January vs April vs November

[goofy4wdw2]

We will be planning a cruise with family during one of these months due to work and school restrictions the rest of the year. Waiting on a few things to narrow down the date some more. Any thoughts on the pros/cons of traveling during these months if we end up having a choice once we put our calendars together? We’d be leaving from Port Canaveral. Thanks!

 

[lklgoodman]

We usually cruise sometime between Jan-March. We've done both West. Caribbean and Eastern Caribbean cruises during this time frame. I find the water at Cast Away Cay still chilly during this time of the year, however the air temps are wonderful. The water wasn't as chilly at the other ports that we went to(Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, San Juan, St Maarten, and St Thomas). We like to go during this time of year so we can escape the freezing weather where we live. We haven't cruise in November, keep in mind November is during hurricane season. We've found price is usually cheaper in the first couple of weeks in Jan. April will be higher since it's during Spring break for many parts of the country. Also around Thanksgiving will cost more, basically anytime around school breaks will cost more.

 

[KashasMom]

We don't cruise in January so no comment there. Depends on what week in April - taking into consideration spring breaks and Easter week - lots of crowds. I like November - especially the Very Merrytime cruises. Those are my favorite Disney cruises. I'd definitely choose one of those over any other Disney cruise.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'd take any of them. But first I'd have to check the itineraries, and cost. Those are more likely the deciding factors between cruises for me.

I agree April could be an issue with Easter/Spring break crowds.

 

[Minnie368]

We just took our first ever cruise last month, April 14-21. Keeping in mind that Easter was early- April 1- I think it was less busy that it may be next year. We didn’t find it crowded and the weather was wonderful! The water at Castaway Cay wasn’t super warm but certainly wasn’t chilly either. Would love to do April again next year but DS starts college this fall so we have to wait till after finals. We’re booked for May. Prices are still lower than summer but wish we could do April again. I can’t comment on January or November because this was my only cruise, but I always thought January could be too cold at CC, so we didn’t consider it even though prices were lower.

 

[mmmears]

I've only done the FL cruises during spring break, so March and April. Loved the weather - it was sunny and warm but not uncomfortably hot and humid. Worst thing about that time of year is the crowds. WDW was very crowded (but the parks were open really late which was fun) and the ships were pretty much at full capacity. So in that sense, not ideal, but we weren't willing to have our DD miss school and even with the crowds we had a blast both times.