First Winter Cruise!

[BahamaTNBlondy]

Hello all! This NYE we are taking our 6th cruise, but it is our first winter cruise and our first cruise in about 5 years (we had one scheduled in Oct 2020 but we know how that ended up). We are doing the Carnival Horizon Dec 31- Jan 6. Ports are: Miami, Nassau, Grand Turk and Amber Cove. I've looked up the weather in these ports during this time of year and it seems decent (around 80) but I'm curious about the pools on the ship. Will they be pretty chilly on sea days? Also, where is the best place to get detailed info like past NYE Fun Times schedules, etc. The forums seem to be a lot less active than they used to be sadly and I've noticed a lot of people linking to blogs for the info. Do you have a favorite blog for Carnival info that you can recommend? TIA!

[leaveitallbehind]

The pools on the ship will reflect the weather and air temperature that the ship is in, so I would think they would be relatively comfortable as you will be in the same basic climate the entire time - and likely warmer as you reach Grand Turk.

[bbwex]

The best place for the Carnival specific into is still their section of the cruise line section on CC.  People will answer eventually.

[Nebr.cruiser]

For me, the pools are quite cool.  There are certain lines that do heat pools, or often have an indoor heated pool, so you will have to do your research.  I mostly use the pools to cool off if it gets too hot on deck.

[clackey]

We did a couple of Eastern Caribbean cruises in January. The water in the pools and Bahamas was a little on the cool side.  I would guess in the 70's.  We had to get to Grand Turk before it was warm enough to suit us.  Islands south of GT are perfect.

[leaveitallbehind]

19 minutes ago, clackey said:

We did a couple of Eastern Caribbean cruises in January. The water in the pools and Bahamas was a little on the cool side.  I would guess in the 70's.  We had to get to Grand Turk before it was warm enough to suit us.  Islands south of GT are perfect.

I think you are correct with your thoughts. The Caribbean is in its high season in the winter and as such is extremely nice for cruising as you indicate.  But since the OP's cruise is entirely in the Bahamas, while the weather should be very nice, it will not be as nice as the conditions of the Caribbean as that is about 500 miles south of Nassau and about 300 miles south of Grand Turk.  And as you indicate, it wasn't until Grand Turk until you felt it was warm enough to suit you.

 

We have also done winter cruises that included the Bahamas and always felt very comfortable, but it can also be hit or miss.

Edited October 25, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Illbcruzn4life]

13 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I think you are correct with your thoughts. The Caribbean is in its high season in the winter and as such is extremely nice for cruising as you indicate.  But since the OP's cruise is entirely in the Bahamas, while the weather should be very nice, it will not be as nice as the conditions of the Caribbean as that is about 500 miles south of Nassau and about 300 miles south of Grand Turk.  And as you indicate, it wasn't until Grand Turk until you felt it was warm enough to suit you.

 

We have also done winter cruises that included the Bahamas and always felt very comfortable, but it can also be hit or miss.

The Op stated that they are going to Grand Turk and Amber Cove. Only 1 stop in Bahamas

[leaveitallbehind]

9 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

The Op stated that they are going to Grand Turk and Amber Cove. Only 1 stop in Bahamas

You are correct and my mistake regarding Amber Cove. Thanks for pointing this out clarifying.

 

As a generalization, I also consider T & C's as part of the Bahama's -  at least in terms of climate v the Caribbean, based on their location at the southern end of the Bahama's chain.  But as they are on the southern end, they certainly will have the better climate from the Bahama's in general, but are still north of the Caribbean - which was the reference I was making in that post.

Edited October 25, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[jsglow]

For those of us from Wisconsin. It's all plenty toasty in January. 😎

[Wxman0]

On 10/24/2023 at 11:37 AM, BahamaTNBlondy said:

Hello all! This NYE we are taking our 6th cruise, but it is our first winter cruise and our first cruise in about 5 years (we had one scheduled in Oct 2020 but we know how that ended up). We are doing the Carnival Horizon Dec 31- Jan 6. Ports are: Miami, Nassau, Grand Turk and Amber Cove. I've looked up the weather in these ports during this time of year and it seems decent (around 80) but I'm curious about the pools on the ship. Will they be pretty chilly on sea days? Also, where is the best place to get detailed info like past NYE Fun Times schedules, etc. The forums seem to be a lot less active than they used to be sadly and I've noticed a lot of people linking to blogs for the info. Do you have a favorite blog for Carnival info that you can recommend? TIA!

We did a NYE cruise 2019/2020 (then we got off the ship and the world took a turn with COVID so i blame myself). We did a very similar itinerary with Half Moon Cay instead of Nassau. We enjoyed it so much that we are booked again this NYE. The pools can be a little cool but I think "heat" is relative as the above Wisconsin poster eluded to. I am from northern Minnesota so that time of year, 80s and some humidity can feel really warm so a cool pool actually feels nice in middle of the afternoon. Now the water slides are the other hand do feel cold on sea days. To me the "hot tubs" which are rarely actually hot, may be the pools to actually dip into. 

 

I wish we could find the NYE schedule ahead of time as well but I don't know of any way to get them. As an idea of what we did... Here is a link of our NYE 4 years ago.

 

https://vacationingdad.com/2020/02/21/carnival-magic-day-3-sea-day-nye/

 

An excerpt from it.."They had some sing along going in the lobby and people were having fun but no big countdown, no balloon drop, no free drinks, no free stuff. (We) Move to the lido deck and it was so full that, while I do know there was some champagne going around, you had to be at the right place to get any cause we never even got close to any. Nor were there fireworks at midnight."

 

We basically just danced and counted down to midnight, danced some more, went to eat and went to bed. With all that said, there's not much of a better place to be on NYE then out on the sea!

[ProgRockCruiser]

Not sure where this was originally posted, but glad it found its way to the Carnival subforum.

 

On 10/24/2023 at 12:37 PM, BahamaTNBlondy said:

I've looked up the weather in these ports during this time of year and it seems decent (around 80) but I'm curious about the pools on the ship. Will they be pretty chilly on sea days?

We often sail in early December.  The pools can be a bit chilly, especially for a Floridian like me who has a summer pool temp of 90 to 95 deg F, but usually they get warm enough to at least go in a for a bit.

 

The days to/from Amber Cove will be your warmest, probably, though you never know - if you get a nice warm day in T&C or Bahamas and the gulf stream is cooperating you might find it all quite lovely!

[carol louise]

As for beach areas, I noticed on a January cruise in 2012 that on Half Moon Cay (Bahamas) I could walk barefoot on the dry sand, whereas when I had been there a few years earlier on a June cruise, the dry sand had been too hot for bare feet. The sun was still deliciously warm to me as a Northerner but less oppressive in January. I didn’t go in the water, so cannot comment on that.