Spring Break 10 day Cruise Question

Looking at a 10 day Eastern Caribbean on the Royal Princess. Trying to decide between one the end of Feb and one the middle of March. Wondering if anyone has had experience with a March cruise during Spring Break. Since we waited the Feb cruise cabin selection is not as good as the March selection. Guess that happens when you get real busy with everything else. Thanks.

We are often on a 10 day (usually b2b for 20 days) in March, and there are never many children or spring breakers.....I think that the 10 days is too long for them.

This coming March, we start on March 23 for 20 days. In 2017 it will be March 10th for 20.

Looking at a 10 day Eastern Caribbean on the Royal Princess. Trying to decide between one the end of Feb and one the middle of March. Wondering if anyone has had experience with a March cruise during Spring Break. Since we waited the Feb cruise cabin selection is not as good as the March selection. Guess that happens when you get real busy with everything else. Thanks.

The "Spring Break" effect probably won't be as evident on a 10 day cruise as it would on a shorter (7 day or less) cruise because most students don't have the luxury of taking a 10 day break. We did a B2B 4 and 5 day in March last year and we wouldn't do that again (BTW it was sold as a 9 day "Caribbean Sampler" but it was really a B2B 4 and 5 day combination).

We've done the 10 day over our province's March Break once. There are very few kids onboard.

We did 2 of the 7 day itineraries B2B in 2015 and the difference was incredible. Tons of families the week of Canadian March Break, but very few the week prior. (Our kids actually preferred it with few kids on board! :rolleyes: )

HOWEVER - having said that, in 2016, our break is the week right before Easter. Easter is really early in 2016. So, I'm not sure how that will affect the cruise crowd, as more people will have time off for spring and / or Easter break. Here in Ontario, the public school kids get 5 days off for March Break, then back to school for 4 days, then off Fri & Mon for Easter. I'm expecting that a lot of folks from here will be pulling their kids out for those 4 days in between and making a longer vacation of it, whether they cruise or not is another question. (we don't have the same truancy / funding issues as the US does) I don't know what the holiday schedule is in the US.

In looking at these dates, they should probably both be ok but the one leaving in February is a little bit safer, first because it leaves on a Monday so it spans into two weeks a bit further (not a lot) and also, it is a little more far removed from Easter, which is what a lot of US schools schedule their spring break around. We have found that a lot of Canadian schools, although more grade schools than colleges, do tend to have their spring break late February. This is not in the least bit scientific....just my observation. Since this happened to me quite some time ago, I always schedule cruises while it seems like the kids are in school....late August, early Sept and April - May. The April choice has burned me before, though....not on the ship but in the ports of call.

We've taken several spring break cruises on different cruise lines. The only bad one, in terms of out-of-control college age kids, was the Carnival one we took out of Charleston. Even our short cruise on the Ruby Princess (5 nights) in 2014 wasn't too bad.

We are booked on the Royal from Feb, disembarking March 13. I can report the ship seems fairly full, there have been no promos for these voyages, and fares have increased since we initially booked.

Typically spring break college students do not have the time nor the funds for a 10 day cruise, so I don't think you will see many of them. I would expect to see them of short cruises. You may see families with children, but these will more likely be the weeks of March 21 & 28, before and after Easter.

We've taken several spring break cruises on different cruise lines. The only bad one, in terms of out-of-control college age kids, was the Carnival one we took out of Charleston. Even our short cruise on the Ruby Princess (5 nights) in 2014 wasn't too bad.

Never again will we take a Spring Break cruise on Carnival. Once was enough.

In our experience, there were no college students on our 10 day March cruises.

They take the less expensive 4 or 5 day cruises. You will see plenty of families.:D

WE always stay away from anything close to spring break.

I wouldn't think there would be a problem on a 10 day cruise at all.

1. 10 day cruises are not heavily impacted.

2. College students are not a significant slice of the Princess market.

3. K-12 schools have their winter breaks so spread out through February, March and April that it is hard to plan around them and no one week predominates other than the week leading up to Easter.

I have never had problems with college students on Princess cruises. Families with unsupervised k-12 (especially tweens) kids is another issue.

I think you would be fine with either cruise but I would go in February.

Our schools take spring break at the same time in March, regardless of when Easter is.

I think you would be fine with either cruise but I would go in February.

 

Our schools take spring break at the same time in March, regardless of when Easter is.

...and by going in February you might be walking headlong into the K-12 break in my part of the world where March breaks are largely unheard of. But in February people flock to warm weather places including cruises. There are polls done here every year and the results reveal an uptick at Easter but a pretty even distribution throughout February, March and April in the non-Easter weeks. There simply is no "best" week at that time. School breaks are very regional and cover the whole season.

...and by going in February you might be walking headlong into the K-12 break in my part of the world where March breaks are largely unheard of. But in February people flock to warm weather places including cruises. There are polls done here every year and the results reveal an uptick at Easter but a pretty even distribution throughout February, March and April in the non-Easter weeks. There simply is no "best" week at that time. School breaks are very regional and cover the whole season.

February usually has less kids. There are those schools that get out some in February and then April but definitely a smaller chunk.

I have cruised a lot in February, March and April. February had almost zero kids compared to March and April.

February usually has less kids. There are those schools that get out some in February and then April but definitely a smaller chunk.

 

I have cruised a lot in February, March and April. February had almost zero kids compared to March and April.

Statistically the vacations are evenly spread. From that point on, it is just a crapshoot. However, by sailing the week after the week that contains President's Day, one betters their odds. The majority of February vacations are taken in the week that includes that federal holiday. All that said, Princess simply does not draw winter break kids as much as Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

Never again will we take a Spring Break cruise on Carnival. Once was enough.

AMEN to that! Been there...done that and no thanks!

Statistically the vacations are evenly spread. From that point on, it is just a crapshoot. However, by sailing the week after the week that contains President's Day, one betters their odds. The majority of February vacations are taken in the week that includes that federal holiday. All that said, Princess simply does not draw winter break kids as much as Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

This is not true. February by far has far less spring break vacations compared to March and April. If you look at this website which lists colleges you can see a break down http://www.studentcity.com/when-is-my-spring-break

K12 is a little different but February is still fewer schools compared to March.

We sail over President's week most years and we usually have less than 10-20 kids and those include kids under 5.

This is not true. February by far has far less spring break vacations compared to March and April. If you look at this website which lists colleges you can see a break down http://www.studentcity.com/when-is-my-spring-break

 

K12 is a little different but February is still fewer schools compared to March.

 

We sail over President's week most years and we usually have less than 10-20 kids and those include kids under 5.

I was referring only to K-12. And that is not "a little different". It is a lot different. Whether or not you personally have fewer kids on your Princess cruises is beside the point. That does not speak to how many K-12 kids have a break in February. It speaks to how many go on Princess cruises. Public schools in the densely populated northeast heavily lean toward a February vacation. That makes a huge difference. Go to Disney World during that week and then again in the second week of March and then try to tell me that February is only a little different.

We have been on seven 10 day cruises in March to either the Caribbean, Mexico or Panama Canal. Never were college spring breakers an issue..all on Princess.

This past March we did a b2b..each 7 days. The captain had to remind the parents to "control" their teens who were running in the halls at night (after midnight)pulling breakfast and/or fruit request off the door while screaming and banging on doors. During the day , we can honestly say we never saw more than a dozen kids around the pools. It was more a parenting issue than a kid issue.