Pros and cons for January?

[MassMom]

We are thinking about our first cruise in 2007 (youngest will be 3 by then). January seems to be the cheapest month - big pro; what are the other pros? What are the cons for a cruise in January?

 

[aprilgail2]

Well I have one con for you...its darn cold LOL....a friend of mine went to stay in Atlantis in Nassau in Jan and when he was there it was 45 degrees LOL...when I book I like to play it safe and go the end of april or beginning of May when it will be warmer for sure...

 

[cotomom]

Depending on how close you go to Christmas, it can take away from all the holiday festivities at home. We went a week after New Years and I was a real grinch when it came to decorating and wrapping, etc. that year. All I could think of was how soon I needed to clean it all up, to get ready for the trip.

I personally would like to spread out the fun exciting times of year, holidays and vacations included!

Just my .02!

 

[Skywalker]

We went in January this year and had fantastic weather! We had sun and 80 degrees all week! Maybe it was just a fluke? I don't know, but it was fabulous. It wasn't TOO crowded or TOO hot and humid...we will definitely go in January again if we had the choice.

 

[westjones]

September is also the cheapest month of the year. We cruised in September the past 5 years and yes, last year we had problems with a hurricane, but the other years were all great!

We went on the DCL last year in December right before Christmas, and it was too chilly for us (I really wished I had a picture of the woman on CC in a coat!). My kids played in the sand and I wrapped up in towels to keep warm. Now by afternoon, it was nice (perfect weather for the Kayaking Tour!).

We had fun, but we all decided we want to go when it is a little warmer.

DJ

 

[jrabbit]

We've cruised during MLK week (7 nighter) and the weather was perfect. In low to mid 80's with minimal humidity. I'm not really a pool person or sunbather so I like the temp in the 80's vs upper 80's to low 90's with humidity. All of our other cruises the temp/humidity was to much for me, so I didn't spend a lot of time outside (one cruise my time spent outside on the ship was counted in the minutes!!)

A con would be that the water isn't as warm as latter in the year. We played on the beach and snorkeled in St. Maarten and St. Thomas and thought that the water was great. When we got back to Castaway Cay, the water was noticably cooler. Took a couple of minutes to get used to, but then we snorkeled for a couple of hours without a break.

 

[TheWog]

Skywalker - not a fluke. We have cruised the past two Januarys (and one land based Caribbean vacation Jan 03) and have had great weather as well. 80s each day swam in each port or on the ship each day. CC was cooler, high 70s, but the water temp was fine for us. I'm willing to bet MassMom is used to colder ocean temps, even during the summer, so she would be fine with the CC water temp. We love January as it gets us out of the cold New England winter. We are skipping this Januar,y but are planning for a January 07 DCL western trip.

Con would be trying to fly out in a snowstorm. Go the day before so you don't have to worry. Much less stress and you will be completely rested for boarding the ship.

Have a great trip.

 

[Rence]

I believe if you hunt down the stats for cruises that have missed Castaway Cay, you will find that it is more apt to happen in Jan than any other month. However, missing CC is still a rare event.

On our first cruise, we missed CC in Jan. It was very cool and blustery weather so even if we had docked, it would not have been good beach weather.

Weather in Jan can be great, but you are more apt to have cooler weather in Jan than other months. So it is a bit of a risk.

If laying out in the sun on the beach is your be all end all for a great vacation, Jan would be risky. We enjoy the shipboard activities, shows etc. the beach is just a nice bonus for us, so Jan weather isn't that big of a concern, but others have expressed that they would just be crushed if they missed CC or didn't have ideal beach weather. It just depends on what you are looking for in your cruise experience.

 

[Jeanne B]

We cruised in Jan-05 for the first time - I chose January because of price but never again will I base my decision on price only. We live in Maine and had our flight delayed on the way down, had to fly down 2 days later out of a totally different airport in order to make the cruise, it was raining when we got to Miami, it was very windy the first couple of days, missed Grand Cayman because the seas were too rough to tender in, it finally started to improve mid-week and we had really nice weather towards the end but when it came time to fly home there was a major blizzard in NE, Logan was closed and we were stuck in Florida for 3 days and it was the coldest days they had in 2 years...never again!! Sorry to be the downer in the group!!

 

[Jrsy Boy]

I would recommend doing a search of the Disney Cruise Line Forum using the keyword January.

We did the 3land/4sea adventure in June and immediately started looking into doing it again. We're planning on January partly because temperatures are more moderate and crowds are lower for the land portion. What I have learned from these boards, though, is that it sounds as though January is also a very good time for cruising. Sure, there are people who have had bad experiences and wouldn't recommend it, but you have to look at the majority of the reviews, which why I suggest doing a forum search.

Good luck & maybe we'll see you!

 

[mmouse37]

WE sailed in January of '03 and it was chilly on the 7 day, and again this year and the weather was fantastic!!! But I would STILL sail in January again!!!

Here are some pics of CC in Jan of '03...you can tell it was chilly!!!

http://community.webshots.com/album/61027011UZJmCn/1

MJ

 

[1princessesmom]

We cruised for the first time this past January and LOVED it! The weather was great.....the St. THomas and St. John were perfect....not too hot....not too cold. CC was great. The water was a bit chilly for me, but there were plenty of people (including my 4yo DD) who swimming.
We rebooked for next January on board.

 

[MnParrothead]

I think if you book the Eastern, the weather is generally warmer since the ship goes so much closer to the equator. We sailed in January '02 on the Eastern and the weather and water were warm.

We spend the day in St. Maarten at Orient Bay Beach swimming; and the next day when we docked in St. Thomas, we ferried over to St. John's to snorkel at Cinnamon Bay. Perfect weather.

The water was a bit chillier at Castaway Cay but I spent the day in the water snorkelling at Serenity Bay.

If I didn't have a teenager that couldn't miss school, I'd do a January Eastern cruise in a heartbeat.

 

[Ariel&Flounder'sMom]

We're booked for a January '06 cruise, and I know it's a gamble. But the price was definitely worth it. I weighed the pros and cons: what do I want most from my cruise?

Is it the Disney experience? The boat? The amenities? The CM's? The relaxation? The fun?

Or is it the guaranteed warm weather? Swimming? Snorkeling?

We decided to roll the dice, after all - 60 in the Caribbean beats -20 in Minnesota any day!

(wish us luck!)

 

[soleilmagie]

When we went on the Magic last January, the weather was perfect. In fact, cruise director Brent said it was the most beautiful they've had since October! I don't know if it was because we were in the Bahamas instead of the Eastern or Western, but we certainly enjoyed it and are also planning another January cruise for 2007. Youngest will be almost 3 by then MassMom, perhaps we will meet! And like Ariel&Flounder'sMom said, the Carribbean or the Bahamas winter will beat Quebec City's winter any time!