Rainy Beach Days?

[Aggiecruiser01]

We are about to set sail on our cruise in a couple of days- Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth/Jamaica... However I keep looking at the weather for these 3 ports (maybe I shouldn't).. and I see rain :eek: But the weather report also seems to change daily... Is it typically the quick afternoon showers then sun.. or is there lots of rain hanging out in the Caribbean? We have beach excursions for all 3 ports. (maybe I should stop looking at the weather reports)

[negc]

We are about to set sail on our cruise in a couple of days- Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth/Jamaica... However I keep looking at the weather for these 3 ports (maybe I shouldn't).. and I see rain :eek: But the weather report also seems to change daily... Is it typically the quick afternoon showers then sun.. or is there lots of rain hanging out in the Caribbean? We have beach excursions for all 3 ports. (maybe I should stop looking at the weather reports)

 

That's probably a good idea. Weather anywhere can vary considerably from day to day and in the Caribbean, while frequently you will experience occasional and reasonably brief showers, there are also times when a weather front stalls and you have days of rainy weather that sometimes seem to follow your ship. We've often found that packing an umbrella seems to help ward off any but the briefest showers, but there are no guarantees. Its always good to have a back up plan in the event that a rainy day interferes with your enjoyment of a beach day. Think positive thoughts and don't spend too much time checking weather forecasts.:)

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Give me a rainy day at the beach over a sunny day at work ANY day!! :D :D :D

[cruiselvr04]

Stop looking! It may rain but usually it is short. If you dressed for the beach it doesn't matter if you get wet. We have had a few ports be a complete rain out but it doesn't happen very often. It can rain on one part of an island and be dry on the other side. We take a poncho from the $1 store and an umbrella in our beach bag and go with the flow. Newbies see rain in the a.m. And stay on the ship and miss a great beach afternoon. Unless it is a tropical storm go for it, play in the rain!

 

We did the Americas cup race one morning in a monsoon of rain. Rained so hard I almost lost my contacts out of my eyes. Made it even more exciting! Memorable!

 

A jeep trip to the beach where the roads turned to rivers. As we drove thru the streets of St Marten the water came up into the back seats of the jeep. Soaked. Memorable!

 

Rain came sideways in Grand Cayman at the pier once and they stopped the tenders. No tents at that time. Stood in the rain for an hour till the winds died down and they could get the tender boats in. Memorable!

[grouchomarx]

There is no way to know what the weather will do and I have found that the forecasts are generally not worth much, they're always changing. We have had a rainy beach day in Cozumel. We had to take the Twister speedboat in the most crazy driving rains, it was pelting us like hail! They still blasted the music and did all the twisting. They took us to an island where we were supposed to spend the day at the beach, but it never stopped raining so we all sat under the giant palapa where the food service was and drank margaritas for a few hours. They cut the day short and we went back only to find that the sun came out and it was beautiful! We had plenty fun nonetheless. We also go massively rained on in Curacao during a walking tour. Used the ponchos for that. Ultimately you will still be able to have fun even it if rains and more often than not, the weather is beautiful. Or at least it has been for the vast majority of my Caribbean excursions. Do not stress.

[LuCruise]

I did the same prior to our cruise. St Thomas showed 80% rain at one point so I felt better when it went down to 60%. But in the end, we didn't have one drop of rain. Hope the same for you.

 

Are you excursions through the ship? You may want to check the refund policy in case the weather still doesn't look good. I think with Royal you have 24 hr to cancel but someone can confirm.

[LeeW]

Not sure I have ever had a Caribbean trip with no rain. Usually in port it rains for 20 minutes at a time, often deluge. We have a waterproof beach bag to keep the towels dry. The only real problem with rain is that it interferes with taking photos of water and adjacent islands.

 

You might want to tuck your credit cards and cash in a plastic bag. They do take soggy money, though.:)

[OCruisers]

Normally, in the Caribbean it's "pop up showers" that don't last long! :D

[Langley Cruisers]

As stated, the weather cannot be predicted with 100% accuracy. It has rained on every Caribbean cruise we've been on but for various lengths of time. In St. Maarten, it rained so hard on our port day there that there was flash flooding in the streets! We were in a rental car and decided not to venture any farther. I still have the photo of me sitting in a bar with soaking wet hair and shirt, sipping a fruity drink and smiling at my husband who took the shot. :)

 

Ya gotta make the best of every situation.

[debshomespun]

STOP looking at the weather reports. They are never right. Only job I know of where you can be wrong most of the time and keep your job! :D :D

 

As others have said, a rainy beach day is better than a good day at work. Enjoy the time away, and if there are pouring rains, you may want to stay on the ship and enjoy whatever they have to offer while most of the people are off at the ports!

[reedprincess]

Stop looking. All weather reports for the tropics show chance of rain year round. Namely, because it's the tropics, and there's a chance of rain year round. 80% chance of rain means simply that - there's an 80% chance it will rain at some point in the 24 hour period in that area - not that it will rain 80% of the time, or that the area will be where you are. My island has 5 microclimate zones alone - and one weather report. Obviously, it is not a report for each area of my 238 square mile island - same for where you're visiting.

Check this site for actual Caribbean satellite and radar data - your stops look pretty darn dry. Stormcarib.com

There are also webcams in each island, check those out today, and compare to the weather report for today - then quit looking at weather reports.

[Homosassa]

It is terrible to be swimming at the beach and get rained on; one might become wet.:rolleyes:

[brenderlou]

I second the other poster. Stop looking at weather forecast. The weather will be what the weather will be so no sense stressing over it. Just enjoy being on vacation and go with the flow.

I live in FL and our weather almost always has a chance of showers each day. Most times it never happens. Just enjoy the cruise.

[riclop]

We are about to set sail on our cruise in a couple of days- Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth/Jamaica... However I keep looking at the weather for these 3 ports (maybe I shouldn't).. and I see rain :eek: But the weather report also seems to change daily... Is it typically the quick afternoon showers then sun.. or is there lots of rain hanging out in the Caribbean? We have beach excursions for all 3 ports. (maybe I should stop looking at the weather reports)

 

I had the same outlook 2 weeks ago and it was sunny every day.

[Merion_Mom]

Not sure I have ever had a Caribbean trip with no rain. Usually in port it rains for 20 minutes at a time, often deluge. We have a waterproof beach bag to keep the towels dry. The only real problem with rain is that it interferes with taking photos of water and adjacent islands.

 

You might want to tuck your credit cards and cash in a plastic bag. They do take soggy money, though.:)

 

I have been on tons of Caribbean trips and almost never experience rain.