Perfect cruising weather for DCL...Is there such thing?

[taeja71]

O.k., we cruised the Wonder in between two hurricanes in September (19th-23rd of 2004). But when we were at CC we managed to get sun burned and had to deal w/ those water bugs. Others have cruised DCL in January and reported how they huddled together in sweatshirts b/c CC was so cold. <---minus the snow

Is there is a perfect time of the year to cruise DCL (3, 4, or 7 day)? When is it? Please don't comment for the repo. cruises. If some one else would like to start that thread, be my guest.

Is there such thing as perfect weather and a perfect water temp?

 

[ladypoo]

We cruised last week and the weather was beautiful. CC was sunshiney, but the water was still cool.. dominique enjoyed it. but our toes froze when we put them in the water.

 

[TheWog]

We cruised in January and swam each day on the ship and at each port including Castaway Cay. We loved it so much we cruised again in January. Gets us out of the cold NE winter and hot Caribbean sunshine. No real bad weather to mention. Only time it rained was for about 10 mins in the afternoon on St. Maarten while we were in a store.

 

[F1Julie]

We were on the Wonder May 12-15 and the weather was perfect. It was sunny and about 80 every day. The water at CC was a little cool, but still very nice. The only rain we had was when we were leaving the boat Sunday morning. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect cruise.

 

[gatrbait]

Hey there,
I went on the May 8-12 Wonder and we couldn't have better weather... as a joke I took a pic of the only cloud in sight on CC day. I am a FL gal and the water was a tad chilly getting in but I actually stayed in snorkling for about 2 hours. IMHO May is a good month to book, it is before hurricane season(although tell that to Adrian) and after a somewhat wet April. I would think another good time is November unless hurricanes have done damage in the tropics!!
In any case book your cruise enjoy it because a bad day on a cruise is better than most other days in my book...
Micky

 

[goofymama]

I also went in May last year (we left on the 22nd) and the weather and seas were absolutely perfect! Seas were incredibly calm and the weather was sunny and warm everyday.

Of course, there is no guarantee that the weather will always be good in May. We were very fortunate. Next time were going in January and I'm praying that we get good weather!

 

[pittypat]

We cruised in early June last year and the weather was perfect! Nice and warm (but not too hot yet) and the water had warmed up, too. Very calm seas. Also hurricane season doesn't "officially" begin until June 1 and I know they can come at any time (heard about Adrian?), but your chances are lower in early June. Plus our excusion ports were not crowded like in later summer. We'll go again at that time.

 

[rejobako]

Of course, with the weather there are no guarantees, but I would echo the comments that May/June (right about now) gives you the best chance for great weather, as the cold fronts typically begin to stall out north of Florida but the tropics haven't heated up enough for the rainy/storm season yet. The other good thing about May is that, because kids are still in school, the prices are a bit lower than mid-summer.

 

[jrabbit]

We did the eastern in January a few years ago during MLK week and the weather was perfect. We played on the beach in St. Maarten (I got burnt) and snorkeled in St. John and snorkeled at CC. The water was noticably cooler on CC than the other two stops, but we stayed in for a couple of hours!!!

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

We have cruised twice end of October and beg of November!! Heaven Perfect weather both trips....Not too Hot and no humidity. 2 perfect visits to CC!! I just hope we luck out with the same weather on our Magic sailing this October 15!!


Sailed RCL this past Jan and never again!!! The ports where lovely,but when we hit open sea it would get cold and windy!!! You could hardly even walk out on the deck at night. Burrrrrrr!!!!

I will stick to late Fall or maybe try May someday???

 

[tecdavidt]

My first cruise, not DCL, was in May of 1997 and the weather was fantastic. The first few DCL cruises were in August and the weather was the best we ever had and I know, it is hurricane season but it has always been in August when we have had the calmest seas. I have cruised 5 times in Jan. and Feb. and the seas are rough compared to August. The roughest cruise was March of '04--the seas were angry that spring break cruise on the eastern and from what I heard from my TA also going west. We had 30' waves, yes you read that correctly. It made the cruise interesting. Thankfully it was that rough only one night but the other nights we did rock a lot. As far as Castaway Cay, my favorite time of the year is August. The water is warm and the air temp is warm also. It was OK this past New Year's Eve cruise for air but the water was COLD. Have fun planning your next cruise. Kathy

 

[taeja71]

Thanks all for your input!