January Cruising

[Anna0513]

Has anyone cruised mid-January before out of Miami?  I am curious how the weather will be at sea during the day and at night.  Will it be swimming weather and will I need a hoodie and jeans at night?  We are on a western cruise sailing to Jamaica/Mexico/Haiti.  I would love to get an idea on what I will need to be packing.   Thanks everyone!

[Clarea]

It will be in the high 70's F and low 80's F once you get to the Caribbean.

[allisonb22]

We sailed out of Tampa in early January a few years ago and was mildly chilly during the first night/embarking but the next day we were fine. Coming from Ct, however, we were happy just with high 60s, low 70s so I don't remeber exactly the temp but I remember being thrilled by the "warm" weather the second day of the trip haha. 

[Anna0513]

7 minutes ago, allisonb22 said:

We sailed out of Tampa in early January a few years ago and was mildly chilly during the first night/embarking but the next day we were fine. Coming from Ct, however, we were happy just with high 60s, low 70s so I don't remeber exactly the temp but I remember being thrilled by the "warm" weather the second day of the trip haha. 

I agree.  We will be coming from Jersey and I anticipate leaving in about 25 degree weather (maybe even colder).  60/70 will be a dream.  I'm just concerned with what to bring to wear

[cruisegirl1976]

We sailed out of Port Canaveral in Jan.. had on jeans and a t shirt.. used a sweatshirt a couple times.. but then by the 1st sea day.. shorts and put the sweatshirt away.. 

[Tapi]

I used to live in Miami. 70’s during the day (and 60’s at night) is common, although you may get the rare cold front sweep through making daytime temperatures drop for a few days into the 50’s. 

Your ports of call are south enough for water to be very nice and comfortable, and air temperature will be in the 80’s. I would just bring a light jacket/windbreaker and a sweater for semi cool evenings . That should be  enough.

 

Edited October 29, 2019 by Tapi

[allisonb22]

13 minutes ago, Anna0513 said:

I agree.  We will be coming from Jersey and I anticipate leaving in about 25 degree weather (maybe even colder).  60/70 will be a dream.  I'm just concerned with what to bring to wear

We had a cold front the day we boarded so it was in the 50s... but was still warm to us coming from the crazy northern cold! We wore long pants and sweatshirts for the first day but by the next sea day we were in shorts and t shirts, with the occasional sweater. I wouldn't bring too much for the cold since it'll probably only be your first day and the day you disembark & the sad trip home to the cold! 

[LeeW]

The hardest part is what to do with heavy coats before you fly.  Have gone back to the car in a lightweight jacket and shorts during blizzard conditions.  Locals in Miami think their weather is cold in January but you won't.

[SICruiseGirlNYC]

We sailed out of New Jersey in January.  It was in the low 20's when we left and in the 70's and low 80's in the Caribbean.

[voyager70]

2 hours ago, LeeW said:

The hardest part is what to do with heavy coats before you fly.  Have gone back to the car in a lightweight jacket and shorts during blizzard conditions.  Locals in Miami think their weather is cold in January but you won't.

 

We also leave the heavy coats & jackets home even when leaving from or retuning to cold weather.  People look at us like we're crazy but it's too much of a pain to haul them along.

 

[true45]

Yes, as others have said we have had mostly 70s and 80s but once on a rain forest excursion we were on a fast boat down a river when the temp was in the 50s.  I had a jacket, my husband argued with my suggestion and froze until he could buy something at a shop stop.  We used the life jackets to block the wind — it was fun, though.
😀⛴🛥⚓️🌈

[Anna0513]

11 hours ago, true45 said:

Yes, as others have said we have had mostly 70s and 80s but once on a rain forest excursion we were on a fast boat down a river when the temp was in the 50s.  I had a jacket, my husband argued with my suggestion and froze until he could buy something at a shop stop.  We used the life jackets to block the wind — it was fun, though.
😀⛴🛥⚓️🌈

Where was the rain forest excursion at?

[xpcdoojk]

Our first cruise in 1996 was in mid January, and the warmest it reached the entire week was about 70F.  We skipped Labadee because of the weather.  We have cruised several times since.  Sometimes you need a wet suit in the flowrider line and sometimes you don’t.

 

jc

[zotzer]

I live down here. 50s would be an anomalous cold front. 😉. If you are coming from the northeast, try to wear multiple light layers. That way, if you need a sweater or windbreaker you'll have one.  

 

Winter is our 'summer' down here, and summer is our 'hell'. LOL 

Edited October 30, 2019 by zotzer

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, zotzer said:

Winter is our 'summer' down here, and summer is our 'hell'. LOL 

We avoid cruising in the Caribbean during the summer, mainly because it’s scorching hot. It’s not enjoyable. We did sail to Cuba last summer because that’s what fit everybody schedule, but it was pretty brutal. We took a tour of Havana in a convertible and we agreed to start the tour at 7:00am to avoid the heat. By 10:00am we all

felt and looked like roasted (more like burnt) marshmallows. 😂

Edited October 30, 2019 by Tapi

[bgoff60]

Predicting exactly is a real crap shoot - We usually sail in January and have left from both sides of Florida and have done both East and West cruises.  My best advice is to bring sever light weight layers of cloths that you can reuse as your warm weather articles.  Also depends if you are 'tolerant' of being cool or if you really need to be warm (However that is defined.) NO ONE will even notice if you have the same light sweater for the whole week.  I will say that I have enjoyed strolling on Deck 5 (On Oasis class ships) which is the  outdoor track level and it does get a bit breezy at times but for ME, that is fine.  My wife brings a light wrap and calls that good.  At the end of the day, you still have to pack it and carry it on and off the ship so choose wisely.

--{Cheers}-

[TinkBellaMom]

We live down here but also cruise in  Jan.and Feb.  The daytime temps are very mild around mid 70s to 80.  Nights on ship can get chilly sometimes slipping into the 60s, but remember the a/c can really get cold in dining rooms.  We are usually able to wear shorts or capris and tee shirts during the day, jeans and long sleeves at night.  I always carry a wrap at night and DH takes a light jacket.

The one negative is the water feels cool to us, so I order a wetsuit for DH if we plan on snorkeling. 

[taxatty]

Bring a light lined jacket and a windbreaker and you'll be fine. The seas are sometimes rougher in the winter than the rest of the year, but nothing terrible. I wouldn't be concerned about the water being too cold for swimming at any time of year in the Caribbean unless you're quite sensitive to cold.

[Wordell1]

Miami is not Tampa or Port Canaveral.  I wouldn't worry about it being too cold.

[true45]

On 10/30/2019 at 9:42 AM, Anna0513 said:

Where was the rain forest excursion at?

It was in Belize and it was a lot of fun.