When is the best time to cruise?

[sters]

Opionions please!

When is the cheapest?
When is the weather best?
When is it the least crowded?


I'm trying to find the best compromise of the 3, as I'm not too keen on crowds. I"m from NJ, so will it be too cold to swim in January, for example? Taking my kids out of school is not an issue for me. I've heard May is a great time, too. So CONFUSED! I'll probably only get to cruise this one time, so I need your expert advise!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I have gone on DCL three times, all in the November/December time fram, and it has been awesome! If you go after Thanksgiving you get to see the ship and CC decked out for the holidays too! The weather has been nice too.

 

[kshabare]

We've been in February 5 times already and loved it each time. Water is nice - not too cool, not too warm. Needed sunscreen every time we went. Book with us - February 26th is an off-peak. You're going to have crowds anytime in February since Eastern states vacation the week before - MI, WI & MN all vacation a week before or after. I'm another who doesn't care about taking my son out of school. Heck, that week his grades are all 100s! It's the other weeks I worry about!

AAA representatives are always helpful to my family. And, they are Disney certified.

Kim

 

[ericamanda01]

My DH-2-be has a hugh problem with crowds, so bad he will have a full blown panic attack if he feels to overwelmed. With that said NEVER go in April. We went with our family of 15 on a free trip (in-laws paid for everyone) on the land and sea cruise. We got to the parks on the tues. before easter, which meant spring break. The park was very crowded, and all the ports we stopped at were loaded with spring break drunks! I also found out that for that year it was the most expensive week. All of us living in the northwest, Portland and Seattle, we hadn't seen the sun since the previous summer. Needless to say it was a shock to have 95+ weather.

So after two years of research I have found that the best time of year is Sept- Dec. and late Jan- early Feb. Best price, weather and smaller crowds!

PS I just read this and notice that it sounds like we had a bad time. That's not the case at all. We had a fantastic time! Nothing was going to harm our good time!

 

[alexandrew]

Recognizing your requirements of cheap/great weather/least crowded, IMO the best month to cruise without a doubt is January...particularly mid month, right around MLK day....you can't go wrong....

 

[ivanova]

pre Thanksgiving November the ships are also decked out for Christmas already It's truly gorgeous!!

 

[sters]

Wow! Thanks for the input! Passporter was saying May, and I liked that idea, but there might be too many school conflicts.

I know when the value/regular/peak/holiday seasons are for the theme parks, but couldn't find that for the cruise line. Any idea where that might be posted?

 

[TerryU.]

What about early March? I was thinking of going then for my DD's birthday. She doesen't know it yet!

 

[westjones]

The least expensive time is in September (check out the prices on All Season's Travel's website, it is easy to read and you will see the more expensive times: http://www.allseastravel.com ).

The parks are also the least crowded during that month.

NOW, it is hurricane season, and it is still very hot. We go then because it is our twins birthdays AND we are on a tight budget. We couldn't afford to go on the cruise during peak season.

We have gone in September the last 4 years and had a wonderful time each time (and this year we are booked for a 7 night in September).

DJ

 

[sters]

Thanks WestJones, that was a very useful site! I learned that March is a very expensive time to travel, but May was good. Why would it be cheaper than early September when September is hurricane season? Just wondering.

 

[westjones]

I'm not sure what dates you are comparing, but I have always found the last half of September to be the least expensive time to sail of any times of the year (but there are other times that are very low too).

There are still a lot of kids onboard in September. I am sure there are more other times of the year, but we haven't sailed any other time.

No matter when you go, it is wonderful! And the less that it costs the better!

DJ

 

[prymsu]

my family has now gone several times in January. For us we have been able to find the best rates during that time. We have always had wonderful weather, and not had any problems with cold temps, except maybe when leaving port canaveral. Of course when you live in Iowa, anything about freezing is like a heat wave to us that time of year! Also, September and October are cheap times to cruise as well.

 

[Zandy595]

EARLY NOVEMBER!!!

I believe this is the perfect time to cruise because it's less expensive, not crowded, and still warm. Our first cruise was November 1, 2001 and it was WONDERful. I would have booked early November again this year, but it just worked out better with DS's school to book the midde of October.

September is peak hurricane season and IMO too hot.

January can be quite cold. You just can't predict when a cold front will come through. It's possible to have a daytime temp of 50°. I guess if you don't care about swimming it might be OK.

May can be very warm. Here in South FL, it's been in the low 90°'s the last few days.

 

[westjones]

September is peak hurricane season and IMO too hot.

I agree, it is still very hot in September. We go then because of our twin's birthday, it is the cheapest time of the year (although other times are not bad either, like the other times people have mentioned, but if you look through that All Season's Travel site, you will see that September is the very least expensive).

We homeschool, so it isn't hard for us to go at that time; but if you have kids in school it is probably not an easy decision to go right after school starts (and here in Indiana, they are doing testing right at that time).

I think it would be nice to go at a cooler time, but for crowds, both the parks (except on weekends) and the ship are low.

We are going in December this year (yes, taking 2 cruises this year) the week before Christmas and I am anxious to see the difference in temperature. I am actually thinking of taking an excursion at Nassau this time since it won't be as hot.

DJ