Summer in the Caribbean?

[esther e]

Absolutely, Oceanwench. A summer Caribbean cruise is a comparitively cheap family vacation and popular with younger parents. Precisely why many (most?) adults and seniors prefer to cruise other months in addition to the excessive heat and humidity in the Caribbean during the summer months. (And yes, I love kids and have 7 grandkids, but don't choose to cruise with hundreds of rugrats on the ship. Let's not open up that subject again.)

 

 

Yup! A lady after my own heart. We prefer winter/fall cruises and fewer kids.

[esther e]

Since we're making wishes, I wish for HAL to berth in Cape Canaveral. :)

[bellebaby]

After 5 HAL cruises in the last 5 years, we are sailing on the Solstice this July. This will be our first Celebrity cruise as HAL had no ships sailing here during the summer.

 

I agree with you. If I really wanted to take a June/July/August Caribbean cruise, I'd branch out and try the Solstice. However, I live in the Houston area and have no desire for more of the same in the summer... hot and humid.:(

 

B

[HeatherInFlorida]

After 5 HAL cruises in the last 5 years, we are sailing on the Solstice this July. This will be our first Celebrity cruise as HAL had no ships sailing here during the summer.

 

I hope you post your thoughts! We're cruising on Solstice in October and I'd love to read your honest comparison of the two lines. Historically, we're very flexible between the two and generally choose between them based on itinerary, ship, timing.

 

Yup! A lady after my own heart. We prefer winter/fall cruises and fewer kids.

 

After my heart, too! I'm with you 100%! I'm glad for the ships in the Caribbean in the summer months lending choice for the families with kids who want summer fun. As for me, I'll take my summer fun during other seasons!

[esther e]

Heather, if you do go on X, please let me know what you think of it. I can't ask the cheerleaders of X because they're so biased (as we HAL'ers are), but the pure number of passengers scares the bejabbers out of us!

[Sea King]

Hurricanes, heat/humidity, children:eek:

 

what about nuclear fall out:rolleyes:

 

my favorite is the post about the October hurricane that caused severe damage to Florida five years ago

 

hello .. isn't October after the end of summer .. at least my calendar says so

 

heat/humidity .. for most "regular Carribean ports", weather is pretty consistent most of the year

 

children .. not even going there .. I'd rather discuss smokig:D

 

let's be honest .. HAL's decision was revenue generated (that's "money" in nautical talk)

 

you can't compare the cash flow from Alaska, New England, Europe and Asia with the Carribean ..

 

same old story .. money talks

 

wish HAL would put back at least 1 ship into the Carribean for the summer

 

don't think it will happen .. unfortunately for the near future

[Two@Sea]

Since we're making wishes, I wish for HAL to berth in Cape Canaveral. :)

 

NOW yer talkin' ! :D

[HeatherInFlorida]

...........

my favorite is the post about the October hurricane that caused severe damage to Florida five years ago

 

hello .. isn't October after the end of summer .. at least my calendar says so

 

.............

 

I'm glad I could bring some comedy relief into your life. But just to clear up any confusion.

 

Hurricane season runs 6/1 to 11/30 ... anyone living in this part of the country is keenly aware of that. Peak season on the Atlantic side of FL (not to be confused with the Gulf side) is August/September.

 

And October down here is really still summer even though we are far less likely to get hurricanes. But it can happen. When I spoke of the 2005 October hurricane it wasn't in relation to summer cruising. It was a response to the discussion of why HAL left the Caribbean during hurricane season. Truthfully I have no idea when HAL returns to the Caribbean for winter cruising.

[Oceanwench]

Hurricanes, heat/humidity, children:eek:

 

what about nuclear fall out:rolleyes:

 

my favorite is the post about the October hurricane that caused severe damage to Florida five years ago

 

hello .. isn't October after the end of summer .. at least my calendar says so

 

heat/humidity .. for most "regular Carribean ports", weather is pretty consistent most of the year

 

children .. not even going there .. I'd rather discuss smokig:D

 

let's be honest .. HAL's decision was revenue generated (that's "money" in nautical talk)

 

you can't compare the cash flow from Alaska, New England, Europe and Asia with the Carribean ..

 

same old story .. money talks

 

wish HAL would put back at least 1 ship into the Carribean for the summer

 

don't think it will happen .. unfortunately for the near future

 

Wow ...

I guess we should all leave our opinions home. Put on a happy face and talk about, um, let's see, what would make good conversation? Obviously not weather! :p

 

The hurricane in October was brought up because, well, HAL pulled its ships out of the Caribbean for most of hurricane season. The "summer" on the cruising calendar is a little bit expanded beyond the standard summer calendar [June-Sept] in this situation. [For cruising purposes, HAL's summer season begins in May and ends in October.]

 

And let me stop you before you explain to me that HAL cruises in Oct./Nov. -- also hurricane season. I know that. Hurricane season is June 1-Dec. 1.

But the peak of the season is September ... no HAL in port then. Late season hurricanes are few and far between, but we do get them.

[Oceanwench]

:rolleyes: Can you imagine Captain standing in Lido saying something like, "Well, we can charge higher per diems in Europe and make more money blah blah blah???? ":D

 

HAL sailed the Caribbean year after year after year, ship after ship after ship and certainly can still if they wish.

Itineraries/ports can be altered when necessary. We all know there are itinerary changes for any number of reasons.

 

Oh, gosh, no, I cannot imagine the captain standing in the Lido and telling me THE TRUTH! :eek: He must have been handing out good company propaganda! Probably had his talking points on his tray. [Yes, those were the days! Sigh ...]

 

I guess it is mere coincidence that, after sailing the Caribbean year after year after year, ship after ship after ship, HAL pulled its ships out of the Caribbean after two unusually disastrous hurricane seasons.

[CtheW0rld]

cruise ships follow the money. two weeks ago i could've booked a 7-day alaska cruise for $399/pp. what a deal. i expect HAL to have less of a presence in alaska in the coming years.

 

as for the carib. - i don't have any interest in cruising there again at all. my next cruise does end up in florida, but i really doubt i'll be getting off the ship at aruba, barbados, grand turk or HMC. been there, done that. i almost didn't book the cruise because of all the island stops, but the major parts - rio, SA, amazon - were places i really wanted to go.

[mek]

If this volcano problem continues there will be a lot of people cancelling before final payment & others may be able to use their travel insurance to cancel . Thus ,"if" this problem were to continue I don't see how any cruise line ship could go to Europe with empty ships. JMO[/quote

 

Just my personal opinion, but I think they would simply try to fill the vacant cabins with European cruisers by offering fantastic deals. I think it would be too complicated to pull ships out this late. Those who live in Europe have all kinds of options to get to a port - drive, train, ferries, etc.

[Sea King]

Wow ...

 

The hurricane in October was brought up because, well, HAL pulled its ships out of the Caribbean for most of hurricane season. The "summer" on the cruising calendar is a little bit expanded beyond the standard summer calendar [June-Sept] in this situation. [For cruising purposes, HAL's summer season begins in May and ends in October.]

 

And let me stop you before you explain to me that HAL cruises in Oct./Nov. -- also hurricane season. I know that. Hurricane season is June 1-Dec. 1.

But the peak of the season is September ... no HAL in port then. Late season hurricanes are few and far between, but we do get them.

 

thanks so much .. I'm sure the entire board will sleep much better tonight knowing the date(s) of Hurricane season (as well as which coast does what and when):rolleyes:

 

gosh, I never knew Hurricanes were that complicated

 

wonder if there is a Hurricanologist expert at HAL:eek:

[Tamaracboy]

Thanks for your thoughts, Reuel. This time I'm going with my older grandgirl, and she's on a pretty tight schedule. She completes her college semester on Friday, and we are scheduled to fly out Sunday. In the meantime she has to move out of her dorm, into the apartment she'll be in when she returns, get home, pack---it's a full weekend.

We have a little wiggle-room in that we arrive on Monday, board on Tuesday, but don't sail until Wednesday. Hopefully, this will all work out, not only for me, but for everyone.

 

Ruth,

 

I've got my fingers and toes crossed for your easy and eventless flying :cool:

 

r.

[MrCo9]

If the flight ban lasts longer due to the volcano the smart cruise lines will be sending their ships back and forth at the fastest speed possible between the US and Europe. My in-laws prefer to cruise across the Atlantic as quite often a cruise is cheaper than a First Class ticket.

[sail7seas]

For the moment, it looks like air travel should be fairly back to normal in another ten daysto two weeks UNLESS something else happens. This volcano can possibly be a thorn in our side for a long time to come from what I've heard on various news stations.

 

[RuthC]

Ruth,

 

I've got my fingers and toes crossed for your easy and eventless flying :cool:

 

r.

Thank you, m'dear.