Is August OK for Western Caribbean?

[leaveitallbehind]

29 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I think hurricane season weighs heavily on their decision.  I have sailed them for many years and they have never sailed during hurricane season. If you look at their schedule it is closely aligned with hurricane season. 

Not arguing with you and that may be true in your experience.  But IMO it is more coincidence than intent driven by seasonal demand as there is no way to predict when or if a storm will develop with certainty in any given month.  And they can and do occur in October and November as well.

 

Seasonal positioning by fleet size and market demand is the bigger reason for this as with only 11 ships they cannot be everywhere at once. As mentioned, this is a common cruise line business decision.  Other smaller cruise lines adopt this strategy as well.  Conversely, as example, RCCL, Carnival, Celebrity, and others who have larger fleets all have ships based 12 months in Florida for Caribbean cruises through the full hurricane season. Apparently that isn't a factor for them. 

 

Target demographics also play a part in this as families with children, as example, primarily cruise in the summer months (and Holidays) when their kids can be out of school.  And hot as it may be, those ships in the Caribbean itineraries sail full all summer. HAL's target demographics would, for many of the reasons mentioned in this thread, prefer to avoid those months and typically have the most seasonal cruising flexibility.  HAL will adapt to this demand.

 

Either way, your preferred line has seasonal scheduling that fits your preferences, so that really is all that matters - regardless of the reasoning behind it.  Enjoy your cruising!

Edited June 19 by leaveitallbehind

[Ken the cruiser]

42 minutes ago, momofmeg said:

 That is just it. we have it that miserable right at home so why go anywhere like home. Just like the cruise we took to Italy and Croatia in June in 2012. It was very hot and humid most of the ports. I about died in Venice. It was beautiful there, but I felt I could not enjoy it much and I may as well be at home in Georgia. At least at home I could avoid the heat and stay in the air conditioning.  

 contrast that to northern Scotland in July 2022. I about froze to death there but still, after the heat at home it was a welcome change. So, guess what. If I had a choice between cruising Italy and the British Isles in summer, I would pick British Isles. 

We have to agree with you, cruising up north during the summer months is much more enjoyable. You may have noticed our cruise to the western Caribbean was on the Edge in Aug 2021, just after cruising started back up. What can I say, we're cruiseaholics and that 18 months between cruises was tough and the Caribbean was the only option back then. 😂

[Mary229]

58 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Not arguing with you and that may be true in your experience.  But IMO it is more coincidence than intent driven by seasonal demand as there is no way to predict when or if a storm will develop with certainty in any given month.  And they can and do occur in October and November as well.

 

Seasonal positioning by fleet size and market demand is the bigger reason for this as with only 11 ships they cannot be everywhere at once. As mentioned, this is a common cruise line business decision.  Other smaller cruise lines adopt this strategy as well.  Conversely, as example, RCCL, Carnival, Celebrity, and others who have larger fleets all have ships based 12 months in Florida for Caribbean cruises through the full hurricane season. Apparently that isn't a factor for them. 

 

Target demographics also play a part in this as families with children, as example, primarily cruise in the summer months (and Holidays) when their kids can be out of school.  And hot as it may be, those ships in the Caribbean itineraries sail full all summer. HAL's target demographics would, for many of the reasons mentioned in this thread, prefer to avoid those months and typically have the most seasonal cruising flexibility.  HAL will adapt to this demand.

 

Either way, your preferred line has seasonal scheduling that fits your preferences, so that really is all that matters - regardless of the reasoning behind it.  Enjoy your cruising!

I am not arguing either but I am very familiar with the schedule. I sail the transatlantics and the first one back is very late October.  The pacific fleet is generally deployed to South America , Asia , Hawaii, the S Pacific or the Mexican pacific.  Occasionally a ship is swapped out and that may cause an early start to the season but that is rare. 

[leaveitallbehind]

28 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I am not arguing either but I am very familiar with the schedule. I sail the transatlantics and the first one back is very late October.  The pacific fleet is generally deployed to South America , Asia , Hawaii, the S Pacific or the Mexican pacific.  Occasionally a ship is swapped out and that may cause an early start to the season but that is rare. 

I am also in a position to be familiar with cruise line schedules.  And that is common with most transatlantic sailings with most lines as October is the end of the peak season in the Mediterranean and the start of the peak season in the Caribbean.  Just makes my point on asset allocation with those lines moving ships seasonally for market demand and not hurricane avoidance.  And in the spring it is typically April for the same reasons.  Similar Pacific schedules for the same reasons with say Australia and Alaska.  Has nothing to do with avoiding hurricane season timing with all of these repositioning cruises. 

 

If hurricane season was a key factor in scheduling ships, then most of the cruise lines would do it.  But there are dozens of ships on a number of lines that are permanently based in the region to sail the Caribbean all year round.

 

We've both said a lot on this and there is no disrespect intended.  I respect your viewpoint.  But I can add nothing further.  As mentioned before, enjoy your cruising!

Edited June 19 by leaveitallbehind

[momofmeg]

On 6/19/2024 at 9:17 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

We have to agree with you, cruising up north during the summer months is much more enjoyable. You may have noticed our cruise to the western Caribbean was on the Edge in Aug 2021, just after cruising started back up. What can I say, we're cruiseaholics and that 18 months between cruises was tough and the Caribbean was the only option back then. 😂

 I get you and we have done summer in the Carribean in the past too because my family wanted to go. I only got off to go to the shops in the mornings and did no excursions unless it was something inside and air conditioning. there are a few of those but not many and not often.   For example, Cozumel has a submarine ride you can take, and it has air conditioning.

[momofmeg]

On 6/17/2024 at 1:29 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

The average temps in August don’t appear to be all that hot, although I do live in Alabama. 
 

 

We were on a Western Caribbean cruise on the Edge back in Aug 2021 and the weather was warm but not overly oppressive. My Live From thread is at the bottom of my expanded signature covers that cruise. 

 That may be the average, but I have been there when it was miserably hot, 90F plus. More than once.

[Pyrate13]

As a Floridian, I find the heat comments a bit amusing. Not laughing at the folks making them but come live here thru the summer. The temps and humidity mentioned in many of the posts are normal days here. Just say'in.😉

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, momofmeg said:

 That may be the average, but I have been there when it was miserably hot, 90F plus. More than once.

On a cruise?

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, Pyrate13 said:

As a Floridian, I find the heat comments a bit amusing. Not laughing at the folks making them but come live here thru the summer. The temps and humidity mentioned in many of the posts are normal days here. Just say'in.😉

Agreed - the Caribbean is hot year round - perhaps up to five degrees warmer in August than in January - but overall very little different from what you will experience in August anywhere on the east coast of the US from New York down to Florida. 

[PoppyVelvet]

11 hours ago, Pyrate13 said:

As a Floridian, I find the heat comments a bit amusing. Not laughing at the folks making them but come live here thru the summer. The temps and humidity mentioned in many of the posts are normal days here. Just say'in.😉

Not from Florida or the US but I think heat when travelling is different to heat at home. At home you have AC in house and car and can generally time activities around the heat or even just do nothing and sit under the AC. When travelling you generally want to do more and not miss out, and not have much control over whether there’s AC or not. Where I live gets up to 32C or so during summer and that’s fine for day to day. home, work, car, shopping centres are all air conditioned and I wouldn’t choose to, say, go out and walk around the city or hike in the middle of the day. We were in London in May during a week that was warm and got up to about 28C and because we were out walking in the streets, travelling on the tube and buses that aren’t well ACed, I was HOT and uncomfortable a lot of the time. Which is why I generally visit places in their spring or autumn. Or even winter! Yes it gets hotter here but I can manage the heat better. 

[Mary229]

13 hours ago, Pyrate13 said:

As a Floridian, I find the heat comments a bit amusing. Not laughing at the folks making them but come live here thru the summer. The temps and humidity mentioned in many of the posts are normal days here. Just say'in.😉

The OP is not going to Florida.  They are going to the western Caribbean which includes Mexico and once away from the shore even a mile the weather becomes much more continental with more heat and humidity.  Remove the breeze and 92 with 95% humidity is miserable.  

[Pyrate13]

9 hours ago, PoppyVelvet said:

Not from Florida or the US but I think heat when travelling is different to heat at home. At home you have AC in house and car and can generally time activities around the heat or even just do nothing and sit under the AC. When travelling you generally want to do more and not miss out, and not have much control over whether there’s AC or not. Where I live gets up to 32C or so during summer and that’s fine for day to day. home, work, car, shopping centres are all air conditioned and I wouldn’t choose to, say, go out and walk around the city or hike in the middle of the day. We were in London in May during a week that was warm and got up to about 28C and because we were out walking in the streets, travelling on the tube and buses that aren’t well ACed, I was HOT and uncomfortable a lot of the time. Which is why I generally visit places in their spring or autumn. Or even winter! Yes it gets hotter here but I can manage the heat better. 

We don't sit around inside all day either. Many jobs/activities still take place outdoors. 

[Pyrate13]

6 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The OP is not going to Florida.  They are going to the western Caribbean which includes Mexico and once away from the shore even a mile the weather becomes much more continental with more heat and humidity.  Remove the breeze and 92 with 95% humidity is miserable.  

I can read and saw where they are going, Been there many times myself. I don't live anywhere near the shores. Our temps and humidity are in line with the numbers you pose so no difference. 

 

 

[Pyrate13]

I wasn't picking on those that mentioned the heat, just posting a different point of view on the subject. Chill.😄