When is the best time to take a cruise?

Whenever you can. Actually, pricing tends to fluxuate depending on the time of year. And, some cruise itineraries are only available during certain times of the year. Also you can expect to pay a premium for Christmas and New Year holidays. One of my favorite times to cruise is in late September through early November; just after our own boat is put into storage. Yep! that is right in the middle of the most active hurricane season. Four of our cruises were within that time period, and even one cruise in Sept. 1995, the year of Katrina, which saw the most active hurricane season in the Caribbean in many years. Even though there was an active hurricane in the Caribbean during our cruise, it was over 1,000 miles away, and we didn't have any problem, although for awhile, we thought we would have to delay our return by a day due to the hurricane possibly changing its path. So much for returning to work on time - dang! I hate it when that happens... But fortunately, the hurricane stayed on it's course, so we made it back on schedule. However, the ship did have to change itinerary the next week to avoid hurricane activity.

I remember on another cruise, in 2002, our itinerary was such that we were 3 days behind Hurricane Isidore, and three days ahead of Hurricane Lili, so we were able to continue on our original course. We were many hundreds of miles from the hurricanes, so there was no issues of safety. The cruise line will show you a good time, even if they have to change itinerary to do it. Remember if this happens, its not the cruise line's fault; they cannot control the weather. If you want to save a few dollars, fall is a good time to go.

A popular time to take a cruise is in March-April as many schools and colleges are on Spring Break. However, depending on the cruise line, this may be "party time", and it might get a bit rowdy on board. It seems to depend on the cruise ship, even those within the same cruise line, as the Captain may be more or less prone to allow any excessive behavior. We once took back-to-back cruises in March on two different ships (departed the first ship then boarded the second ship a day later). On the first cruise, teenagers were roaming the hallways in the stateroom areas all night long; making noises and horesplay. On the very next cruise, the Captain made an announcement prior to leaving home port that while he recognized that a lot of college "spring-breakers" were on board, that this cruise was a family cruise, not a spring break cruise, and he would not hesitate to throw anyone off the ship that mis-behaved. Same cruise line, same time of the year, but different captains, and level of tolerance.

Its not that my wife and I don't like to have fun; but there is a limit to having fun when it interferes with someone else's right to enjoy their cruise. If you are looking to have a more relaxed experience, try booking a cruise between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, especially if it is longer than 7 days. One of our cruises was a 10 day cruise in early December, and there were maybe two kids on board. Afterall, what family is going to go on a 10 day vacation and take their children out of school just before the Christmas holidays?

So the time of year and cruise duration does have some influence as to the atmosphere on board.