What are the worst months to take a cruise?
Hurricane Season
The wet season is from April through early December, but there is still plenty of sunshine to be enjoyed. Hurricane season is September and October, bringing the most rain and sometimes flooding which usually won't affect your cruise.
The spring and fall are the optimal times to visit, with fewer tourists, cooler temperatures and lower prices. You'll also find that most everything is open during that time and easier to see without battling the crowds.
You can often land deals if you travel during the early weeks of December and in the later spring, when weather is still mostly calm and dry. The cheapest time for Caribbean cruises runs from late summer into fall, when hurricane season is at its peak.
While there are advantages to cruising during each month, some months are just better to avoid. For example, many travelers like to avoid cruising from August to early November to avoid the worst of hurricane season.
Wet season and dry season are both good times to cruise the Caribbean. The worst time for a Caribbean cruise weather-wise is August to September, as it is peak hurricane season.
The worst month to cruise to the Bahamas is typically during the peak of the hurricane season, which runs from August to October.
Dry Season in the Caribbean: December-April
With no shortage of people seeking to escape the freezing winter temperatures for the holidays, December is one of the most popular times for Caribbean cruises and vacations. January and February are almost as popular, as they have the lowest risk of rainfall.
It tends to be roughest in autumn and winter when the winds are strongest and there is a higher chance of storms. Rough seas can happen at any time though and spring and summer cruise passengers might experience some rough seas.
Storms may appear in early summer and may last well into the winter months. In the Eastern Caribbean, rough weather conditions usually heighten in August and last through October. Hurricane season in the Western Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico typically occurs from September to late November.
What are the most expensive months to cruise?
Peak Travel Season:
The summer months, especially June, July, and August, are the peak travel season for cruises. This is primarily due to families taking advantage of school holidays and vacation time. With increased demand, cruise prices tend to be higher during these months.
If you're most interested in the beach, July and August may be your best bets. If you're looking for a mix of sunshine and slightly cooler temperatures, try a cruise to the Mediterranean in June, September or October.
Cruise wave season starts right after the winter holiday season and continues until the end of March. The “wave” refers to the tidal wave of cruise promotions offered during this time.
Is August a good time to visit the Caribbean? Yes! The weather may not be perfect in the Caribbean in August, but if you pick the right island, you can still get long, sunny days and benefit from off-season pricing and fewer crowds. Just be sure to buy hurricane insurance to protect your trip investment.
As long as you understand that cruising between late August and early November is a weather-related crapshoot, everything will be fine. In all likelihood, you will not be affected. However, there is the chance that your cruise may be extended, it may be cut short and your ports of call may change.
Conclusion. If you're looking for an affordable Caribbean cruise, September is the cheapest month to go. You can take advantage of lower prices, promotions, and deals and enjoy less crowded ports of call and better weather than you might think.
Generally, winter and spring in the northern hemisphere, December through May, is going to be the most expensive time of year to head to the Caribbean. This is the “high season” and usually you'll be paying top dollar.
Hurricane season in the Caribbean typically runs from June 1 to November 30.
When is the best time to cruise to the Eastern Caribbean? Warm, dry weather, abundant sunshine, calm seas, and delightful ports of call make peak season, December through April, the best time to book an Eastern Caribbean cruise.
The official hurricane season runs between 1 June and 30 November but the period of highest concern is just between mid-August and early October.
Do cruise ships avoid bad weather?
Cruise ships rarely sail into big storms, because sophisticated weather-tracking equipment enables the captain and crew to avoid them.
Cruise ships move about twice as fast as the storms themselves, so the vessels can either outrun the storms or simply go around storm cells. If you're worried about your cruise being canceled, you can rest assured that that's highly unlikely.
For optimal weather and adventures aplenty, the best time to cruise the Mediterranean is in the spring, summer or fall season, from early April through late November. During the winter, many locals close up shop, making it difficult for travelers to enjoy the full Mediterranean experience.
The front of a ship can be the most uncomfortable place to be in big waves. This is because the front of a ship pitches a lot more in waves than the center of a ship or even the back.
Alaska's Inside Passage: The waters here are sheltered and nearly always calm. Most days you are either in port or watching a glacier thunderously calve chunks into the sea while your ship slowly cruises through a fjord or bay in bathtub-like conditions.
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