Western Caribbean cruise - Need some advice

[Garyjames220]

hi

I think we are planning on doing the western Caribbean cruise but have a few question

- weather. I believe Florida can be a bit cold in January but the islands it stops at you can normally sit out in the sun ?

- was planning on taking stateroom 2548. Is this the best side to be on for views coming into islands, castaway cay etc. Is this a good stateroom to be close to stuff, noise etc

- does Castaway cay get cancelled a lot during Jan ? And where would they go instead

- is the sea normally calm or rough this time of year

- we are quite happy relaxing on the beach but would we need much money for excursions or is it all close from the ports

- if I have a fight on The final day at 2.30pm from Orlando. Is that allowing enough time to catch that flight ?


It's a once in a lifetime trip for us so just want to get a but more info

Thanks

 

[Bishoparc]

Haven't done the Caribbean but just got off the Dream last weekend. The weather was nice, especially when the sun was out. Water was calm other than crossing the gulf current the first night you get a little rocking. No problem docking at Castaway. The water was chilly but we had bought wet suits just in case and did use them. It was in the mid 70's and was gorgeous when the sun was out.

 

[Garyjames220]

Is the gulf current when u cross that really ruff. As it hold on to your glasses at dinner lol ?

 

[Bishoparc]

Not when I've been on it. There's some rocking but no it's not riding through a hurricane lol

 

[Savikins]

Is the gulf current when u cross that really ruff. As it hold on to your glasses at dinner lol ?

My 3 night on the Dream in early February had extremely calm seas. I've never been on a cruise where it was so rough that you had to worry about your glasses falling at dinner. The roughest it's ever been, water in my glass was just mildly swishing from side to side.

 

[Garyjames220]

So hopefully not bad enough to make u sick then lol

Anyone else able to help with my other questions

 

[Garyjames220]

 

[Savikins]

So hopefully not bad enough to make u sick then lol

Anyone else able to help with my other questions

I didn't take anything for seasickness on my Feb Dream cruise. However, if you're worried about being sick, I highly recommend Bonine. It's chewable and you can buy it at Walmart.

 

[dreadpiraterose]

So hopefully not bad enough to make u sick then lol

Anyone else able to help with my other questions

If they can't dock at Castaway Cay, they just skip it and it becomes a sea day. They don't stop elsewhere. The captain will try several times, if it is a weather related problem with the docking. Recently, there was a mechanical issue with the Fantasy and she couldn't dock there, so they gave people a $200 on board credit and 20% off a future booking. But they don't do that if it is just a weather problem.

 

[Garyjames220]

I didn't take anything for seasickness on my Feb Dream cruise. However, if you're worried about being sick, I highly recommend Bonine. It's chewable and you can buy it at Walmart.

Ok that's for that advice

I was planning room 2548. Is that a good side to be on for views coming into ports

 

[karint]

Cruising on the Fantasy in August!

 

[ajo]

We've cruised twice in January. The first time the weather was perfect. Beautiful and sunny each day. No rain of any kind and calm seas. The second time was the first SWDAS and we had weather that cancelled our excursion in Cozumel and we weren't able to dock at CC. The wind was high and we definitely felt it on the ship. That said, we still had a great cruise. So, the weather is hit and miss.

As to your flight questions, a 2:30 flight time would give you plenty of time. You'll probably find yourself with a couple of hours to kill at the airport.

 

[Garyjames220]

We've cruised twice in January. The first time the weather was perfect. Beautiful and sunny each day. No rain of any kind and calm seas. The second time was the first SWDAS and we had weather that cancelled our excursion in Cozumel and we weren't able to dock at CC. The wind was high and we definitely felt it on the ship. That said, we still had a great cruise. So, the weather is hit and miss.

As to your flight questions, a 2:30 flight time would give you plenty of time. You'll probably find yourself with a couple of hours to kill at the airport.

So would u still go in Jan again ?

 

[KashasMom]

We've gone in December with nice weather and February with nice weather in the Caribbean but very cold in CC - too cold to swim. I think it's just luck. I think you'd need a little money for excursions even just getting to a beach. I like the Western itinerary though. In St. Maarten there is a shopping area when you dock. You can take a taxi to a beach (Maho is the one where the planes fly right over your head). In Cozumel Paradise Beach is very nice and there is a big shopping area across from where you dock (restaurants too). In Costa Maya we did the Chacchoben Maya Ruins Tour with Native Choice, which was excellent. We've been on both sides of the ship so not sure which side is better. The ships we've been on have always backed in Castaway Cay so if you want to see the island you need to be on the starboard (right) side. A 2:30 flight gives you plenty of time to get to the airport. Stay on the ship as long as possible. Orlando airport usually has long security lines so allow for that when planning when to go to your gate. Have a great cruise!

 

[AAAG]

I have only cruised in Feb, but last year my good friend did the Western Caribbean in mid to late Jan. They couldn't dock at Castaway Cay, and they had difficulty docking at Grand Cayman, so they only ended up having a few hours there. I believe the problem was wind.
Really though, I think it comes down to luck. Plenty of people have cruised in Jan and had great weather and no problems

 

[tink too]

We cruised over New Year 2014/15 (just to the Bahamas though) and found both the weather and the seas to be fine. However as with the UK, the weather can be changeable and unpredictable.

if I have a fight on The final day at 2.30pm from Orlando. Is that allowing enough time to catch that flight ?

A 2:30 flight gives you plenty of time to get to the airport. Stay on the ship as long as possible. Orlando airport usually has long security lines so allow for that when planning when to go to your gate. Have a great cruise!

If your flight is an international one, I would have to disagree with KashasMom's advice. Get off the ship as soon as you can after breakfast and head directly to the airport. International flights require a check-in of at least 3 hours before your flight, and Orlando airport is approx. 1 hour away. Recently, we've found the check-in and security lines quite long and time consuming. If you hit them on a quieter time and sail through both though there's plenty of shops & places to eat before your departure. As long as you don't hang around the ship too long, the flight time should be OK.

 

[ajo]

So would u still go in Jan again ?

We're already booked for next Jan! It's the time of year that works for our schedules and we're happy to be on the cruise, even if the weather isn't perfect.

 

[Garyjames220]

Well sounds quite good. Am thinking I should mybe get a room higher up instead of deck 2 in case there is rough seas

 

[Garyjames220]

I was going to do just a few days in Disney before the cruise but there is hardly much difference in price between the 5 day theme park ticket to a 10 day one

 

[2prettygirl]

hi

I think we are planning on doing the western Caribbean cruise but have a few question

- weather. I believe Florida can be a bit cold in January but the islands it stops at you can normally sit out in the sun ?

- was planning on taking stateroom 2548. Is this the best side to be on for views coming into islands, castaway cay etc. Is this a good stateroom to be close to stuff, noise etc

- does Castaway cay get cancelled a lot during Jan ? And where would they go instead

- is the sea normally calm or rough this time of year

- we are quite happy relaxing on the beach but would we need much money for excursions or is it all close from the ports

- if I have a fight on The final day at 2.30pm from Orlando. Is that allowing enough time to catch that flight ?


It's a once in a lifetime trip for us so just want to get a but more info

Thanks

We have cruised 2 times in January. For us, the weather was nice but the water is very cold! The temps were mid 70s both times we cruised. Our kids still enjoyed the ocean but they couldn't stay in it too long. We never really had issue with much rain that time of the year and you could easily sit on a beach in the sun. When we were at Castaway Cay, it was very cool outside, in fact we, along with most others, had jackets on by mid-day and were pretty chilly.

We have only stayed aft 8th deck so I can't comment on the room location. I think everyone has their own opinion when it comes to room location.

Castaway Cay port stop is based on weather for the day. If it's windy, it sometimes is hard to pull into port therefore the ship will leave and you will have a sea day, which is great! There is so much to do on a sea day!!

As for the sea, you will have your moments of smooth sailing and pop up storms. I can't say we have ever experienced rough seas that were just terrible. When you cruise, there is always that chance of hitting a rough patch of water and you may feel it for a few hours with swaying but I can't say it's bad enough where the water glasses will be moving on the table.

If you do some Google searches for the ports you plan to stop at, you will find lots of island tours outside of the ship excursions that will be a lot less in cost. We typically go this route but it's up to you on what you feel comfortable doing. Ship excursions always guarantee you back to the ship on time whereas outside companies is a risk in that matter but in all honesty, if you find a good company with reputable references, you should be ok. Most ports do have beaches very close by, sometimes you may have to take a taxi or shuttle on your own from the cruise port but once again, that's nothing that's hard to do, there are lots of taxis sitting at the ports waiting for people to go on a tour.

2:30 is a good time, just in case for any reason your ship is late back to port (very unlikely) or you have issues going through customs, etc. but we prefer later flights versus trying to rush and make them on time.

Enjoy your cruise!!