Sail in October vs November '18 from NYC

[disneynewcruiser]

This will be our first time sailing with DCL after sailing for many years with RCCL. We are intrigued by Disney Magic sailing out of NYC and want to try it out with our two kids who will be 6 and 3. The question is should we sail in October 2018 when it's warmer or wait a month and sail in November? We want to enjoy everything that the ship has to offer and feel that sailing in October 2018 will be more suitable to enjoying the upper decks, especially the sail away party and the pools. However, the itinerary is better in November and it will be a holiday-themed cruise at that time. What are your thoughts?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This will be our first time sailing with DCL after sailing for many years with RCCL. We are intrigued by Disney Magic sailing out of NYC and want to try it out with our two kids who will be 6 and 3. The question is should we sail in October 2018 when it's warmer or wait a month and sail in November? We want to enjoy everything that the ship has to offer and feel that sailing in October 2018 will be more suitable to enjoying the upper decks, especially the sail away party and the pools. However, the itinerary is better in November and it will be a holiday-themed cruise at that time. What are your thoughts?

My criteria for selecting cruises
1) itinerary
2) cost
3) dates

Your choices might be different.

I'd have to know the specific itineraries you're talking about and ball park costs. Is the weather that much different in October than November?

 

[Dug720]

FWIW, I have lived in NYC for 11 years and it is quite possible that October could be cold and November could be warm.

Or both could be cold.

Or both could be warm.

 

[msmama]

Technically both months are in hurricane season though Nov storms are rarer (especially late Nov). If that is a consideration for you (not for me as I did last year and am doing this year).

I went north to Canada in oct of last year and the weather was lovely. Going south this November.

It’s not really “lay out st the pool in a bathing suit weather” if that’s what you’re looking for (though my son did swim in Canada), but with a sweater it was perfectly fine for spending time in the deck (plus they have blankets).

 

[KashasMom]

Definitely do the Very Merrytime Cruise - they are great! We sailed from NYC last November - LOVED the itinerary (NYC-San Juan) and we had great weather for our sail away. We were hoping to do it again this year but didn't like the itinerary for the week we can cruise.

 

[disneynewcruiser]

My criteria for selecting cruises
1) itinerary
2) cost
3) dates

Your choices might be different.

I'd have to know the specific itineraries you're talking about and ball park costs. Is the weather that much different in October than November?

The costs are comparable and there is no savings in picking one cruise over the other. The October cruise has the Halloween theme and sails to Bermuda for 3 days. The November cruise is the Merrytime cruise and sails to Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral. We heard great things about DCL's private island and going to Disney (a free one day ticket is provided with the cruise) is always great but three days in Bermuda is not too shabby either. Our concern mostly centers on that the November cruise has a total of 4 sea days. And while sea days are awesome, we are afraid that in November at least 2 of the 4 days will be wasted as it will be too cold to enjoy the upper decks, particularly the water features for the kids.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The costs are comparable and there is no savings in picking one cruise over the other. The October cruise has the Halloween theme and sails to Bermuda for 3 days. The November cruise is the Merrytime cruise and sails to Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral. We heard great things about DCL's private island and going to Disney (a free one day ticket is provided with the cruise) is always great but three days in Bermuda is not too shabby either. Our concern mostly centers on that the November cruise has a total of 4 sea days. And while sea days are awesome, we are afraid that in November at least 2 of the 4 days will be wasted as it will be too cold to enjoy the upper decks, particularly the water features for the kids.

Both cruises are the same total length?

Just my personal take:

- I'd take Christmas over Halloween. And not all kid activities have to be outside. The kid's clubs are pretty nice, from what I've read.
- I haven't been to Bermuda, yet, so that's a draw. Castaway Cay, very nice. A jam-packed one day at Walt Disney World?, pass. I prefer vacations that aren't all go, go, go. With a few days at least of "just lay on deck and watch the sea go by".

 

[Cackyschmackers]

This will be our first time sailing with DCL after sailing for many years with RCCL. We are intrigued by Disney Magic sailing out of NYC and want to try it out with our two kids who will be 6 and 3. The question is should we sail in October 2018 when it's warmer or wait a month and sail in November? We want to enjoy everything that the ship has to offer and feel that sailing in October 2018 will be more suitable to enjoying the upper decks, especially the sail away party and the pools. However, the itinerary is better in November and it will be a holiday-themed cruise at that time. What are your thoughts?

I was looking into this exact same thing. November 2018 has the Bahamas itinerary with a stop in Port Canaveral/WDW and CC. October just has the Bermuda, Canada or San Juan cruises. I have heard the weather in October in Bermuda can be hit or miss, summer might be more pleasant for Bermuda and all it has to offer, especially since you would be overnighting there. We aren't interested in sailing to the ports in Canada. The San Juan is a repositioning cruise, and our purpose for sailing out of New York is so we didn't have to fly. Going to WDW for a day clinched it for us. We are expecting it to be chilly on deck with possible rough waters for the first and last day or so (been there done that and we survived sailing out of Galveston in Jan), but we just cannot turn down the stop at Port Canaveral/WDW. Good luck!

 

[disneynewcruiser]

Both cruises are the same total length?

Just my personal take:

- I'd take Christmas over Halloween. And not all kid activities have to be outside. The kid's clubs are pretty nice, from what I've read.
- I haven't been to Bermuda, yet, so that's a draw. Castaway Cay, very nice. A jam-packed one day at Walt Disney World?, pass. I prefer vacations that aren't all go, go, go. With a few days at least of "just lay on deck and watch the sea go by".

The November cruise is 7 nights and the October cruise is 6 nights. Basically they're the same length but the November cruise does offer more time on the ship. We just hope that if we take the November cruise, the time on the ship is not wasted because it's too cold.

 

[disneynewcruiser]

Has anyone been on the Halloween cruise and the Merrytime cruise? Preferences?

 

[disneynewcruiser]

I was looking into this exact same thing. November 2018 has the Bahamas itinerary with a stop in Port Canaveral/WDW and CC. October just has the Bermuda, Canada or San Juan cruises. I have heard the weather in October in Bermuda can be hit or miss, summer might be more pleasant for Bermuda and all it has to offer, especially since you would be overnighting there. We aren't interested in sailing to the ports in Canada. The San Juan is a repositioning cruise, and our purpose for sailing out of New York is so we didn't have to fly. Going to WDW for a day clinched it for us. We are expecting it to be chilly on deck with possible rough waters for the first and last day or so (been there done that and we survived sailing out of Galveston in Jan), but we just cannot turn down the stop at Port Canaveral/WDW. Good luck!

We are leaning towards the November cruise as well for the same reasons you mentioned. We live in NYC and have sailed out of here plenty of times in the late fall/winter and are not worried about the seas. But this being our first DCL cruise, we wanted our kids to experience everything that the ship has to offer and a big part of that are the outdoor decks. Sailing in October might be warmer that first day as opposed to the first sail day in November, but as you said the weather in Bermuda may be iffy.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Has anyone been on the Halloween cruise and the Merrytime cruise? Preferences?

Yes, I've been on Halloween cruises (4 of them) and one MerryTime cruise. As I said, I would take a MerryTime cruise over a Halloween one, given the choice.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We enjoyed both our Halloween cruise and the MerryTime cruise. I would go with the November cruise because it's longer. The pools are heated.

Our Halloween cruise was impacted by a hurricane, so I'm leery of sailing in October.

 

[disneynewcruiser]

Thank you everyone for your help. We just booked the November cruise and are very much looking forward to it.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

The November cruise is 7 nights and the October cruise is 6 nights. Basically they're the same length but the November cruise does offer more time on the ship. We just hope that if we take the November cruise, the time on the ship is not wasted because it's too cold.

There is a ton of of stuff to do on the ship inside as well, don't discount the Disney entertainment going on in there. When we cruise Disney, we prefer the sea days to port days because there is so much to do. We're doing the 8 night from NYC that stops for WDW, at the end of this week and are looking forward to the 4 sea days. I'd do the November cruise in a heartbeat if I was you.

 

[disneynewcruiser]

We are definitely looking forward to the sea days which is why we were torn between the 2 cruises. We want to enjoy the upper decks and it could be impossible to do that given the November weather in the northeast. Still, we booked the November cruise and are looking forward to it. Like so many of you said, there are lots of indoor activities regardless of the weather. Now we are deciding between keeping our ocean view room on deck 5 or paying less and getting an ocean view room on deck 2.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

We are definitely looking forward to the sea days which is why we were torn between the 2 cruises. We want to enjoy the upper decks and it could be impossible to do that given the November weather in the northeast. Still, we booked the November cruise and are looking forward to it. Like so many of you said, there are lots of indoor activities regardless of the weather. Now we are deciding between keeping our ocean view room on deck 5 or paying less and getting an ocean view room on deck 2.

If it helps, we are definitely downgrading our stateroom for this cruise We always get a verandah, and by my estimations, we won't really use it for all but 2 of the days. I'm afraid it will be chilly and windy the first and last few days, and when on CC and at WDW, we would not really use it So for the price difference, for this trip, it's the first time we will not have a verandah

 

[disneynewcruiser]

If it helps, we are definitely downgrading our stateroom for this cruise We always get a verandah, and by my estimations, we won't really use it for all but 2 of the days. I'm afraid it will be chilly and windy the first and last few days, and when on CC and at WDW, we would not really use it So for the price difference, for this trip, it's the first time we will not have a verandah

I completely agree with you about the first and the last day likely being cold and possibly rather windy. We have sailed many times from NYC with RCL and only get balcony staterooms when we sail during warm spring or summer months. In November, paying quite a bit extra for a verandah stateroom is needless. We ultimately booked an oceanview stateroom as we want the view to the outside but will not use a verandah.

 

[disneynewcruiser]

Also, we have gone from exclusively sailing with RCL to booking two DCL cruises for next year. Now we are very much looking forward to our first ever Disney cruise on the Disney Dream in June with 2 stops at Castaway Cay. We booked a deluxe family oceanview room for this cruise on deck 7. And then we still have our Merrytime cruise from NYC in November in a deluxe oceanview room on deck 2. Cannot wait for both of these cruises.