Early October cruises

[Dreams&wishes]

Hi all,

Trying to organise our Disney 2024 holiday. We are booked to go to WDW late September for 2 weeks and would like to add a Disney cruise to the holiday in early October. I'm now just worrying about the weather particularly how rough the see will be. We have never cruised before so was wondering if the water is usually rougher that time of year and if it rains as it's cold. I read posts saying that Bermuda is cold?

Thanks

 

[Anna131517]

Bermuda is farther north than the Bahamas so yes it would be slightly cooler there in October. Whether the waters are rough will depend on weather (any storms passing through) and where you are sailing from. If you’re looking at something from NYC then yes your chances of rougher seas is higher because you’ll be sailing through the Atlantic. For a first time cruise your best bet is a Bahamas cruise out of Florida.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Bermuda is farther north than the Bahamas so yes it would be slightly cooler there in October. Whether the waters are rough will depend on weather (any storms passing through) and where you are sailing from. If you’re looking at something from NYC then yes your chances of rougher seas is higher because you’ll be sailing through the Atlantic. For a first time cruise your best bet is a Bahamas cruise out of Florida.

Thank you for your reply.

We were looking at 7 night Easter Caribbean cruise.

Or do you think a western would be better or a 4 night one?

 

[cvjw]

We sail every fall on the fantasy. We have never noticed the seas being any rougher than other times of year - but - we have never sailed during a hurricane. If there is a storm during your cruise, the seas could be rougher. It is still nice and warm in the Caribbean and the Bahamas in October.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

We sail every fall on the fantasy. We have never noticed the seas being any rougher than other times of year - but - we have never sailed during a hurricane. If there is a storm during your cruise, the seas could be rougher. It is still nice and warm in the Caribbean and the Bahamas in October.

Thank you! Are there any photos?

 

[Anna131517]

Thank you for your reply.

We were looking at 7 night Easter Caribbean cruise.

Or do you think a western would be better or a 4 night one?

I personally prefer Eastern Caribbean ports of call.

 

[sponica]

Hi all,

Trying to organise our Disney 2024 holiday. We are booked to go to WDW late September for 2 weeks and would like to add a Disney cruise to the holiday in early October. I'm now just worrying about the weather particularly how rough the see will be. We have never cruised before so was wondering if the water is usually rougher that time of year and if it rains as it's cold. I read posts saying that Bermuda is cold?

Thanks

My mother did a cruise to Bermuda from Boston and she does not recommend that cruise as a first time cruise. Granted it was a dreary stormy weekend up here (if I remember correctly), she had been on a cruise before and thought if it went well, she could convince my step dad to do that one as a first one. Yeah, she came back and was like NOPE, NOT A GOOD FIRST CRUISE.

If you're cruising from Florida, I would do a Bahamas cruise or an Eastern Caribbean (I've yet to do a longer itinerary but the eastern ones look more interesting to me than the western ones)

 

[Dreams&wishes]

My mother did a cruise to Bermuda from Boston and she does not recommend that cruise as a first time cruise. Granted it was a dreary stormy weekend up here (if I remember correctly), she had been on a cruise before and thought if it went well, she could convince my step dad to do that one as a first one. Yeah, she came back and was like NOPE, NOT A GOOD FIRST CRUISE.

If you're cruising from Florida, I would do a Bahamas cruise or an Eastern Caribbean (I've yet to do a longer itinerary but the eastern ones look more interesting to me than the western ones)

Is the see calmer in the Caribbeans? What about the actual month of October?

 

[sponica]

Is the see calmer in the Caribbeans? What about the actual month of October?

October is a roll of the dice weather wise, could be perfect, could be stormy but it's the tail end of hurricane season. I've only been on the one Bahamas cruise, and aside from crossing the gulf stream, it was as smooth as glass. Crossing the gulf gets a little sloshy, but there's no avoiding that. I can't speak to the choppiness of the Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

 

[RedHead0186]

I think an Eastern or Western Caribbean would be a good itinerary. Seas can be rough to/from Bermuda especially coming from the north (coming from Florida wouldn't be as bad). Seas can be a little rougher as it cools down, but it won't be as big of an issue in the Caribbean. The big issue is if there's a hurricane (for example, late last September we did an Eastern Caribbean that sailed between Fiona and Ian. It was rough seas, but still enjoyable). I don't think Eastern vs. Western matters, hurricanes can hit either direction and there's no way to know that ahead of time (but they might switch the itinerary from Eastern to Western if there's a hurricane in the path of the original itinerary, so be prepared for that).

I love the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, and barring hurricanes it's pretty smooth. The roughest part is usually right as you're leaving Florida, but that's pretty much any itinerary sailing from there.

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

We sail every fall on the fantasy. We have never noticed the seas being any rougher than other times of year - but - we have never sailed during a hurricane. If there is a storm during your cruise, the seas could be rougher. It is still nice and warm in the Caribbean and the Bahamas in October.

This is us too. Every October (before Covid) we sailed on the Fantasy & we have done Western and Eastern Caribbean as well as Bahamian cruises and never had any rough weather but then again, we have never sailed during a hurricane either. We love the weather as well during this time and the cruises are slightly cheaper. I can honestly say we haven’t even had any rain when we sailed.

This year we won’t be able to go in October and will be going on the Fantasy this July, was worried about the seas and weather during this time. I’m sad we won’t be sailing in the Fall.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

This is us too. Every October (before Covid) we sailed on the Fantasy & we have done Western and Eastern Caribbean as well as Bahamian cruises and never had any rough weather but then again, we have never sailed during a hurricane either. We love the weather as well during this time and the cruises are slightly cheaper. I can honestly say we haven’t even had any rain when we sailed.

This year we won’t be able to go in October and will be going on the Fantasy this July, was worried about the seas and weather during this time. I’m sad we won’t be sailing in the Fall.

Thank you. Do you prefer the western or eastern itinerary?

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

Thank you. Do you prefer the western or eastern itinerary?

We prefer the Eastern only because there were more itineraries to chooses from and I’m not much on Cozumel but it’s all personal preference. We would like to try the Southern at some point.

 

[Hubie]

We sailed on the 8-day Fantasy Eastern Caribbean cruise last Oct. The weather was fantastic, but then afterwards we luckily flew out of MCO the day before Hurricane Nicloe arrived.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

We sailed on the 8-day Fantasy Eastern Caribbean cruise last Oct. The weather was fantastic, but then afterwards we luckily flew out of MCO the day before Hurricane Nicloe arrived.

Amazing what days in October?

 

[ScooterScott44]

just worrying about the weather particularly how rough the see will be. We have never cruised before so was wondering if the water is usually rougher that time of year

You can never really know for sure if it will be rainy/sunny, windy/calm or wavy/smooth but just like you have learned to deal with whatever weather you get on your land based Disney trips, you can still make the most of a DCL trip. The weather in Bermuda can not be all that cold if they can only have a few Winter Olympic athletes and they can only dress them in shorts.



If you have not been on a cruise then I would say try not to "worry" about waves and the ships motion. Make sure you prepare with some anti-motion remedies but you may not need them. You may come to find that you actually like the waves, they can help rock you to sleep.

We did our first cruise years ago and after the first night thought it was fine but did have a few questions. Talking with the server at the Cove Cafe, he said it was a bad night and even the crew were having issues. We didn't know any better, but finding out that our first day on a ship was some of the roughest seas even that the crew have seen, made us relax and we found that we enjoy the ship motion.

 

[Hubie]

Amazing what days in October?

I just checked, we actually sailed from 10/29 - 11/05.

 

[auntlynne]

Are you deciding between an Eastern or Western Caribbean on the Fantasy and a Bermuda cruise? I’ll leave out Bermuda, as the Fantasy does not seem to be sailing there.

When sailing in hurricane season, there is a chance that weather will change your itinerary. You may end up in the Western Caribbean when booked on an Eastern (and vice versa) in order to seek calmer seas and actually get to a port.

I do have a preference for the E Carib itinerary that visits Tortola, St Thomas and Castaway Cay. I like the water around the Virgin Islands more than near Cozumel. The beaches are sandy, whereas some on Cozumel are rocky/ not sloping into the water (such as Chankanaab Beach Park). This is not to say there are not sandy beaches at all on the island.

St Thomas offers a variety of natural beaches, but not the beach clubs found in Cozumel (Mr Sancho’s, Paradise Beach Club). I have never felt unsafe in either of these two ports.

Grand Cayman has at least one big beach that can be accessed without an expensive shore excursion. The island is known for stingray interaction or boating and snorkeling excursions. This is a tender port - so you take a smaller boat/shuttle from the cruise ship (anchored offshore) to the island. If the wind and waves are strong, you might miss visiting this port. The Captain should try to find an alternative port to trade Sea Day and port day, but it is not guaranteed (we visited Key West instead, the following day. That was Halloween week 2008).

No one in my family will go to Jamaica. When docked in Falmouth, we got off, walked around inside the fenced-in port and got back on the ship. Currently, the US State Department has raised the Risk Level for Jamaica. It’s not just a rise in crime - it is the ineffectiveness of the police in its enforcement. I also will not visit Haiti, but have gone to Honduras 7 times (not for tourism) and it has a poor reputation for safety. Part of it is gut instinct? You have to make that decision for yourself. I do follow cruise news and have not heard if any crime waves in Jamaica, So ? I would not venture on my own here.

Our family does go to the Virgin Islands for land vacations. St Thomas is a place I highly consider just getting a taxi to one of the major beaches. I have not been to Tortola, but the rest have. My sister told me to look at a DIY excursion to The Baths (beach/ rock formation) adventure.