Worth it to cruise in December or too cold?

[Carrieberry]

Hi all! We just found out that we are getting a pretty decent tax refund, and we are thinking about maybe adding on a 3 night cruise to our already planned (this cannot be rescheduled to a different month) trip the beginning of December. I was just wondering if it is even worth it to do this because of the weather. I know at WDW it can get pretty chilly, but what about on the cruise? If we don't do this we might add on Universal at the end instead. We only can do the trip all at once because of the cost of airfare so we can't do the cruise in the spring unless we wait until 2006. Let me know what you all think! THANKS!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I've been on the 7-night cruise for 3 of the past 4 years (the ship got the flu the other year...) in December. The weather in the Caribbean is plenty warm this time of year. In the Bahamas, I understand it can get a bit cool, but we've never had it be so cold that you couldn't swim or enjoy the beach. Castaway Cay has always been in the 80s and humid for us in December. I suspect that the weather in Nassau would be similar. The water is a little chilly at first, but you get used to it and we're always in there for several hours of the day. The water may just seem cooler because we'd be swimming at St. Maarten and St. Thomas earlier in the week.

I'd go for it!

 

[Carrieberry]

Great! Thanks!

 

[yourtravelpro]

I cruised on the Dec 4th sailing of the Wonder this past year.
It was rainy and cool, but the real bummer was not being able to go to Castaway Cay.

 

[Mickeylover]

Well, it totally depends as far as what you consider "cold"...my husband swam and snorkeled with no problem--he also is pretty well insulated. My 7 year old was a popsicle everywhere except in Mickey's ears at the kiddie pool on the ship--he's skinny as a rail. December is a beautiful time with the ship all decked out in its holiday colors, but it did affect my overall cruise enjoyment because I've got thin Southern blood and don't prefer the temperature much under 80 degrees and I really wanted to enjoy being in the water. If its cool in Florida, its cool in the Bahamas. They are pretty much on the same latitude.

 

[Diznut84]

We have cruised three times during the first week of January, and although we had GREAT weather this past trip, I don't think we will do so again. The water at Castaway Cay is too cold. Cozumel and Cayman Islands are acceptable, but Aruba would be closer to ideal... On the other hand, March through October will be plenty warm...

 

[budwmn]

We just cruised on the 4-day at the beginning of January. I thought the weather was great. It was warm and sunny in Nassau (about 82 degrees). Castaway Cay was the same. We swam all day. No one had any complaints. I would compare the water temperature to that of the Jersey shore in summer. It's not real warm, but your body gets used to it quickly. We had such a good time that we just booked the December 4th Western.

 

[beattyfamily]

We went the first week of December in 2001 and it was perfect weather and it was GREAT to have all the decorations up!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

We've gone in December twice and January once. The first December cruise was a 7-day during Christmas and it was the Eastern itinerary. St. Maarten and St. Thomas were beautiful -- mid to high 80s. Castaway Cay wasn't as warm and the water wasn't as warm as the other ports. THEN, last December we went on a 4-day and to me the water temps were too chilly for me. I tried swimming in CC, but I wimped out.

With that being said, I did enjoy the air temps very much. It wasn't unbearably hot and I would not hesitate to cruise again on either itineraries in the future. You just can't beat the price. Also, the Christmas decorations everywhere are just so beautiful and festive!

Not sure what dates you're looking at, but the December 19th 4-day is going up drastically in price as it is booking rather quickly. DCL.com is showing only CAT4 - CAT9s available.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

We cruised the first week of December this past year and it was great! Sail away was cool, but once we got away from Florida it was perfect. St Marteen and St Thomas couldn't have been better...and Castaway Cay was nice too. I would go ahead and do it...

 

[currycook]

December is most certainly NOT too cold. Great time of year for a cruise. But then what time is not a great time of year to take a cruise.

 

[disneyfan551]

We cruised 11/30 last year, and it was a beautiful time to go. I would really like to go at the same time again. However, my dh and our friends felt that it was not warm enough, and want to wait until it is warmer to go. It was pretty chilly on our day at CC!

I think we are going to go to the parks this Dec., and then cruise in April or May. I will definitely miss seeing the beautiful Christmas decorations on the cruise! It was truly fabulous.