Is July a good time to cruise?

My wife and I have been going on cruises every odd year since 2009. Usually they have been in May or the beginning of June. This year, we are sailing July 1st. As per my usual pre-cruise routine, I begin reading up here and join the roll call for our cruise. Most roll calls have been pretty big with more and more folks joining the closer it gets. For this cruise, there are 3 people in the roll cal. Yes 3. The cruise is 96 days away! Usually by this time in the past, there have been a bunch of folks. Also I noticed for the first time on a Carnival cruise, the FTTF was still available and so I jumped at it and bought it as in past cruises it has been sold out and we have never been able to get it. As of today, it's still available. So is this just a fluke? Is July a good time to cruise because no one else is? I have to admit, with only 3 families on the boat, it sure will be nice to spread out and not be crowded at all! ( I know there will be other people on the boat. Not everyone who cruises is on these boards...thought they should be!)

Despite the roll call - your cruise will be busy and full of families.

We normally sail in "off months" (i.e. when kids are in school). Last summer we sailed a week in July and a week in August - very different than what we were used to. The ship was packed with families and very busy.

I'm cruising July 2018. It's the best time for me to take a whole week off (I work in a high school). I've cruised in April and May before. The only thing I heard about summer months is it's hot. Well I love the summer, so that won't be a problem. Plus my birthday and my Dh's birthday is in July.

What? Everyone is cruising in July! Kids are out of school. There's going to be 1,000 of them running around. I cruised in July once. Now I cruise when school is in session. Cheaper, Cooler and less urchins to trip on.

July is a fine time to cruise. There may be more families but it's still a good time. As far as your roll call, I've noticed a lot of them being small because people are now doing them on the social media site (FB) instead of on here. Check that and I bet you will find one.

Have a fantastic cruise!!

End of April is our choice of month to cruise. Most all spring breaks are done and kids back in school so boats aren't crowded with kids. Cruise fares drop back down some from spring break and it's before the summer ramp up of fares. It's caribbeans dry month or time of the year so not much weather to worry about. Seas are calm this time of year also and temperature is not too hot but ocean water temps are perfect.

End of April is our choice of month to cruise. Most all spring breaks are done and kids back in school so boats aren't crowded with kids. Cruise fares drop back down some from spring break and it's before the summer ramp up of fares. It's caribbeans dry month or time of the year so not much weather to worry about. Seas are calm this time of year also and temperature is not too hot but ocean water temps are perfect.

Its also a solid month into Hurricane season, so it is not always a sure bet that you will get to the ports that you are interested in. I am good with any of the summer months, but sometimes you get re-routed due to weather.

Its also a solid month into Hurricane season, so it is not always a sure bet that you will get to the ports that you are interested in. I am good with any of the summer months, but sometimes you get re-routed due to weather.

But extremely rare to get any tropical activity that early in the season. And there has never been a named hurricane in April since record keeping began. Yet. Lol. Now watch and one will develop next year right during our cruise. Murpheys Law.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E17.html

FTTF and roll calls are most popular with that serial cruisers that mainly cruise during off-times

I personally would not cruise in July because of the peak hurricane season and July and August is really hot in the Caribbean. I am sure your roll call will get more people in the next couple months.

I won a boat in St Martin. The hurricane season, according to my insurance company starts July. Year round temps are 75-85. I have been down in January and have roasted. The only real difference is a little more rain and the water temp will be warm, sometimes too warm, notice the bleaching coral. As far as the sea urchin comment, what?

I won a boat in St Martin. The hurricane season, according to my insurance company starts July. Year round temps are 75-85. I have been down in January and have roasted. The only real difference is a little more rain and the water temp will be warm, sometimes too warm, notice the bleaching coral. As far as the sea urchin comment, what?

Living in an area affected by Hurricanes I can tell you your insurance company is wrong. It officially starts June 1st and runs to Nov 30th.

July is usually tame... but you are getting into the point where some interesting fronts are starting to form.

Dont get me wrong, I would still cruise in July/August/Sept just know you might not go where you planned too. All you have to be able to do is get on the ship at the home port, and they will keep you safe.

But extremely rare to get any tropical activity that early in the season. And there has never been a named hurricane in April since record keeping began. Yet. Lol. Now watch and one will develop next year right during our cruise. Murpheys Law.

 

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/E17.html

The OP is asking about July not April. April is usually fine, if a bit chilly for my tastes.

We sailed June 25th - July 2nd last yr with our 4 kids and will again this year. Weather was great but yes very hot on the islands. The ship was full but I never found it overcrowded and def did not trip over any "urchins".

Sent from my iPad using Forums

End of April is our choice of month to cruise. Most all spring breaks are done and kids back in school so boats aren't crowded with kids. Cruise fares drop back down some from spring break and it's before the summer ramp up of fares. It's caribbeans dry month or time of the year so not much weather to worry about. Seas are calm this time of year also and temperature is not too hot but ocean water temps are perfect.

I agree about April being the best time to cruise! We've done a handful of late April cruises for the exact reasons you cited. I've always had the BEST weather when cruising during April...it's not too hot in the Caribbean yet and it's almost always dry and sunny. And the pricing is great too!

My husband prefers to travel to warm places when it's cold where we live...but those are my busy months at work. So fall or late spring ends up working best for us.

To the OP - I would agree that alot of the roll call traffic may have shifted over to a certain social media site. I started a roll call here for our November, 2017 Vista cruise way back in April, 2015 when we first booked. It's hardly gotten any traffic so far. I do miss the days of active roll calls. I remember 10-12 years ago, the roll calls I was on were hopping. We always met up with the people we'd been chatting with for so many months and usually several of us would end up hanging out alot during the cruise - and some I'm even still friends with to this day!

Anytime I get a chance to cruise is a good time. If July is the chance that I have to cruise, ok, so be it, it's a cruise. I'm on vacation, where ever the boat takes me I'll be happy as long as it's not home or work. Lol. Is July a good time to cruise? It could be for most anyone but I just prefer April.

We tend to avoid the Caribbean in summer months as it is too hot.

Also many families means longer lines and a more crowded ship as ship will have say an extra 500 plus kids.

I personally would not cruise in July because of the peak hurricane season and July and August is really hot in the Caribbean. I am sure your roll call will get more people in the next couple months.

It was 110 degrees in Tulum in July.

If you cruise to the Caribbean in July, a few things you better like:

the heat, kids and crowds

:(

Anytime I get a chance to cruise is a good time. If July is the chance that I have to cruise, ok, so be it, it's a cruise. I'm on vacation, where ever the boat takes me I'll be happy as long as it's not home or work. Lol. Is July a good time to cruise? It could be for most anyone but I just prefer April.

Agree!

We had some wonderful cruises in July. Yes schools are out so depending on the line you can expect more kids.

And weather... Cannot predict it. We had wonderful one and mixed one.

I really like the late feb cab cruise. Temps are 60s-70s instead of 80s-90s. School is in session. It's just before spring break. It's after the super bowl but before march madness. I wish there were two February's about six months a part.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

My daughter is a senior in high school (graduating in 2 months) WOO HOO!!!!

DH is a CPA (Nothing prior to 4/15)

So, for the past few years, it's been June/July, and we don't mind it at all.

Weather is always AWESOME. Seas are always calm. Yes, it's HOT, but we're from New England. We appreciate the heat.:'):')

We cruised from Baltimore one year in April and it was chilly, as was the water in the Bahamas. No thanks. I prefer the water to be "comfortable" upon entering.:')

Living in an area affected by Hurricanes I can tell you your insurance company is wrong. It officially starts June 1st and runs to Nov 30th.

 

July is usually tame... but you are getting into the point where some interesting fronts are starting to form.

 

Dont get me wrong, I would still cruise in July/August/Sept just know you might not go where you planned too. All you have to be able to do is get on the ship at the home port, and they will keep you safe.

It's not a matter of right and wrong, beginning July 1 deductibles doubles in a named storm. All marinas I have been docked in St.Thomas, Tortola, and St.Maartan all use July 1 - November 1 as their hurricane guidelines as they all raise their dry dock fees. I know what Wikipedia says but in practicality these are the dates the boating community uses

It's not a matter of right and wrong, beginning July 1 deductibles doubles in a named storm. All marinas I have been docked in St.Thomas, Tortola, and St.Maartan all use July 1 - November 1 as their hurricane guidelines as they all raise their dry dock fees. I know what Wikipedia says but in practicality these are the dates the boating community uses

Glad you feel confortable using insurance sites instead of NOAA.

Feel free to believe as you like, but I suggest you dont discredit people you dont know who like in an active area, and can site government resources that back up when the season is, as well as personal experiences.

Storms come early and tend to be unpredictable. By July it is active season, saying anything else is just wrong.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk