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Cruise out of Galeston in the winter?


lrn2cruise

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Anyone that has left out of Galveston in the winter, I am wondering if you were able to swim on the sea day of the day you leave and return?

 

I am looking at the NOS, the short 4 day on Feb 5th (hubby doesn know yet. Shhhhh) Anyway, It could be freezing on the day we leave and the day we come back.

 

We took NCL out of Houston in 1998 in March and it took awhile going south before we could swim.

 

I dont want to leave on a cruise and be stuck inside for most of the day

 

Now that I think about it, the cruise leaves at 4:30. We should be pretty south by the next day

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Unless you are part of the Polar Bear Club you probably won't be swimming on NOS in February out of Galveston. Hot tubs are a good choice though. Usually, it's in the 50-60s in Galveston then when I have cruised and I've done about 8 out of that port. I think there was only one cruise where I had to wear a jacket. On the way back you may get part of the day when you can use the pool but after about 2 pm it starts to get cold. If it's a good deal you should still give it a go.

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I wouldn't plan on pool weather on the first day out and last day back to Galveston. Personally, I would not take a short cruise out of Galveston for this reason. You also have a risk of fog delays out of Galveston in the winter.

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Anyone that has left out of Galveston in the winter, I am wondering if you were able to swim on the sea day of the day you leave and return?

 

I am looking at the NOS, the short 4 day on Feb 5th (hubby doesn know yet. Shhhhh) Anyway, It could be freezing on the day we leave and the day we come back.

 

We took NCL out of Houston in 1998 in March and it took awhile going south before we could swim.

 

I dont want to leave on a cruise and be stuck inside for most of the day

 

Now that I think about it, the cruise leaves at 4:30. We should be pretty south by the next day

 

 

We've been on several cruises in December and January and have been in the pool on the first sea day on most of them. Once on the last sea day it was pretty cold and windy but there were still a lot of people at the pool.

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I used to live in Galveston, about 4 blocks from the Cruise Terminal.

 

The weather will vary, but a safe bet is that it will be too cold until late on the first full day at sea or the second sea day. It will then get cold again about one day from Galveston.

 

I was down visiting family this winter and it went from warm to cold to warm to foggy/wet/cold to warm.

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We went on a cruise out of Galveston last year over New Years. It was cold in Galveston when we left, but the weather away from Galveston was great. Also, took a cruise out of Galveston about 4 years ago in mid January, and the weather leaving was pretty cool. We went to Cozumel and were able to swim. Coming back, it was a 4 night cruise, we got closer to Galveston and the weather was much cooler. Woke up in Galveston and it was very, very cold. Had ice on our windshield going back home to Austin. Crazy weather in Texas. :confused:

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Many sailings out of Galveston in Nov-March. With few exceptions it was nice enough to hang out by the pool and have a few bloody marys the first sea day while kicking back in a comfy lounge. In fact, I often pack a pair of trunks in my carry on bag cuz the outside temps are warm enough to start working on my cruise tan on day 1 before the ship pulls away. While I personally have no desire to take a dip in the pool, there were many who did on sea day 1. Admittedly, some with minimal 'insulation' did get out pretty quick. Your mileage may vary.

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I have only been on one cruse out of Galveston in December it was in the 70's. coming from central Washington that time of year it was nice for me as the week before the trip it was at almost 0 degrees at home and was in longjohns and full weight Carharts. The fog coming back was the worse part of the ship returning. it was a few hours late

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We cruised out of Galveston in January and no one was even thinking about the pools. :D It's the only sailaway party I've ever been to where people were dressed in hoodies under their winter coats, winter hats, gloves, scarves, etc. That said, by the very next morning the pools were overflowing with kids, so it warmed up quickly.

 

One thing to take seriously is the possibility of fog delays. I knew about it before going, but didn't think it would happen to us. It did... we were 9 hours late getting back because of the fog. We drove, and it sucked losing those hours of drive time and having to practically drive all night, but I felt very sorry for the multitudes of people who had to change their flights. If it's at all possible, plan on staying in Galveston a night after your cruise.

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Fog delays- that's what I was thinking as I was reading this thread, as that's what happened when we sailed out of Galveston in Feb 2010.

 

We didn't dock until after 1pm due to heavy fog, and this was the school vacation week, so rescheduling flights was a mess.

 

And I distinctly remember there was another fog delay earlier in January, and thinking odds were that we may not get another one this season- ha ha ha.....

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Fog delays- that's what I was thinking as I was reading this thread, as that's what happened when we sailed out of Galveston in Feb 2010.

 

We didn't dock until after 1pm due to heavy fog, and this was the school vacation week, so rescheduling flights was a mess.

 

And I distinctly remember there was another fog delay earlier in January, and thinking odds were that we may not get another one this season- ha ha ha.....

 

Our fog delayed cruise in December 2009 caused us to sit in port until Tuesday morning (Sunday boarding). Almost two full days stuck at port in cool, foggy weather. Not a very pretty port to look out on for two days. The only positive aspect of the cruise is that 900 or so passengers took a full refund offer and exited the ship Monday night. The rest of the cruise was very uncrowded! No problems getting a table in the Windjammer or in the Theater!

 

For those flying to port, I would never consider Galveston in the winter. Too much risk of fog delay and that is a nightmare when flights are involved. If you have to get on an airplane anyway...fly to Florida or someplace pretty and warm!

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Not only are you asking us to predict the weather, you want us to predict Texas weather. The professionals can't even do that here unless it is the summer...then they just say DRY AND HOT. :eek: :D

 

February can be all over the place. A few years ago Arlington had the Super Bowl. You may remember they also had a snow and ice storm. Temps were so low even the fans from Green Bay were complaining on TV. This year it was shorts and t-shirt weather.

 

However, as a rule using the pool or beach in Galveston will not be a pleasant experience...but feel free, they will be accessible.

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