Is there an "off season" for cruises?

Question

We will most likely be leaving from Galveston and it will be a one week cruise in the Caribbean. Is there ever an off season for cruises? We would like to go when it is a bit slower with less people.

We will also be using either Carnival or Royal Caribbean.

Answer 1

define off season

We live  in the middle of Florida and are only a few hours form 4 ports so cruising is the vacation of choice for us and we only go between Sept - Dec. Off season for most but the prices are less and yes their are fewer, mostly less children. And I have found that a good majority of passengers are repeat and or from Florida

and I prefer Carnival, they have given me top quality service and th e food is more than 5 star!

Answer 2

For our first cruise ever, we went on Carnival's Triumph in September this year. It was great - the ship was mostly quiet adults - no wild teens or children and we were always the only ship in the ports. It was quiet, relaxing, and a great time! So I really suggest September - all the kiddies are in school.

We already have our next cruise planned on RC's Mariner of the Seas in September '08!

Answer 3

High season in the Caribbean is during the winter when the snowbirds (people in the north) fly south to get away from the snow.  

During the summer, when many ships leave the Caribbean for Alaska or the Mediterranean, many families like to cruise, because the kids are out of school.  So, even though it is hurricane season, this is also high season.

That leaves September until Thanksgiving and mid April (after spring break is over) until Memorial Day.  The problem is, September until Thanksgiving is still hurricane season.  Making mid April until Memorial Day the best time to go.  

However, if price is your biggest concern, then all you have to do is go to one of the travel sights (such as Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz) and just look at the prices.  Low prices mean less people.  High prices mean more people.  

I'll give you a few examples.  My friend invited me on a a cruise with them in April out of San Juan.  The price during the second week of April (when her son is off from school) is 50% higher than the same cruise the first week of April.  After we get off the ship it heads through the Panama Canal to Alaska.

Looking at Travelocity, the least expensive rates for the Conquest appears to be the last two weeks of September, 2008.  The most expensive is mid March, 2008.

Looking at the Voyager, the lowest rate is Feb 3 - 10, 2008.  The highest rate is March 16 - 23, 2008.  The difference in price between February 3 and March 16?  For inside and ocean view cabins the difference is more than 100%.  For balcony cabins the difference is about 2/3 more and for suites the difference is about 3/4 more.

Answer 4

January starts wave season, when many people book their cruises for later in the year. Wave season runs through the end of March and is a very good time to reserve if you want to make sure you'll get your first choice of dates, itineraries and cabins. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 with peak the season in the eastern Caribbean and the east coast of the U.S. from mid-August through mid September.

Sailing during hurricane season offers pricing at the lowest point of the year. The best cruise deals are during the fall months including late August to mid December.

Answer 5

We always try to go in September or December.  It is cheaper out of Port Canaveral and Tampa then.  It is also too hot in the Caribbean in the summer.  We were in Cozumel last September, and it was still almost 100 degrees with 85 percent humidity.  I can have that anytime I want in Florida.  There are also less children on the ship at that time because school is in session.  On the Carnival Glory last September, there were only about 200 kids on board out of over 3000 passengers.

Answer 6

People cruise year round but if you want less people and kids avoid the summer months, June-August. This is also the most expensive time to travel as well. Hurricane season in the Caribbean runs from June-November but the peak really is only mid August through September. Spring break can be crowed and expensive as well.

To answer your question the "off season" for cruises where you'd find less people and good prices would be January/February, May, and then September-December (keep the hurricanes in mind in Sept and the holidays will be busy in Nov/Dec).

Answer 7

There are certain cruise itineraries like Alaska, the Baltic, New England and Canada and South America that are seasonal and do not run all year around.  For example, the Alaska season is May through mid-Sept.  But cruise lines have cruises all over the Caribbean all year long and the cruises sell out in winter and even in the hurricane season.

We just completed a cruise to the Western Caribbean the first week of Dec when you would expect that people would not be vacationing.  But the ship was full, and so were the ports and at two of our port stops there were three other ships in port the same days.