NOLA - Temps as you set sail & 1st day on ship

We have never cruised out of NOLA. Really, really looking forward to spending a couple days pre-cruise exploring New Orleans. Looking at the normal January temps I know we will be wearing jeans & long sleeves and probably a jacket as we sight-see around town.

Just wondering as the ship sets sail for the Western Caribbean how long until we can change into our shorts & tank tops?? Thanks for your help!

This is a hard one to answer as being from the south I have had days in January be 60 degrees and since NOLA is more southern than I am it could be the first sea day. I am also in the middle of an arctic blast right now and would imagine that it would be closer to the port day # 1 before it got warm enough.

New Orleans is hard to gauge in January. It could be almost freezing when you set sail (and being on the river is colder than being in town), or it could be in the 80s. You won't be out of the Mississippi River until about 1am, but by that second day, you should be fine in shorts. Keep checking the weather reports leading up to your cruise date, but remember that it's Louisiana -- if you don't like the weather, stick around because it'll change.

Leaving on the dream the 21st, hoping to be in the 60s when we leave but who knows

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We sailed on the Triumph last year for a cruise the week before Christmas. It was cold, overcast, and rainy the day we embarked and warm when we got back. For our pre-cruise day, we were fine walking around in fleece jackets but we weren't going too far from the hotel because of the rain. As we got closer to Mexico, it warmed up considerably. The first sea day was still a little chilly.

Last week there was dense fog on the river - especially after dark. It was in the 60's. When we woke up the next morning, DH went into shorts - it was noticeably warmer and quite comfortable on our balcony. YMMV

Just looking at buoy temperatures in the mid-Gulf and current temp is 74 degrees. Temperature in New Orleans this morning is 41. We leave Tuesday so we are expecting short weather temps by mid day Wednesday. Temp at West Delta 143(Shell platform out of SW Pass) now is 53. It should begin to warm up after you get into the Gulf.

We did a Jan cruise out of NOLA. The first day was in the 40s/50s (the day we left that is). The first sea day started in the 60s or so, but it did get better. What killed it was the wind. Made it hard to enjoy sitting on deck for a Southerner!

That said, our first port in Cozumel was hot and we did a beach day.

Thanks for the information everyone. I have been watching NOLA's weather closer than ours here in Ohio! This is sure going to be different then sailing from Miami as we usually do!