Cruising from New York in January .

We are looking at booking a cruise for January 2017. Anthem of the seas 12 day southern Caribbean appeals ( it would be our first Caribbean cruise ). My question is what are the disadvantages of sailing from cape liberty in January ? The obvious is weather but does this often have an impact? How many days do you sail until the weather gets warm and what sort of temperatures could we expect in the Caribbean in January? All comments and advice greatly appreciated .

It is like going through all 4 seasons. When you leave, and your first full day at sea it is winter. (Anthem has an awesome indoor pool and solarium) The 2nd sea day is spring. You feel that is gradually getting warmer. The 3rd day at sea before arriving in San Juan is summer.

Now when you leave, the 1st full sea day is summer. The second is autumn, and the last is winter.

So when you pack make sure bring layers. That is the key. When we did the 12 day S. Caribbean on Quantum the seas were real calm. It can however get rough on the Atlantic. We just lucked out.

You will likely have at least two cold days, one at the beginning of the cruise, and one at the end. There could be a day or so more. Temps in the Caribbean will be around 80F.

We are looking at booking a cruise for January 2017. Anthem of the seas 12 day southern Caribbean appeals ( it would be our first Caribbean cruise ). My question is what are the disadvantages of sailing from cape liberty in January ? The obvious is weather but does this often have an impact? How many days do you sail until the weather gets warm and what sort of temperatures could we expect in the Caribbean in January? All comments and advice greatly appreciated .

Make sure you go to New Jersey. RCCL does not sail out of New York!! :) But it will be mighty cold up there in January.

It is like going through all 4 seasons. When you leave, and your first full day at sea it is winter. (Anthem has an awesome indoor pool and solarium) The 2nd sea day is spring. You feel that is gradually getting warmer. The 3rd day at sea before arriving in San Juan is summer.

 

Now when you leave, the 1st full sea day is summer. The second is autumn, and the last is winter.

 

So when you pack make sure bring layers. That is the key. When we did the 12 day S. Caribbean on Quantum the seas were real calm. It can however get rough on the Atlantic. We just lucked out.

Thanks - kind of what I thought. We have been on anthem this year and really enjoyed it so this was partly why I was looking at it again. Another question - how would you rate the southern Caribbean itinerary compared to say the 7 day the allure and oasis does from Florida? Which would you recommend for a first Caribbean experience?

Thanks - kind of what I thought. We have been on anthem this year and really enjoyed it so this was partly why I was looking at it again. Another question - how would you rate the southern Caribbean itinerary compared to say the 7 day the allure and oasis does from Florida? Which would you recommend for a first Caribbean experience?

I would take the Southern Caribbean itinerary over Eastern or Western any day, especially if they go to Aruba, Bonaire, or Curacao. Very interesting places, and great snorkeling.

I would take the Southern Caribbean itinerary over Eastern or Western any day, especially if they go to Aruba, Bonaire, or Curacao. Very interesting places, and great snorkeling.

Strange but I totally agree with you even though I know very little about the Caribbean - the southern ports just sounded much more appealing - good to have my instinct confirmed by an experienced cruiser! Many thanks!

We did a New Year's cruise on Explorer a few years ago. It was 60 degrees the day we left, NY and it was actually warmer in NY than it was in Nassau the day we visited there! So, you never can tell!

We did a New Year's cruise on Explorer a few years ago. It was 60 degrees the day we left, NY and it was actually warmer in NY than it was in Nassau the day we visited there! So, you never can tell!

I agree, temps can vary widely, but I want to remind the OP that Nassau is not in the Caribbean.

Thanks - kind of what I thought. We have been on anthem this year and really enjoyed it so this was partly why I was looking at it again. Another question - how would you rate the southern Caribbean itinerary compared to say the 7 day the allure and oasis does from Florida? Which would you recommend for a first Caribbean experience?

I would do a southern caribbean out of Florida or San Juan...why waste your time getting there from New Jersey ;)

I live in NJ and have most of my life. January can be a real crap shoot. Most likely it'll be in the 20-30's during the day with some snow on the ground. It could also be anywhere from the 40-50's or negative digits.

We frequently get a warm spell in late January that feel like spring (at least to those of us who live here). Last year however we got a arctic vortex that dropped us in the double negative digits for several days.

The actual Caribbean is warm year round. Bermuda and Bahamas are NOT Caribbean countries...they are in the Atlantic and have weather similar to Florida. They can be (and are) affected by our cold fronts.

Anything below those countries will be quite warm and pleasant.

The problem is wasting 2 days (coming and going) to cold weather! I would rather fly to Florida, and start out in temperate weather!!!

We often ran into storms off the coast of North Carolina near Cape Hatteras. [rough seas] We stopped sailing from Baltimore [our home port] during winter because of this. NJ would be very similar. YMMV

We are looking at booking a cruise for January 2017. Anthem of the seas 12 day southern Caribbean appeals ( it would be our first Caribbean cruise ). My question is what are the disadvantages of sailing from cape liberty in January ? The obvious is weather but does this often have an impact? How many days do you sail until the weather gets warm and what sort of temperatures could we expect in the Caribbean in January? All comments and advice greatly appreciated .

QUOTE=dsvd79;47519358]It is like going through all 4 seasons. When you leave, and your first full day at sea it is winter. (Anthem has an awesome indoor pool and solarium) The 2nd sea day is spring. You feel that is gradually getting warmer. The 3rd day at sea before arriving in San Juan is summer.

Now when you leave, the 1st full sea day is summer. The second is autumn, and the last is winter.

Just to understand how to better answer the OP, I looked at the itinerary.

It calls for 2 days at sea then arriving in San Juan. Sailaway in January darkness might be nice, but it would not be enjoyable for me outdoors all bundled up. Then it would seem like, it will take at least 1 1/2 days to get to a truly warmer location, at least as south as Florida. Remember even in Florida, January can be cool (I live in Florida). It may not be considered cool if you live in the NE, I realize, but it likely will not be mid 80's. More likely Florida temp around 70. So until you really get to San Juan, it won't be warm....then there are 6 ports, all will be nicely warm I would expect. Then the return, which the cruise line says is 3 days at seas. The first I would expect to be warm, but the next two days will be increasingly chilly to arriving back in the cold.

Would I do it, no....I would fly to a warm location and set sail from there.

Did the Quantum for New Year's and booked the Anthem again for this year. This class of ship is perfect for going out of cold weather. The amount of indoor lounging space is great for the first and last day. Have taken other ships out of New York over New Year's and this was far and away the best due to having the best indoor spaces, solarium, indoor pool, seaplex. Wouldn't book another ship out of NY in the winter. We never want to risk flying out at this time of year, so yes the route isn't great, but it is a great week with quite a few warm days.

We are looking at booking a cruise for January 2017. Anthem of the seas 12 day southern Caribbean appeals ( it would be our first Caribbean cruise ). My question is what are the disadvantages of sailing from cape liberty in January ? The obvious is weather but does this often have an impact? How many days do you sail until the weather gets warm and what sort of temperatures could we expect in the Caribbean in January? All comments and advice greatly appreciated .

Would never sail from NY/NJ in Jan. you lose 4 days total with very cold weather, no fun.

Thanks for all the replies. A lot of you seem to have reservations about sailing from the New York area in January due to the number of days lost to the cold. I should maybe have said I am from the UK so no stranger to cooler weather! I have looked also at sailings from Florida but didn't like the ports as much - also New York is a shorter flight time and my wife isn't overly keen on flying so this is a factor for us also. Having been on anthem I know how much there is to do inside the ship - we had a couple of days poor weather leaving the UK in June this year and we enjoyed spending time on the ship so I don't think this would be an issue for us. Also being a 12 day cruise there should still be a good number of warm days. Was looking for something to dispel the winter blues in the UK!

What would you consider to be the best time to cruise the Caribbean?

You are right about the weather.

A day or so into your cruise and things will warm up.

Keith

Thanks for all the replies. A lot of you seem to have reservations about sailing from the New York area in January due to the number of days lost to the cold. I should maybe have said I am from the UK so no stranger to cooler weather! I have looked also at sailings from Florida but didn't like the ports as much - also New York is a shorter flight time and my wife isn't overly keen on flying so this is a factor for us also. Having been on anthem I know how much there is to do inside the ship - we had a couple of days poor weather leaving the UK in June this year and we enjoyed spending time on the ship so I don't think this would be an issue for us. Also being a 12 day cruise there should still be a good number of warm days. Was looking for something to dispel the winter blues in the UK!

What would you consider to be the best time to cruise the Caribbean?

You did get some very serious responses from fellow CC members, and glad you appreciated them. Now having added what some of your familial issues are, you can put your own twist on the decision.

To ME, and this is only me.....if you want warm to hot weather, the best time to cruise is June to September in the Caribbean along with longer days and what I consider more brilliant sunsets.....but as I said, that is me.

Thanks for all the replies. A lot of you seem to have reservations about sailing from the New York area in January due to the number of days lost to the cold. I should maybe have said I am from the UK so no stranger to cooler weather! I have looked also at sailings from Florida but didn't like the ports as much - also New York is a shorter flight time and my wife isn't overly keen on flying so this is a factor for us also. Having been on anthem I know how much there is to do inside the ship - we had a couple of days poor weather leaving the UK in June this year and we enjoyed spending time on the ship so I don't think this would be an issue for us. Also being a 12 day cruise there should still be a good number of warm days. Was looking for something to dispel the winter blues in the UK!

What would you consider to be the best time to cruise the Caribbean?

I've sailed on 10-12 day itineraries to the southern Caribbean from Cape Liberty every year since 2008. I did a 10 day Quantum last Jan. I would have no hesitation doing 12 days on the Anthem if it fit my budget.

Yes - sail away is cold as well as day1, but you can be very comfortable with the right clothing. It's a good day to catch up on jet lag. The Anthem has an enormous amount of indoor space. The flights are shorter and easier for you. The itinerary is wonderful - much more interesting than the St. Thomas, St Martin, Cocoa Cay route from Florida.

Would never sail from NY/NJ in Jan. you lose 4 days total with very cold weather, no fun.

I agree. Plus the upper deck is not used as much (for like two days down and two back) which makes the rest of the ship crowed. This what we have found it to be.

Would never sail from NY/NJ in Jan. you lose 4 days total with very cold weather, no fun.

On the contrary - by afternoon of the first sea day you will be entering the Gulf Stream with seawater temperatures in the 60's-70. Only the last sea day will be anywhere near "very cold".

We've sailed to the Caribbean form NY in January several times - and our looking forward to our Feb. 21 Norwegian Gem sailng in 2016.

HI ALL:

We are sailing on the Anthem 12/12. Flying from MN. Not too worried about the cold but worried about a repeat of the snow storms that you had last year and also our weather issues. We wanted to do the Anthem 7 day and this was it. We just hope no snow to cancel flights. Any comments about a Dec. sailing out of NJ?

HI ALL:

We are sailing on the Anthem 12/12. Flying from MN. Not too worried about the cold but worried about a repeat of the snow storms that you had last year and also our weather issues. We wanted to do the Anthem 7 day and this was it. We just hope no snow to cancel flights. Any comments about a Dec. sailing out of NJ?

I hope you are flying in at least one day before sailing - and recommend two days - give yourself a chance to see New York, while ensuring that you make the cruise.

I hope you are flying in at least one day before sailing - and recommend two days - give yourself a chance to see New York, while ensuring that you make the cruise.

Yes, we are planning on coming in on Thurs before the sail date of 12/12. Bringing a new person to NYC. We have only been there for the Westminster dog show 2 times so we are novices. Yes, we want to run around NYC and see as much as possible. Thank you.