Would you cruise the Caribbean in August?

[Charles4515]

13 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

So my point was that I'm familiar with the extremes of both temperature and humidity, so I wouldn't be daunted by August in the Caribbean.

The weather in the Caribbean does not daunt me but my theory is that when the temps at home are cold winter temps that is the time to go to the Caribbean or Mexico not when the temperatures are similar. I don’t really like to cruise the Caribbean in August because of all the children on board. I prefer mid December for Caribbean cruises. A respite from winter and a tolerable amount of children. The best prices too. 

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Good time to do a Norway cruise or the British Isles. Alaska would be my North America choice. We have done Alaska in  August. My favorite August vacations was a land vacation. Iceland,

Actually, this summer we are cruising from London (Southampton) to Iceland including Norway. We also had a Norwegian fjords cruise booked for 2020 that was lost to Covid.

 

And we have cruised to Alaska in August. We have also cruised twice to Canada in the summer, once roundtrip from NYC and once Boston to Montreal.

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Actually, this summer we are cruising from London (Southampton) to Iceland including Norway. We also had a Norwegian fjords cruise booked for 2020 that was lost to Covid.

 

Add me to the Iceland summer cruise club. I'm leaving in August on a long-planned-for cruise that visits Iceland, Greenland, and Eastern Canada.

 

As for the Caribbean in summer -- that would be a "no" for me. Even though I live in Georgia (e.g., almost like Florida in summer), I don't do well in high heat and humidity. On my honeymoon in 1987 -- a Western Caribbean cruise -- it was so hot and humid that I almost passed out while touring Chichen Itza. Now, many years later, I suspect that I'd enjoy it even less!

 

[lenquixote66]

We have cruised the Caribbean in August many times without any issues.

[navybankerteacher]

9 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

We have cruised the Caribbean in August many times without any issues.

Is there really that much difference in the Caribbean between May and August - or any other two months?  The weather is hardly my primary reason for not wanting to cruise in the Caribbean - any time of year.

[lenquixote66]

13 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Is there really that much difference in the Caribbean between May and August - or any other two months?  The weather is hardly my primary reason for not wanting to cruise in the Caribbean - any time of year.

Not really .Some people prefer being on cruises when there are less children .That was never a factor for me.

[SelectSys]

I would if all of the factors were correct.  It's probably not my first choice for a summer cruise, but could work depending on what were my realistic alternatives from time and budget perspectives.  Remember the old cruise ship adage that "any day at sea is better than a day on land."

[Mike981]

Done it many times with our family. As said, there are usually a lot of kids. But, when you have kids your own it helps them have more fun and when you go in to your trip knowing this, it helps.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, SelectSys said:

I would if all of the factors were correct.  It's probably not my first choice for a summer cruise, but could work depending on what were my realistic alternatives from time and budget perspectives.  Remember the old cruise ship adage that "any day at sea is better than a day on land."

Oh, I don’t know — if that “any day on land” was  in Rome in September, Paris in May, or St. Barth’s in February - and that “any day at sea” was on an NCL 3 day Spring break trip to the Bahamas, I think a lot of us might differ.

 

[Kristelle]

and Cruise ships would say that.

 

 

[SelectSys]

8 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Oh, I don’t know — if that “any day on land” was  in Rome in September, Paris in May, or St. Barth’s in February - and that “any day at sea” was on an NCL 3 day Spring break trip to the Bahamas, I think a lot of us might differ.

 

As I said, it depends on what you have as realistic options.  Perhaps that 3 day NCL spring break trip is all I can afford?  Would I rather stay home or take the cruise?  

 

Regardless, arguing the validity of a cruise travel adage just seems silly to me. 

[Mum2Mercury]

Okay, it's not quite August, but we cruised the last week in July, which is our wedding anniversary, and it was too hot for us -- and we're Southerners!  I won't say we'd never do it again, but the price would have to be right, and we'd plan our excursions and mid-day activities with the heat in mind.  

[Joebucks]

The only reasons that would prevent me from taking a cruise during a particular time of year would be price (demand), amount of children, and if the port will be warm enough.

 

IMO, August is really the best summer month to cruise if you are going to (especially towards the end). As kids are going back to school and scary hurricane season hits, prices become more reasonable, and the amount of kids starts to go down.

 

I'd really only worry about hurricane season if you absolutely are dead set on hitting certain ports. 

[K32682]

A Caribbean cruise can be a dismal prospect at the best of times. Uninspired and uninteresting ports, swarms of hawkers, noisy and often dirty. August doubles down with heat and high humidity, higher prices, hordes of children on summer break and vacationing teachers. No thanks. 

[Markanddonna]

3 minutes ago, K32682 said:

A Caribbean cruise can be a dismal prospect at the best of times. Uninspired and uninteresting ports, swarms of hawkers, noisy and often dirty. August doubles down with heat and high humidity, higher prices, hordes of children on summer break and vacationing teachers. No thanks. 

I have to agree with this assessment, except for my sympathy for vacationing teachers. They have to travel during the most expensive times, with tons of kids around and lots of other vacationers. Retired teachers often comment on how nice retirement trips are in the fall and spring. The western Caribbean is now off my list of considerations.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

I have to agree with this assessment, except for my sympathy for vacationing teachers. They have to travel during the most expensive times, with tons of kids around and lots of other vacationers. Retired teachers often comment on how nice retirement trips are in the fall and spring. The western Caribbean is now off my list of considerations.

I don’t find the western Caribbean dismal, there are some attractive ports and some less attractive ports - it is all about the itinerary.  If one likes archeology the Yucatán is a special place to visit - just not in August

Edited June 29, 2023 by Mary229

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

I don’t find the western Caribbean dismal, there are some attractive ports and some less attractive ports - it is all about the itinerary.  If one likes archeology the Yucatán is a special place to visit - just not in August

Our second cruise was a Western Caribbean to see Mayan ruins. And because DW was a teacher, it was in the summer, in fact August. And yes, it was hot, but IIRC less than when we were later in Italy and Turkey in August.

 

However, there was a hurricane and our 5 day cruise became 7. And DW ended up missing her first conference day. And we were lucky that there were a lot of Delta flights back then from Fort Lauderdale to JFK so she did not have to miss the second conference day when she needed to set up her art room. (It is truly a relief when you see that you are getting closer on the airline's standby board.)

[Mary229]

10 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Our second cruise was a Western Caribbean to see Mayan ruins. And because DW was a teacher, it was in the summer, in fact August. And yes, it was hot, but IIRC less than when we were later in Italy and Turkey in August.

 

However, there was a hurricane and our 5 day cruise became 7. And DW ended up missing her first conference day. And we were lucky that there were a lot of Delta flights back then from Fort Lauderdale to JFK so she did not have to miss the second conference day when she needed to set up her art room. (It is truly a relief when you see that you are getting closer on the airline's standby board.)

I haven’t been in a few years but if I were to go again it would be in January.  It is terribly hot and humid once you go inland.  

[Winnigirl]

Most children in the USA are back in school by the middle of August.  We actually would plan our trips for the end of August.  Our kids didn't go back to school until the 2nd week of Sept., so it was ideal for us.

[ontheweb]

Just now, Mary229 said:

I haven’t been in a few years but if I were to go again it would be in January.  It is terribly hot and humid once you go inland.  

That is why when we booked our excursion from Cozumel to Mayan ruins, we booked a more expensive tour because it included swimming afterwards.

 

And again, I remember Italy and Turkey being more oppressively warm and humid.

[ontheweb]

1 minute ago, Winnigirl said:

Most children in the USA are back in school by the middle of August.  We actually would plan our trips for the end of August.  Our kids didn't go back to school until the 2nd week of Sept., so it was ideal for us.

We are in NY state and schools do not go back until early September. They do get out late, very late in June.

[Mary229]

7 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

That is why when we booked our excursion from Cozumel to Mayan ruins, we booked a more expensive tour because it included swimming afterwards.

 

And again, I remember Italy and Turkey being more oppressively warm and humid.

😉if we want brinksmanship, here I sit in Texas in a house where the ac failed 3 days ago.  😂

[cruisemom42]

24 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And again, I remember Italy and Turkey being more oppressively warm and humid.

 

Heat waves in Europe are becoming more common. On one of my Med cruises, I embarked on the last day of September from Athens -- and the temps were 100 degrees!

 

The ship I was embarking had some back-to-back passengers who were at the Acropolis that day and were brought back to the ship in an ambulance due to the effects of the heat.

 

That said, the sustained daily temps in the Yucatan peninsula are higher on average in August than the places you mention -- and the humidity is far greater.

 

Which ruins did you visit?  Tulum is cooler as it's on the water....

 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

😉if we want brinksmanship, here I sit in Texas in a house where the ac failed 3 days ago.  😂

Oh my, good luck, or get out of there now!

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Heat waves in Europe are becoming more common. On one of my Med cruises, I embarked on the last day of September from Athens -- and the temps were 100 degrees!

 

The ship I was embarking had some back-to-back passengers who were at the Acropolis that day and were brought back to the ship in an ambulance due to the effects of the heat.

 

That said, the sustained daily temps in the Yucatan peninsula are higher on average in August than the places you mention -- and the humidity is far greater.

 

Which ruins did you visit?  Tulum is cooler as it's on the water....

 

It was 20 years ago, but Tulum sounds right. We also did Mayan ruins in Belize, IIRC Lamanai.

 

And because I left the port in Belize, the Red Cross would not let me donate blood for a year. When we went to Turkey, parts of the country would disqualify you, but not where we went.