September vs. December

[bahbah]

We are trying to decide if we should cruise in September or wait until December when things will be "festive" for the holidays. Any good advice here would be greatly appreciated. We have only cruised one time before, Carnival InspiratioN, we were not impressed but we were pinching pennies then. I'm sure the Disney experience will blow this one away!!!!!!!!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Both months are grea tones to cruise, but we prefer November or December to cruise.

 

The ship is so pretty all decorated up for the holidays which they do the day after Thanksgiving and it does take them a few days to do. the tree lighting ceremony the first night is alot of fun, it even snows in the atrium!! Plus you can sign up the first day to decorate a gingerbread house later in the week. You must signup because it is limited space, but plenty of room to do it. Plus since it is illegal to take it off the ship, you must eat it while on board!! Good excuse to eat it!!! YUMMY!!!

 

If you dont want to eat it, you can donate it to the staff and they will share it. bring your camera to take pictures!!

 

We just love the atmosphere then.

Plus there isnt any humidity on the islands which makes for a lot nicer time, it is usually in the 80's even in December, but the water is cooler for swimming. Too cool for me, although many just jump right in.

Good luck with your choice what ever it may be.

 

You'll still have an awesome time!!!

 

But my opinion would be December,

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[mom x4,grandma x4]

I almost fogot, December is also after hurricane season it over!!!

 

It ends the end of November!!

 

Mom x4,grandma x4

[Oihane]

I haven't sailed in September, but yeah, that is hurricane season...which really, I wouldn't mind, as the ships can avoid hurricanes easily. I've sailed in December and early January before though. They had the christmas decorations both times, and they are beautiful. The tree lighting ceremony sounds awesome...if I went in november, I'd try to do it during that time for sure.

 

I guess it's up to you really...you'll get warmer weather in september, but as others have said, you can still get really nice weather (and even more comfortable for some-less humidity) in december.

 

Either way, I'm sure you'll have a great time! :)

[ccirish]

One positive about September is the lower cost, we just got back 2 weeks ago from the western and have now booked a 7 eastern for Sept and it was $800 less for the same category.

[Jeanne B]

We've previously cruised in January and October but most recently DD and I did the 3-day Wonder on 11/30 and I loved the holiday decorations!! So much so that we're booked on another cruise this coming Dec on RCCL and again in Dec-08 on the Magic. We used to always travel to WDW in September due to the off-season rates but we avoid Sept and Oct now due to the hurricanes (even in late October of 05 we had a hurricane to deal with while we were in WDW pre-cruise).

 

The rates in early Dec aren't as cheap as Sept but they're still pretty reasonable compared to other times of the year but the water temps will be warmer in Sept (although if you're doing the 7-day it will probably only be most noticeable at CC). No matter what time of year you go though, you'll have a great time on DCL!!

[bahbah]

Your going on the 12-8-07 Magic E. cruise???? I posted to see if anyone else was going on this one and have had NO responses. My husband is concerned about pulling the kids out of school for a week. He is being difficult!!! I'm trying to convince him. We have only cruised once before on Carnival. From what I hear, Disney is first-class all the way. How many kid's are you bringing and how old????? Thanks. I just realized that your date indicates December 08 - Oop's. You definitely do your planning ahead don't you!!!!!!!!

[Jeanne B]

Your going on the 12-8-07 Magic E. cruise???? I posted to see if anyone else was going on this one and have had NO responses. My husband is concerned about pulling the kids out of school for a week. He is being difficult!!! I'm trying to convince him. We have only cruised once before on Carnival. From what I hear, Disney is first-class all the way. How many kid's are you bringing and how old????? Thanks. I just realized that your date indicates December 08 - Oop's. You definitely do your planning ahead don't you!!!!!!!!

 

We're crusing on 12/8 of this year on Royal Caribbean (our first on RCI) and you're right, we'll be on the 11/29/08 Magic. I rebooked a fake date on board our most recent Wonder cruise and when the '08 rates came out I changed my date to the 11/29 (I wanted a specific cabin that tends to book early).

 

Our DD was 12 on her first DCL cruise in Oct-05. DCL is really fantastic, the sailaway party is so much fun...and fireworks!! What other line has fireworks? We always pull our DD out of school for one week each year for vacation, she's a good student and it's never been a problem.

[kclcruise]

Both months are grea tones to cruise, but we prefer November or December to cruise.

 

The ship is so pretty all decorated up for the holidays which they do the day after Thanksgiving and it does take them a few days to do. the tree lighting ceremony the first night is alot of fun, it even snows in the atrium!! Plus you can sign up the first day to decorate a gingerbread house later in the week. You must signup because it is limited space, but plenty of room to do it. Plus since it is illegal to take it off the ship, you must eat it while on board!! Good excuse to eat it!!! YUMMY!!!

 

If you dont want to eat it, you can donate it to the staff and they will share it. bring your camera to take pictures!!

 

We just love the atmosphere then.

Plus there isnt any humidity on the islands which makes for a lot nicer time, it is usually in the 80's even in December, but the water is cooler for swimming. Too cool for me, although many just jump right in.

Good luck with your choice what ever it may be.

 

You'll still have an awesome time!!!

 

But my opinion would be December,

 

mom x4,grandma x4

 

Is the tree lighting ceremony only when they light it the first time or is it on every cruise when the tree is up?? Thanks!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

They lite it once on the FIRST night of EVERY cruise. That is it, so if you miss it, there wont be a second chance.

 

mom x4,grandma x4

[TXTaylors5]

Your going on the 12-8-07 Magic E. cruise???? I posted to see if anyone else was going on this one and have had NO responses. My husband is concerned about pulling the kids out of school for a week. He is being difficult!!! I'm trying to convince him. We have only cruised once before on Carnival. From what I hear, Disney is first-class all the way. How many kid's are you bringing and how old????? Thanks. I just realized that your date indicates December 08 - Oop's. You definitely do your planning ahead don't you!!!!!!!!

 

:) We are booked on the 12/08/07 cruise too! Last year we cruise in November. The ship and Castaway Cay were beautifully decorated for the holidays. It was nice and festive. We are looking forward to seeing it again this December. We lucked out and were on the cruise after the one that had to skip Castaway Cay due to weather. So, you can get bad weather anytime of year. We were able to swim and had the best time. We re-booked while onboard. We are also booked for September 1, 2008 (5-Day Magic). Due to the time of year, less expensive and less crowded, we were able to book a Category 3 for the September cruise. We are pretty flexible on the itinerary if there is a storm and we have to be re-routed. We don't care where we go, as long as we are on the Magic or Wonder.:D

 

Jennifer