Please fill me in on October

[DisMama5]

hi!

My family and I are debating a mid October 2017 cruise on the fantasy. It's to the western Caribbean.

We've never cruised before. I'm interested to get some input on October. How many of you have been diverted during this time frame? Is it still warm enough to enjoy the pool while out at sea? Did you experience more rain then sun? How is the Halloween stuff onboard?

Any insight helps

 

[RedSox68]

We have done one cruise in October -- beautiful weather, no storms. The only hurricanes we have hit and been diverted were both in August. And both times they took really good care of us and provided for everything. Heck, we had a hurricane on the east coast during the winter, so there really is not a "bad weather" time anymore, it just depends (for us) on temps and rainy season for certain areas.

The one we did in October, we packed a whole suitcase of pirate costumes and spent a night at WDW for the Halloween event there, then used the costumes onboard. It was great fun. Don't remember a lot of Halloween type stuff onboard, but we sailed in early October.

 

[jahber]

We've sailed in October a couple of times and it's perfect for us. We are Floridians, so anything after the first of November is iffy because we like it warm (but not too hot--we are the Goldilocks of cruising). I found it lovely, hot even sometimes, and my kids swam every day. We were able to snorkel, which means the water was still pretty warm. I won't go near the ocean in the winter. We sailed twice when they were doing the Halloween at sea and it was ok. We wouldn't pay extra for it and I'm forbidden from booking a cruise where my kids will miss Halloween again because the trick or treating didn't cut it for them, but we would definitely sail in October again if the price were right.

 

[Otimon]

Have sailed 3 or 4 times in October over the years. Always had beautiful weather.

Try not to worry about the weather which you have absolutely no control over! Halloween, especially for the youngsters, is always fun on the Disney and
adults enjoy dressing up in costume as well.

Go whenever you can go and make it the best vacation ever!

 

[Sytrace]

We have sailed the Caribbean several times in September and once in November and found the water to still be plenty warm and the air to be a great temperature. We have also sailed in January, and found the temperatures to be warm enough in regards to air, but the water was definitely on the chilly side.

Halloween is pretty fun, but we don't participate as much now as we did on the first couple of cruises during that time of year. The decorations are nicely done, and the kids (and adults) seem to enjoy it a lot.

Don't worry about the weather, it is what it is. And it tends to change daily, so don't even bother stalking the Weather Channel as you will get frustrated with conflicting reports every other day. lol

 

[mhconley]

Our two cruises were in October. For the first, a western in 2013, the weather was perfect. We only had very light sprinkles for a few minutes in Costa Maya. The rest of the trip it was warm and sunny and the seas were like glass. For our second, an eastern in 2015, the first half of the trip was the same, warm, sunny and beautiful. The second half of the trip we skipped Castaway Cay and skirted around hurricane Joaquin just off the north shore of Cuba. The seas were rough. Learned DS and I don't have a problem with motion while my wife was affected a little. The ship was a rockin' - dinner that night and moving around the ship was an experience. We loved both trips but you're rolling the dice during hurricane season.

Martin

 

[Savikins]

I did a 7 day on the Fantasy in October 2014. The weather was pretty perfect (although a bit hot in St. Maarten) until the last day. We were able to dock at CC, but it then proceeded to rain very hard all day long. They did a great job providing activities onboard the ship and gave people who wanted to try to go on the island free Disney Parks ponchos - I still have one, since I braved the storm just long enough to put a few post cards in the mail box.

 

[Sytrace]

I did a 7 day on the Fantasy in October 2014. The weather was pretty perfect (although a bit hot in St. Maarten) until the last day. We were able to dock at CC, but it then proceeded to rain very hard all day long. They did a great job providing activities onboard the ship and gave people who wanted to try to go on the island free Disney Parks ponchos - I still have one, since I braved the storm just long enough to put a few post cards in the mail box.

From your countdown ticker, it appears we are on the same cruise.
,

 

[Savikins]

From your countdown ticker, it appears we are on the same cruise.
,

Awesome! It's so close, I can't believe it was over 7 months away when I booked!

 

[PlanoNana]

We did a Western Caribbean in October in 2007 and had our excursion in Cozumel rained out. Still had a great cruise. But you can have weather issues any time of the year. DCL will do their best but they can change the itinerary if there's a hurricane or other weather issue. Western's have become Eastern's and Eastern's have become Western's in the past because of hurricanes. But it's a VACATION so just go with the flow and have a fun.

 

[Sytrace]

Awesome! It's so close, I can't believe it was over 7 months away when I booked!

I know, I am so happy it is getting closer. We booked last year on board and in the meantime have taken 2 more. We have a 3 night on the Dream to celebrate my birthday on September 16th ( I am calling it a warm up cruise) lol
And then we sail on Fantasy for number 10. It cannot be soon enough.

 

[Anna Chassereau]

We are booked for the Oct. 28th 2017 western Caribbean on the Fantasy...can't wait!! Haven't done this itinerary yet so I don't really have any insight on the weather or anything...I can say you will LOVE DCL!! We just got off a 4 day cruise on the Dream...our first cruise with Disney and we are hooked!

 

[bumbershoot]

It's hurricane season, so anything can happen.

We've cruised three times in Oct. The first time it was SO hot on Castaway that the water felt icy. The water felt WARMER to me on our February cruise because it was a little cooler weather. So we were in the water more in Feb than we were in Oct. Also I got burned on one hip so thoroughly you could see the line for a year. Yikes. (that was the time my son and I had an allergic reaction to our sunscreen and we had to buy some on the island, and apparently I didn't reapply as well as I thought I had)

The next October we did a "side to side" cruise where we were on a Royal ship out of Fort Lauderdale, disembarked, drove to Canaveral and got on Dream. For the first cruise we ended up with lousy weather for about 2 days where the outside was nearly unusable (they just couldn't get out from under it, though it wasn't a hurricane...it was just rain rain rain). Then it had cleared up and we were in a different part of the ocean for the second part and it was totally fine.