Mid winter v. Easter break

[Boatingmom]

Which would you choose aand why. We're traveling with a 13 & 15 yo who are cruise experienced but due to the class (honors and AP) cannot take off I miss. TIA;)

[Sue L]

Feb break is near capacity on many sailings on many different lines already. Easter is more spread out since some districts have vacation before Easter and others after.

 

Pricing is usually higher for Feb break also. Whichever you choose I would not procratinate.

[kaykels]

Just be careful of Easter sailings. The airfare can be a complete deal breaker. 2 years ago I was booked on LOS over Easter and I could not find a flight from Philadelphia or surrounding airports to anywhere in Florida for under 500.00 RT. Its usually 200 or less pp. For a family of 5 that's a budget buster.

I have sailed over every major holiday and never experienced that before!

 

Happy sails.

[cb at sea]

Where will you be sailing to? If you want to be assured of warm weather, wait until Easter. Otherwise, you may have a chilly trip!

[elephant98]

Can you give a more definitive time frame (i.e, which weeks you are looking at) and where you are looking to cruise?

 

If you are looking at the Caribbean, I have sailed both the Eastern and Western Caribbean multiple times between January and April. Weatherwise, the only cold temperatures we have ever encountered were in Nassau and Coco Cay in January/February. (Whatever the temperature is in Miami in January/February on those port days, it will likely be pretty much the same in the Bahamas. Oftentimes, it will be shorts and t-shirt weather. But, not warm enough for swimming.) Aside from that, the temperature in every port we have gone to from January through April has been shorts and t-shirt warm, and even warm enough for swimming.

 

It has been my experience that it is cheaper to cruise in January and February. March is reasonable too, though usually a little more expensive. The closer you get to spring breaks, the more expensive it will get --especially in April.

[mysparky]

We've gone during Feb break as well as April break and it is a bit of a toss-up. We've found that both Feb & April cruises have been filled to capacity so that wouldn't come into the equation for me.

 

February Pros:

To me, it's all about timing. A Feb vacation provides us with a seriously nice break from our New England weather and it's usually been about 6 months from our last vacation(previous August) and 6 months until our next vacation(August).

 

February Cons:

It can be cold. The day we left Ft Lauderdale it was 62 and throughout our cruise in the Western Caribbean, I don't think it ever reached 80. On our last day at Sea,we were sailing from Cozumel to Ft Lauderdale and we all had on jeans and light-weight sweatshirts.

 

Always a concern w/ flight delays for us coming out of New England. One good storm can jam up flights for 2 days - no matter where you are coming from. We always fly in the day before and didn't have a problem, but this is still a concern when we consider Feb.

 

April Pros:

Beautiful weather! Really beautiful! And, when we come home we don't have to deal w/ the harsh reality of winter. It's just starting to get nice for us too.

 

April Cons:

Timing - Spring sports take a little bit of a hit (no practice) and the kids are out of school only 7-8 weeks after April vacation so I always wonder...did they need that break? In addition, AP exams are usually right around the corner and they certainly aren't going to spend anytime on the cruise prepping!

[GinDon]

We totally avoid winter cruises. Too much chance of getting flights delayed by snowstorms (we live in Maine). Even traveling a day early isn't a guarantee..............some storm ball things up for a couple of days or more.

[jenlev]

we booked in late January because we got a good deal, but now I'm obsessing that it will be too cold! Maybe that's why we got the good deal....

[elephant98]

we booked in late January because we got a good deal, but now I'm obsessing that it will be too cold! Maybe that's why we got the good deal....

 

I was born and raised in Florida and have lived in South Florida the last 15 years. So, to me, 60 degrees is cold. We have cruised several times in late January and early February and have not been cold in the ports, other than Nassau and Coco Cay . . . which has the same weather as South Florida that time of year--maybe cold, maybe not depending on the year. I really don't think you will have much to fear at the other ports. Check out the seasonal weather temps on the weather channel website.

 

Your fares are likely lower because the holidays are over, kids are back in school, and not as many families travel.