Grand Princess 1st Day at Sea

[purplechic7106]

Hello!

 

I'm sailing out of Galveston on the Grand in a few weeks and notice that the temps there seem to be in the high 50s low 60s. I'm curious to hear from recent cruisers on this trip if it was warm enough the first day at sea to lay out/swim? (This would mean 70s/80s to me...) Also, did you freeze at sail-away?

 

Granted the 60s is much better than the cold 20s of PA we're currently experiencing, I was just hoping it would be a little warmer. ;)

 

Thank you!

[karen2cruz]

We went on the 13th of January. Seemed to me it was OK to lay out on the first sea day. Sail away was a bit chilly with a light rain. But when we returned on the 20th it was downright nippy, no rain but really cold. I bet that sea day wasn't as warm.

 

Have a great cruise, the weather will probably be just fine by then.

[spongerob]

We've sailed from Galveston three times now in the December/January general time frame and have experienced something a little different each time. One sailaway was quite pleasant, one you needed a light jacket, and one it was so cold that standing up there on the open Sun Deck was quite a breathtaking experience. You'll notice that it warms up fairly quickly as you sail south, so by mid-afternoon of the first sea day it's usually quite nice unless a real strong cold front has come through in the previous day or so.

[JimnKaren]

It is sooo changeable. What you need to do is check out one of the weather sites on the net about 5-7 days prior to sailing. It will show you a somewhat accurate forecast for Galveston for sail away. That 12 hours overnight makes a big difference in what you have in Galveston and what is occurring out in the Gulf.

 

Jim

[kftw]

Our sailaway was somewhat cool. That evening around 10pm I went out on the balcony all bundled up. It was already warmer that I didn't need a jacket and first sea day made a great pool day.

[kftw]

Our sailaway was somewhat cool. That evening around 10pm I went out on the balcony all bundled up. It was already warm enouth that I didn't need a jacket and first sea day made a great pool day.

[kftw]

Our sailaway in December was quite cool & we had to wear our jackets. By 10pm it had warmed up & I didn't need a jacket for our balcony. The next day (first sea day) was great pool weather.

[purplechic7106]

Phew, I feel a little better now! :) :)

[Nebr.cruiser]

We cruised from Galveston this Dec. It was mid-fifties and cloudy the day we left, not nice enough to stay outside for long, even on our balcony. The first day was low 60's and unfortunately rainy. The sun finally peeked out a little mid-afternoon, it was still cool, but ok outside. Not warm enough for me to swim or lay out, though. I did notice that they had the retractable roof up the first day and the water in that pool was really nice and warm.

 

The last day and night were quite rough and rocky, also windy and cloudy--not nice enough for staying outside for long. It was mid-forties on disembarkation. We never did watch anything on MUTS because the weather was so cool.

 

I realize that we were unlucky, as of course sometimes you hit much nicer weather out of Galveston, but because of our experience we probably won't sail from that port again in winter. We still enjoyed the cruise, but were disappointed that the sea days, which we look forward to spending on deck, were kind of wasted. It was warm on the islands; had some rain a couple of days, but not too bad.

[texreno]

My first question is, how few weeks? the first sea day should place you further south than South Padre Island, TX.. That's about 350 miles south of Houston where they host spring break beach parties in early March. Not to say it can't get cold that far south if the jet stream dips down that far with a severe Canadian cold front. You'll know if this is happening because the mid-west as well as Houston will be in a hard freeze.

 

As far as embarkation day in Galveston. We have a few days from time to time in Feb. / March where you can layout in the sun if you're blocked from the wind. On average though it is still a little cool and can be quite cold that time of year. Take the other CC members advice and watch the weather. Watch to see how far south they think the jet stream will dip into Texas. Galveston is on about the same latitude as St. Augustine, Florida just north of Datona Beach. It's the path of the jet stream that brings us our cold fronts.

 

Hello!

 

I'm sailing out of Galveston on the Grand in a few weeks and notice that the temps there seem to be in the high 50s low 60s. I'm curious to hear from recent cruisers on this trip if it was warm enough the first day at sea to lay out/swim? (This would mean 70s/80s to me...) Also, did you freeze at sail-away?

 

Granted the 60s is much better than the cold 20s of PA we're currently experiencing, I was just hoping it would be a little warmer. ;)

 

Thank you!

[bbbcruisin]

We just arrived home yesterday. It was cold and rainy when we sailed out of Galveston, Saturday, January 20, 07 and remained cool until Sunday morning. By late afternoon on Sunday it had warmed up...woohoo !!!!!