Early January cruisers experiences and expertise!

[bbn1122]

I need your experience and expertise for cruising Early January.

I just looked at the 2020 Itineraries. I am interested in taking a family cruise while my sons are home for Christmas break from College. I am basing the cruise on what we can get in early January. I would like a 5 night at least.

I am a Gold Memeber, so I will call on 2nd to inquire about pricing.

How is the weather out of Miami to Key West, Nassau and CC in early January?
Or East Caribbean, St. Thomas and Tortola and CC out of PC?
Or Grand Cayman and CC out of PC?

Plus water temperature? I am guessing the further south the better.

How are the prices for January? I will probably be looking for 2 cabins, possibly 5 adults if my eldest son can take off work. I am thinking 1 Verrandah and 1 interior. But it depends on the pricing.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[lklgoodman]

We did a WC in Jan. 2017. The air temps at. CC was nice high 70s. I found the water pretty cool, my dd had no problem with it though. We've also been to CC 3 times in March and I didn't find the water to be any warmer. We're doing an EC cruise next Jan. We get 1 OV room for 2 adults and 1 child. We booked on opening day and paid around $1500 for each adult. That was for a 7 night SWDAS on the Fantasy. Cruising in Jan is a lot cheapier than Spring or Summer. Cozumel and GC were both warmer than CC, mid 80s. The water at each was also warmer.

 

[bbn1122]

We did a WC in Jan. 2017. The air temps at. CC was nice high 70s. I found the water pretty cool, my dd had no problem with it though. We've also been to CC 3 times in March and I didn't find the water to be any warmer. We're doing an EC cruise next Jan. We get 1 OV room for 2 adults and 1 child. We booked on opening day and paid around $1500 for each adult. That was for a 7 night SWDAS on the Fantasy. Cruising in Jan is a lot cheapier than Spring or Summer. Cozumel and GC were both warmer than CC, mid 80s. The water at each was also warmer.

Thanks for your response. My sons haven’t been on a cruise in 4 years and are itching for a trip. DH and I have been cruising solo out of NYC the past couple of times. We head out to Bermuda in a few of weeks.

The price are so high in the summer, so figure maybe during Christmas break. Hoping for better prices. Thanks again.

 

[Dug720]

Thanks for your response. My sons haven’t been on a cruise in 4 years and are itching for a trip. DH and I have been cruising solo out of NYC the past couple of times. We head out to Bermuda in a few of weeks.

The price are so high in the summer, so figure maybe during Christmas break. Hoping for better prices. Thanks again.

Christmas is going to be at least as high - and probably higher - than the summer.

 

[southerngirl528]

I need your experience and expertise for cruising Early January.

I just looked at the 2020 Itineraries. I am interested in taking a family cruise while my sons are home for Christmas break from College. I am basing the cruise on what we can get in early January. I would like a 5 night at least.

I am a Gold Memeber, so I will call on 2nd to inquire about pricing.

How is the weather out of Miami to Key West, Nassau and CC in early January?
Or East Caribbean, St. Thomas and Tortola and CC out of PC?
Or Grand Cayman and CC out of PC?

Plus water temperature? I am guessing the further south the better.

How are the prices for January? I will probably be looking for 2 cabins, possibly 5 adults if my eldest son can take off work. I am thinking 1 Verrandah and 1 interior. But it depends on the pricing.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I have twice taken 7 Nt cruises out of PC in early January with DCL, one leaving Jan. 2nd, and then next year leaving the 3rd (checked my CC cruise list to be sure of dates! ), and then we took a 3 nt. sailing out of PC on Jan. 8th in 2016. One of the 2 seven night cruises, central FL had unseasonably cold weather, even for January, so it was quite cold at embarkation but once we got a day out, the weather was very pleasant. It was still VERY cold in PC when we returned a week later, but the cruise weather was great!

Our other 2 early January cruises had equally nice weather during the cruises. I would cruise early January again in a heartbeat! Happy planning!

 

[bbn1122]

I have twice taken 7 Nt cruises out of PC in early January with DCL, one leaving Jan. 2nd, and then next year leaving the 3rd (checked my CC cruise list to be sure of dates! ), and then we took a 3 nt. sailing out of PC on Jan. 8th in 2016. One of the 2 seven night cruises, central FL had unseasonably cold weather, even for January, so it was quite cold at embarkation but once we got a day out, the weather was very pleasant. It was still VERY cold in PC when we returned a week later, but the cruise weather was great!

Our other 2 early January cruises had equally nice weather during the cruises. I would cruise early January again in a heartbeat! Happy planning!

Thanks so much for your input and sharing your experiences.

I am hoping it will work out. I get the winter blues. And New Jersey winters can be ugly. So, short break with some warmer days would be great.

 

[dcassetta]

I need your experience and expertise for cruising Early January.

I just looked at the 2020 Itineraries. I am interested in taking a family cruise while my sons are home for Christmas break from College. I am basing the cruise on what we can get in early January. I would like a 5 night at least.

I am a Gold Memeber, so I will call on 2nd to inquire about pricing.

How is the weather out of Miami to Key West, Nassau and CC in early January?
Or East Caribbean, St. Thomas and Tortola and CC out of PC?
Or Grand Cayman and CC out of PC?

Plus water temperature? I am guessing the further south the better.

How are the prices for January? I will probably be looking for 2 cabins, possibly 5 adults if my eldest son can take off work. I am thinking 1 Verrandah and 1 interior. But it depends on the pricing.

Thanks in advance for your help!

The challenge with Florida in January is it can get pretty chilly. It's likely to be warm, but there may be a cold snap. Miami will be warmer than Port Canaveral. Of your cruise options, the port that will have the warmest water is Grand Cayman. The Virgin Islands can be chillier because they're closer to the Atlantic. Some of this though depends on your tolerance. I feel that water temperatures under about 78° are too cold for swimming, but lots of people will swim in water colder than that and feel fine.

 

[Shanti]

Christmas is going to be at least as high - and probably higher - than the summer.

This. We've sailed three times over Christmas break, and the prices were higher than summer each time.

I am interested in taking a family cruise while my sons are home for Christmas break from College...I am basing the cruise on what we can get in early January...How are the prices for January?

If the January cruise is one that falls within Christmas break for many people, it will be pricier than a mid or late January cruise.

 

[Shanti]

How is the weather out of Miami to Key West, Nassau and CC in early January?...Plus water temperature? I am guessing the further south the better.

We sailed a New Year's cruise from Miami to Castaway Cay, and the temperature in Miami was in the 80's, and sunny. The cruise had idyllic weather. Castaway Cay was warm and sunny. The water there was chilly, but easily swimmable once you got acclimated. Climbing in & out of the water at Pelican Plunge felt fine to me, and I easily feel cold.

 

[Sytrace]

I need your experience and expertise for cruising Early January.

I just looked at the 2020 Itineraries. I am interested in taking a family cruise while my sons are home for Christmas break from College. I am basing the cruise on what we can get in early January. I would like a 5 night at least.

I am a Gold Memeber, so I will call on 2nd to inquire about pricing.

How is the weather out of Miami to Key West, Nassau and CC in early January?
Or East Caribbean, St. Thomas and Tortola and CC out of PC?
Or Grand Cayman and CC out of PC?

Plus water temperature? I am guessing the further south the better.

How are the prices for January? I will probably be looking for 2 cabins, possibly 5 adults if my eldest son can take off work. I am thinking 1 Verrandah and 1 interior. But it depends on the pricing.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I did the 5 Night Western on the Magic on January 7th to 12th this year. It was definitely warmer in Mexico, and on CC day we had rain and the water temps were cooler than we prefer. In January 2016 we did the Eastern Caribbean to Tortola and St. Thomas and the water and air temps were awesome in both locations. We missed CC due to "mechanical challenges" But have since gone several times in early February when the water temps were still very chilly to us. It starts warming up water temperature wise in the Bahamas in early to Mid April.

 

[hcox31]

Our first two cruises were right after New Year's. Like Jan3 and Jan 2 departure dates. Last year we hit a freak cold snap, when even Florida got some snow win the northern part of the state. Our day on Key West was COLD. Like 9/10 degrees Celsius cold. Our day on castaway was ok, we had sweatshirts on in the morning, but by noon were in the water -my kids were full on PLAYING in the water, it was a touch too cold for me. Our first cruise that week was much warmer in the mid to high 70F.

 

[lklgoodman]

The Merry time cruises are more expensive, but if you go the second or third week of Jan., it's still a lot cheaper than Spring/Summer. Our family of 2A and 1C went on a SWDAS WC cruise on the Fantasy that left Jan 7, 2017. It cost us just over $4200 for the larger family OV. Jan 2019 we are going on an EC SWDAS cruise leaving Jan. 12, OV stateroom again, cost just over $4400. Both times booked on silver opening day. It would cost us around $7000 for a 7 night cruise on the Fantasy if we went late Spring/Summer. I did noticed that each time I booked our cruises that even late Jan/early Feb can have an increase by several hundreds of dollars for the exact same cruise. None of us are SW fans, but the cruise that we went on in 2017 and the one we are going on in 2019 were the cheapest ones of the winter (at least for ones on the Fantasy). We aren't picky about what islands we go to, like you we want to escape freezing weather. Only requirements my dh has is that it is 7 nights. My dd is still in elementary school, so it's also a lot easier for her to miss some days. I really want to go on the Magic again, since we haven't been on her since 2001!!! I'm hoping I can convince my dh to do a 5 night for Jan. 2020, I really DON'T want another SWDAS cruise. None of us are Marvel fans either, but at least it would be something different.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We were on the Disney Fantasy Jan 7-14, 2017 for the 7 night western Caribbean cruise. There was a massive cold front that came through and into Florida the day before and it made the time at WDW cold and breezy. The next day we embarked on the ship and it was still cold for the Sail-Away celebration, so we stayed in the stateroom and toasted the bon voyage with champagne. The seas were very choppy, with one member of the family getting sea sick, until we reached Cozumel. The rest of the cruise was warm and fun. CC was warm and we enjoyed the beach.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We did a Christmas cruise and the kids played on the beach at Castaway Cay but didn't spend much time in the water. These are Arizona kids, so they're accustomed to warm water. Since you're from New Jersey, the temps would feel balmy.

When DH and I did a west-bound Panama Canal cruise a few years ago in early Januarbrrzzzing the water was too choppy for the captain to dock at Castaway Cay. He tried several times, but we ended up sailing on to Aruba instead.

It really depends on what Ma Nature throws at you that week.

 

[ajo]

We sailed the inaugural SWDAS in 2016. It rained in Cozumel (our beach excursion was canceled) and we were unable to dock at CC due to wind. The weather in Grand Cayman was perfect. While we were a bit disappointed by the missed beaches, it was still a great cruise and way better than the snow at home!

Just go into it knowing there may be less-than-perfect weather, but that is true for any cruise.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Not sure but I don’t think anyone addressed your question related to Miami and Key West.

We are in the Orlando area and have seen temps in the 20’s (not common at all) to the 80’s in early January. Our only Jan cruise was 2016 and it was cool at PC but nice or almost too warm at the ports. Expect it will be nice to slightly cool but once you get out on the seas it will be pretty warm.

Since I travel to south Florida for work you can also expect a little variation in possible temps at that time but slightly warmer than central Florida. Beach temps are likely in Miami and Key West.

 

[bbn1122]

Thank you everyone for all the great information.

I am going to give it a shot! I think my family would love a January cruise to some warmer weather! But than again, who wouldn’t!

 

[Mouse~House]

We cruised from Galveston Jan 3 and went to Key West, Nassau and Castaway Cay. We really only needed sweatshirts when we were in Galveston, the rest of the time the air temp was right around 80. We went in the water in Nassau and CC and it was a bit chilly, but compared to the snow that is likely to be present in NJ it will likely feel really warm to you! The water in CC didn't feel much different from when we were there at the end of February on a previous cruise. Also, the pricing even leaving two days after a holiday was significantly cheaper than the Merrytime cruises. I hope you have a great cruise!

 

[bbn1122]

Thanks again for everyone’s help.

I am a little limited now on my dates due to my one son has to get back to school by January 13th. My other son has off till January 27th. It figures!!!

So, I am now hoping to book the 5 night out of Miami to GC and CC on 1/4/20.

Wow crazy to think about the year 2020!!