause' that waters usually too cold for me. The water tempature here in Florida right now is almost 90 degrees, so I am a bit spoiled when it comes to ocean temps.

Mmketeer

seriously???? We just were at the beach in Southern Maine over the 4th of July weekend and my son and I were in the water for most of the day and thought it was warm at a balmy 66 degrees.

 

[ibouncetoo]

You should book it, then cancel if you have to. That is MLK week, so it may be a busy cruise.
Hope you can join us!!!

Is cancellation 90 days? That would put us mid-October and we'd have a better idea on house sale/rebuy (it's my traveling companion who is moving). I just did a quick check on expedia and there are good location cat 5's listing at $1849 pp and acceptable cat 6 locations at $1749 (deck 5)**. I don't know why, but after all my reading I'm wanting deck 7 portside. Companion really requires a verandah and I'm just afraid if we wait prices will go up OR the cat 5 & 6's will be gone.....and we'll end up having to book a sailing much later in the year.

**I know there may be cheaper way/places to book, just used this as a quick example for current rates.

 

[Ariel&Flounder'sMom]

Hey guys! We're booked for the January 14th Magic too! (I just found the cruise meets yesterday)

We're not 100%, but I'm really hoping we can do it. My theory is we have until Oct. 28th to decide. That's the date I have as the day our balance is due.

The only reason we wouldn't do it is $$$ - we're remodeling our kitchen, and we just had 2 trees fall on our house in 2 different storms. I'm not giving up yet!

 

[ibouncetoo]

We're not 100%, but I'm really hoping we can do it. My theory is we have until Oct. 28th to decide. That's the date I have as the day our balance is due.

QUOTE]

Isn't it the pits, not being 100%?

But it does bring up another question.......when the 90 day final payment date hits, I assume some people cancel. If I can't get my friend to agree to 'holding' a cabin right now, would it be a good idea to jump on it at the 89 day mark, hoping some mid-range cat's open up?? Eh? What do you pros think?

kkmcan, why don't you join us on our "iffy" cruise?

Thanks for all your help

 

[Ariel&Flounder'sMom]

Yes, I think you're absolutely right. People talk about that a lot. However, don't expect any big price breaks. Disney cruises go up in price as the date gets closer, so there may be more availability, but that doesn't mean you'll save money.