January weather, Eastern Caribbean

[Vacation...Yes]

We are considering an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Jan. 7. We have always cruised in October. Looking for a break from Michigan winter this time. We are beach people. What is your experience with weather at this time?
 

Thanks for your input 🙂

[Coralc]

Sometimes it is really cold leaving out of Florida too. Probably not as cold as Michigan. but cold. The Caribbean, one you get there, is generally warm. 

[bucfan2]

https://www.caribeez.com/weather/article/average-caribbean-temperatures

[cruzincanuck]

We often take our cruises in January.   We love it.  Florida is a hit or miss when it comes to the weather however it is still nice as there is no snow 😀.   As we sail,  it does get sunny and warmer to hot.

 

We are also cruising in 2023 as of Jan 7th on the Explorer 😍

[Cruise Gopher]

I’m originally from Minnesota so I know your pain OP.

 

We always cruise the Caribbean in January, for like the past 18 years, and I’ve never had a bad cruise weather wise and it’s plenty warm in Florida and as you head south. 

[topnole]

I could very well be quite cool or even cold for several days of a cruise in January.  This would be for the days you are in or near Florida (ex Bahamas).  The Virgin Islands would be warm.  So figure you could have a few days out of 7 that are cold.  Or every day it could be warm.  But the water will be much colder in January no matter when you go.  This might be nice in the Virgin Islands,

but the pools would likely be very cold in Coco Cay in January for example.  
 

Another thing is the probability of rougher seas seems to exist in January with the colder weather.  So if you don’t do well in rougher seas may want to consider a different time.  I find early December is very nice and will be warmer so I would always choose that over January myself.  

 

Check out some recent cruise review threads from January and that will give you an indication.  I seem to recall some from January and February talking about the pools because closed due to rough seas, it being too cold to enjoy Coco Cay, or even the inability to dock at a port due to high winds.  These issues aren’t that uncommon in January.  
 

 

[Diver2014]

We go on a cruise to the Caribbean every January.  It gets chilly in south Florida.  Nothing like up north but if we have to put on a sweater, it's chilly.

[Tierun]

Just did a sailing on freedom in January. It was in the 50s out of port canaveral and in the mid to upper 60s in Nassau and Coco Cay. It was stated that the weather was unusually cold that weekend.

[Starry Eyes]

That was a favorite time to cruise when we lived in Michigan (and later in Wisconsin).   On average the third week in January is the coldest part of winter up north; I loved missing some of the coldest weather.  And the days are so short up North in January, so it was nice to soak up some sun.  Coming from MI, Florida likely will feel comfortable though it might be cool…only rarely cold by an upper Midwesterner’s definition.  The Bahamas are usually nice, though not always pool/beach weather in January.  Eastern Caribbean usually feels great in January in my experience.

 

If you really want a warmer cruise, you can fly to San Juan for a southern Caribbean cruise. We tried that.  It was much warmer, but found we preferred the flights and simplicity of sailing from Florida.

[njkruzer]

When we lived in NJ since we had to fly we just flew to San Juan and knew we would have warmer weather. 

[Sunshine3601]

We love to cruise jan/feb.  This year we sailed eastern Caribbean on Jan 9th and had fabulous weather in all islands..   we went to barbados, St Maarren  and Antigua and were on the beach and swimming each place.   due to covid we had to skip 2 ports but heard weather was perfect there too!.  Temps were in the mid 80s, Perfect.   Not stinking hot like summer can be on the islands.

Edited March 19, 2022 by Sunshine3601