Best and Worst Times to Cruise the Caribbean

Table Of Content

• Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America
• Card Issuer
• How do I know if I'm getting a good deal when I book?
• The best time to book a cruise often comes down to preference, planning, and peace of mind
• Start planning your tailor-made holiday by ​contacting one of our cruise specialists...
• Best time to cruise Hawaii to avoid crowds

During long days of light, you'll find hearty Alaskans swimming in the sea and enjoying water sports. As someone who has cruised Alaska many times, I love cruising in May when the weather is dry and locals are emerging from their winter cocoons, embracing the sunshine. The wildlife is doing the same, and you might spot bears with their cubs, moose with their calves and humpback whales returning from their winter home in Hawaii.

Hotels With Cruise Shuttles For Every Major Port in America

In fact, Northern Europe and the Baltics truly awaken from their winter slumber for the months of May through October, and alfresco dining and drinking is practically mandatory. Expect more precipitation from June to September and drier conditions between November and April. The months of March, April, May, and November often see the most comfortable temperatures with little precipitation. However, you will have to be prepared for last-minute itinerary changes.

Card Issuer

Bears will be fishing; in late August, they will be looking for blueberries, which also become a featured item on restaurant menus. While early May often carries a chill in the air, by the end of the month, you might encounter temperatures in the 60s. The warmer weather means glaciers begin shedding ice more frequently, so you have a better chance of experiencing the sight and sound of a house-size chunk of ice calving into the sea.

How do I know if I'm getting a good deal when I book?

There's not much variation in temperature between the two seasons, with daytime temperatures hovering around 80 degrees in the summer and not falling much more than that into the high 70s in the winter. Since the temperatures are similar during both seasons, the best time to cruise the islands is when there's less chance of precipitation, which is during the summer months of June, July and August. If price is a major factor in choosing the perfect cruise travel date, you'll also want to look at cruises in the shoulder season, when fewer people are traveling and fares are typically lower. You might be able to find cheaper cruises on older ships or in less desirable cabin categories, especially if an abundance of ships sails to your preferred destination.

The best time to book a cruise often comes down to preference, planning, and peace of mind

Cruise ships offer a variety of amenities and activities to keep passengers comfortable and entertained during their voyage. Luxury cruises offer the highest level of comfort and service with upscale amenities and exclusive experiences. When to book a cruise is a battle between cost savings and preference. If you book early and the sailing goes on sale, you miss out on the savings, conversely, if you wait to book, the airfare may increase and offset potential savings. Need further encouragement (discouragement) the best day to book is on a Sunday, usually a lie in the day for most people, well not you, well not if you want to secure a cheap cruise that is.

Start planning your tailor-made holiday by ​contacting one of our cruise specialists...

If, however, temperature is a concern, you should know that summer in New England brings temperatures in the 80s, but you should not be surprised if they extend into the high 90s. Cruises to Mexico from Los Angeles sail to the Mexican Riviera, a name coined for the country’s picturesque towns along the Pacific Coast and Baja California. Ports like Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and Catalina Island are found on Mexican Riviera itineraries. Cruises to Hawaii will be less expensive in the fall when school is in session. Elizabeth Rhodes is a special projects editor at Travel + Leisure, covering everything from luxury hotels to theme parks to must-pack travel products.

When you book

If your aim is to cruise with your own children while they are on break, there are plenty of ships with age-appropriate facilities. You'll have options like splash zones for the little ones, monster slides for the adventurers and kids clubs for all ages. Ships that sail seasonally in Alaska and Europe often call the waters of the Caribbean home for a few months in winter. If I were to narrow it down even further, I'd say the best time to cruise to the Caribbean is early December. It's a fun way to create a break between Thanksgiving and the December holidays.

Is January a good time for a cruise? - Royal Caribbean Blog

Is January a good time for a cruise?.

Posted: Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Best time to cruise Hawaii to avoid crowds

If you don’t mind spring break crowds, Good Friday and Easter is a fun time to visit Bermuda as there are lots of fun treats to eat and a Good Friday kite flying event at Horseshoe Bay Beach. It's hard to determine the best time to cruise the Panama Canal at the lowest prices. Many cruise lines offer short seasons or mix up itineraries, so there's not much grounds for comparison.

By late spring, summer and fall, there are more festivals, sporting events and golf tournaments that bring visitors to the islands. In the summertime, you'll have family vacations and people with vacation homes in Bermuda returning for the season and warmer weather. The warmest months in Northern Europe are mid-June to August, making the height of the summer season the most desirable time to cruise Scandinavia and the Baltic region. This is also the Land of the Midnight Sun, where you'll have nearly 24 hours of sunlight in places like northern Norway from early June to mid-July. The shoulder season months are also the least crowded times to visit Alaska because kids are in school and fewer families are vacationing. Just be aware that if you head to Alaska early in the spring, some of the stores may not have opened yet.

Frankly, cruise lines are similar to clothing stores in that they are always running sales. Sometimes it might be an incentive to book and receive onboard credit, or a sale where additional passengers sail for a discount, or a percentage off the total cruise. Hurricanes are always of interest to the Caribbean, and hurricane season runs from June through November. For cruise passengers, the risk of being caught in a hurricane on a ship is low.

May in Bermuda is your best bet for shoulder season travel if you're after discounts and the highest likelihood for sunny skies and warm temperatures. Even so, you can expect temperate weather year-round, and far less humidity than islands farther south. If it's too chilly for the beach in the shoulder season, you can always try out the island's many golf courses and spas. The cheapest time for Caribbean cruises runs from late summer into fall, when hurricane season is at its peak.

While there's a possibility of tropical storms or hurricanes, the Atlantic hurricane season doesn't peak until late August through October. Be aware that spring break is high season for travel disruptions caused by peak demand. I was once bumped from a flight home after a spring cruise when a high school Spanish club from Wisconsin needed the seats to travel home together as a group. I was compensated and flew out the next day, but what if I had been bumped on my cruise embarkation day?

Second, they know that extended families are far more likely to discuss big trips—like international cruises—over the holiday dinner table versus some random weekend in July. If you are booking Christmas week, summer, spring break or any times when kids are out of school, expect to pay top dollar for your cruise. Early January is a particularly good time to book a fall cruise because many others have not booked these cruises. Many people are not yet thinking about fall vacations in January, and you can use this time to snag some of the best cabins on the ship, often at lower fares. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines.