NCL Gem cruise weather

Hello,

We are going on the 11-night cruise out of NY to the Caribbean. The cruise leaves on October 31st and we have never cruised this time of year before, especially from the north. I have seen a few trip reports where cruisers from NY had snow or ice on their ship but I am assuming this was on January and February cruises? I assume that the days in the Caribbean will be warm but I'm wondering about the 3 sea days at the beginning of the cruise and the 2 sea days at the end of the cruise.

What can I expect from the weather and temperatures during sea days?

Will I be spending most of the sea days indoors?

Is it likely that I will be able to swim in the ship's pool any of those days?

I know that mid-November is towards the end of the hurricane season. Should I expect rough seas during these sea days?

Thanks

Ice & snow on NCL ship while in NY area are exceptions for November sailings, we had a Nor-Easter 5 years ago on the Gem's 10 days- just days after Sandy, highly unusual. Gem can do 22 to 24 knots when running full speed with a strong tailwind (a little rock-n-roll is great for sleeping) and generally in the Carolinas by afternoon of Day 2, where temperature warmed up very quickly ... sunbathers out in force. Pools & hot tubs are heated - by morning of Day 3, pretty much tropical and wearing shorts, unless there's a cold front. The last full sea day usually get progressively chilly - we've sailed in mid Feb. & March where it's warm enough to be outdoors, maybe a fleece vest or jacket.

Or, you can spend 2 extra days flying (going & coming back) to board ships in Florida - adding 2+ days to your vacation or time away from home, to "avoid" the chilly or breeze morning & afternoon.

There's plenty to do indoors as when sea conditons warranted, the outside decks are closed for safety reasons, i.e. rough seas and nobody permitted to be out & about anyway ... that's been known to happen year-round.

For reviews, do a search for recent reviews & trip reports from last November thru mid April for the Gem. The Breakaway, a much bigger ship, did similar 10 to 14 days Caribbean runs - if you are looking for info about the ports & what to do there.

Rough seas can happened year round - ship captain, like the rest, don't like to sail directly into stormy seas ... if you are prone to seasickness or motion, book a midship cabin on the lower deck ... we've stayed with balcony cabin on deck 9 and fine with deck 4 and 5 midship's oceanview.

Yes, there has been some bad weather in mid winter.

By the way, this impacts all ships sailing from NYC, not just the GEM.

Have taken said cruise in that time frame, found the first morning was still cold for my morning 30 minutes walk, but on morning #2 it was much warmer and by the afternoon it was sunbathing weather. In reverse coming home.

Weather toward the end of October and the start of November is kind of tricky. It can be cold or warm either ways and some storms for example, there was Hurricane Sandy toward the end of October. You would never know what to expect. So pack some warm clothes.

No one know if you are able to go outdoor on your cruise as it depends on the weather.

These few years, the weather a lot where I live (Eastern US, PA) - right now I already see some leaves changing their color.

This past Winter, we didn't have any bad snow storms.

Thanks for the info