SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 I'm not all that familiar with this phenomenon, and I know it varies by school, but in general do I need to avoid all of March and April to avoid spring breakers on cruises? Or is it just March? I made the mistake of going to the Mall of America today (normally I avoid this anyway, but I needed to go to the Apple Store) and it was PACKED. That's unusual for a weekday except during Christmas, so I asked someone if today was some holiday that I was unaware of, and he just looked at me with dead eyes and uttered "Spring Break". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 College spreak break down south is usually in the first half of March. Regular school spring break down here is usually also in March, while a lot of other parts of the country have their spring break over Easter. So in theory you need to avoid March through Easter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 It depends. Easy measure - if cruise fares and airfares are expensive it's because a lot of people are trying to book it. In the spring this indicates popular spring break weeks. If prices are low, then few 'breakers' are trying to travel and you are safer. SpeedNoodles and JohnK6404 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGSLC5 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 17 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: I'm not all that familiar with this phenomenon, and I know it varies by school, but in general do I need to avoid all of March and April to avoid spring breakers on cruises? Or is it just March? I made the mistake of going to the Mall of America today (normally I avoid this anyway, but I needed to go to the Apple Store) and it was PACKED. That's unusual for a weekday except during Christmas, so I asked someone if today was some holiday that I was unaware of, and he just looked at me with dead eyes and uttered "Spring Break". I live in South Florida.. Basically you need to avoid all of March because the first 2-3 weeks is when Colleges here are on Break and then the last 2 weeks is when all the public K-12 schools are on break.. Then I would avoid the week of Easter.. Other than that you should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Just now, AGSLC5 said: I live in South Florida.. Basically you need to avoid all of March because the first 2-3 weeks is when Colleges here are on Break and then the last 2 weeks is when all the public K-12 schools are on break.. Then I would avoid the week of Easter.. Other than that you should be good. It'd be handy if Easter would just fall during Spring Break. When you say "the week of Easter" ... since it's on Sunday, do you mean the week before or the week after? Or I guess just both maybe. Which would eliminate half of April. Sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGSLC5 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: It'd be handy if Easter would just fall during Spring Break. When you say "the week of Easter" ... since it's on Sunday, do you mean the week before or the week after? Or I guess just both maybe. Which would eliminate half of April. Sometimes. The week before.. Here in Florida the Kids have off The Friday before and often times its a teacher work day on Thursday so parents take their kids away.. The reason in Florida spring break cant fall during April is because of standardized testing.. April is when they have to get the kids ready for that.. But on the rare time Easter is in March then it could happen.. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Just now, AGSLC5 said: The week before.. Here in Florida the Kids have off The Friday before and often times its a teacher work day on Thursday so parents take their kids away.. The reason in Florida spring break cant fall during April is because of standardized testing.. April is when they have to get the kids ready for that.. But on the rare time Easter is in March then it could happen.. Perfect, thank you - I don't even know when these things fall in Minnesota! (Well, I guess Easter is the same everywhere, lol - I still have to Google the date every year.) AGSLC5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Chicago Public school is the week before Easter. Teachers know to look for Easter and spring break is one week before. Unfortunately I am a teacher, so I have to cruise in all the mayhem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 @SpeedNoodles I've heard from other posters that the cruises to definitely avoid especially during SB are the 3 to 5 night booze cruises, for obvious reasons. The 7 nighter tend to be more of K-12 families. I can attest to the 7 night cruise theory as I've been on 7 nights during SB, K-12 families by far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Just now, Baked Alaska said: @SpeedNoodles I've heard from other posters that the cruises to definitely avoid especially during SB are the 3 to 5 night booze cruises, for obvious reasons. The 7 nighter tend to be more of K-12 families. I can attest to the 7 night cruise theory as I've been on 7 nights during SB, K-12 families by far. We really wouldn't mind avoiding large crowds of K-12 either, if we can help it. JennyB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 26 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: We really wouldn't mind avoiding large crowds of K-12 either, if we can help it. Follow the pricing. The reality is parents, teachers and college students desire to travel when their local institution is on break. Teachers and their kids from all across the country (Canada too) pay a premium from this phenomenon. This isn't a Florida local issue, people from across the North flood to Florida like moths to a flame to escape the cold. The collective effect transcends the Florida school systems. If pricing is high and cabins scarce it's because spring break people, from K-12 to college students to teachers are descending on Florida in masses. If a particular week is absent of them, prices fall. A months later, starting in early June the phenomenon returns and so do higher prices. Supply and demand. Come mid August the phenomenon is starting to fade and by labor day it's all but gone. Cheap fares almost always mean fewer K-12 or college students. teddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, twangster said: Follow the pricing. The reality is parents, teachers and college students desire to travel when their local institution is on break. Teachers and their kids from all across the country (Canada too) pay a premium from this phenomenon. This isn't a Florida local issue, people from across the North flood to Florida like moths to a flame to escape the cold. The collective effect transcends the Florida school systems. If pricing is high and cabins scarce it's because spring break people, from K-12 to college students to teachers are descending on Florida in masses. If a particular week is absent of them, prices fall. A months later, starting in early June the phenomenon returns and so do higher prices. Supply and demand. Come mid August the phenomenon is starting to fade and by labor day it's all but gone. Cheap fares almost always mean fewer K-12 or college students. Thanks, that's great advice. I appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Spring break in Ontario is mid-March. I would avoid that too if I could SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 3 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Spring break in Ontario is mid-March. I would avoid that too if I could I'm guessing that mid October is some sort of student/teacher break, too, since the Group Cruise is scheduled at that time! But being on the GC will totally be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 4 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: I'm guessing that mid October is some sort of student/teacher break, too, since the Group Cruise is scheduled at that time! But being on the GC will totally be worth it. Nope. Not a break. I am off that year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 1 minute ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Nope. Not a break. I am off that year I'll drink to that! Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 1 minute ago, SpeedNoodles said: I'll drink to that! We will...on the GC SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 A few years old but the trend remains close to this. All peaks in this graph correspond to school and/or college breaks. Source: https://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/category/cruise-lines-market-share-marketing-research/page/2/ Want a cheap cruise? Dec 8 or 15 on Oasis. Freshly refurbished. Cheap rates. The early December time frame and mid-January remain some of the cheapest times to cruise and are mostly K-12 free. Right after Labor day is not bad either. Lovetocruise2002, marton2, SpeedNoodles and 1 other 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Apparently February isn’t completely safe either. On our recent B2B on Anthem (15 Feb-3 Mar) the first week there were over 1500 children below the age of 18...apparently due to a spring break SOMEwhere. The following week there were 900...still a lot but not nearly as many as the first week. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 I'm not ANTI kid (I know there are lines for adults only and I know Royal is a family-oriented line). I just try to avoid massive numbers, lol. WAAAYTOOO and jhatle01 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 2 hours ago, twangster said: A few years old but the trend remains close to this. All peaks in this graph correspond to school and/or college breaks. Source: https://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/category/cruise-lines-market-share-marketing-research/page/2/ Want a cheap cruise? Dec 8 or 15 on Oasis. Freshly refurbished. Cheap rates. The early December time frame and mid-January remain some of the cheapest times to cruise and are mostly K-12 free. Right after Labor day is not bad either. Yes..Oasis is so cheap that week. No solo supplement for balconies either...too bad I'm so stingy with my time off! Airfare is likely cheap in that deadzone between Thanksgiving and Christmas too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 I'm already booked on Navigator on Dec 2 of this year, then next year we'll be on Brilliance in October, so we wouldn't be able to cruise already in Dec. But I'm keeping this in mind for the future, or if anything changes! I'm dying to find some great deal on a GS on a Quantum or Oasis class ship! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 11 hours ago, twangster said: A few years old but the trend remains close to this. All peaks in this graph correspond to school and/or college breaks. Source: https://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/category/cruise-lines-market-share-marketing-research/page/2/ Want a cheap cruise? Dec 8 or 15 on Oasis. Freshly refurbished. Cheap rates. The early December time frame and mid-January remain some of the cheapest times to cruise and are mostly K-12 free. Right after Labor day is not bad either. I love this! I went to their website, but I couldn't find this data. @twangster is this offered only through the login portal? They do have a lot of interesting data and marketing information, in general. It would be nice if this info was within 5 years. Of note, I found interesting the Passenger Origins bar graph:https://cruisemarketwatch.com/passenger-origins/. Will be interesting to see how Spectrum changes things up, if at all. May see movement within brand versus across brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 10 hours ago, twangster said: A few years old but the trend remains close to this. All peaks in this graph correspond to school and/or college breaks. Source: https://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/category/cruise-lines-market-share-marketing-research/page/2/ Want a cheap cruise? Dec 8 or 15 @twangster posted this a while ago and I remembered it. December is usually not an option for me because of teaching. When new itineraries came out back before Christmas, we grabbed the Villa suite on HM (Star Class!) for early December 2020 for just over $1K pp. No joke! I couldn’t believe it either at first! I would be on that OA sailing this coming December too if I could. SpeedNoodles and Baked Alaska 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 18 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: @twangster posted this a while ago and I remembered it. December is usually not an option for me because of teaching. When new itineraries came out back before Christmas, we grabbed the Villa suite on HM (Star Class!) for early December 2020 for just over $1K pp. No joke! I couldn’t believe it either at first! I would be on that OA sailing this coming December too if I could. Come on retirement. I will be cruising all the time. Lovetocruise2002 and Baked Alaska 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 57 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: @twangster posted this a while ago and I remembered it. December is usually not an option for me because of teaching. When new itineraries came out back before Christmas, we grabbed the Villa suite on HM (Star Class!) for early December 2020 for just over $1K pp. No joke! I couldn’t believe it either at first! I would be on that OA sailing this coming December too if I could. What date are you going in Dec 2020 ? We are in a Star Loft Suite on Oasis on Dec 6 2020. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: What date are you going in Dec 2020 ? We are in a Star Loft Suite on Oasis on Dec 6 2020. Lol...we discussed this already. We are December 13, 2020 on HM. The week after you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 8 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Lol...we discussed this already. We are December 13, 2020 on HM. The week after you. Sorry. My mind is old and feeble. I have CRS. SpeedNoodles, Lovetocruise2002, JennyB and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 12 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Apparently February isn’t completely safe either. On our recent B2B on Anthem (15 Feb-3 Mar) the first week there were over 1500 children below the age of 18...apparently due to a spring break SOMEwhere. The following week there were 900...still a lot but not nearly as many as the first week. Northern New England public schools typically have a February vacation week. Here in Maine it's usually around President's Day. New Hampshire is either the week before or the week after us....I can't remember which right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: @twangster posted this a while ago and I remembered it. December is usually not an option for me because of teaching. When new itineraries came out back before Christmas, we grabbed the Villa suite on HM (Star Class!) for early December 2020 for just over $1K pp. No joke! I couldn’t believe it either at first! I would be on that OA sailing this coming December too if I could. I need to find me this deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 Just now, SpeedNoodles said: I need to find me this deal. They are out there. Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you just need to look in the right places. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 New cruise price index data from www.cruisemarketwatch.com June 2010 on left, June 2020 on the right. Horizontal scale marks alternate between June and December over the 10 years. This is consistent with my own experience. Early December remains lowest, July remains highest. Summer 2019 prices are some of the highest in a while with an overall trend upward. SpeedNoodles 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 13 minutes ago, twangster said: New cruise price index data from www.cruisemarketwatch.com June 2010 on left, June 2020 on the right. Horizontal scale marks alternate between June and December over the 10 years. This is consistent with my own experience. Early December remains lowest, July remains highest. Summer 2019 prices are some of the highest in a while with an overall trend upward. That's really great information, again. I'll definitely be looking for deals on suites in December in future years. It's next to impossible for me to get time off during the high season and holidays anyway, since I'm not at the top of our seniority list. These times play right into my wheelhouse! The June sailing on Ovation is an anomoly - I really wanted to be in Alaska near the summer solstice, and I still ended up having a lot of days denied that I had to do shift swaps for. But, 25th wedding anniversary and hubby's 50th birthday, so..... worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 16 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Apparently February isn’t completely safe either. On our recent B2B on Anthem (15 Feb-3 Mar) the first week there were over 1500 children below the age of 18...apparently due to a spring break SOMEwhere. The following week there were 900...still a lot but not nearly as many as the first week. We get the whole week of Presidents’ Day off. (Feb 17th Navigator) That’s when we’re going. Hoping others don’t all have it off. I was surprised it wasn’t more expensive than the the surrounding weeks. Reasonable price and no school! Score for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaN Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 17 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Apparently February isn’t completely safe either. On our recent B2B on Anthem (15 Feb-3 Mar) the first week there were over 1500 children below the age of 18...apparently due to a spring break SOMEwhere. The following week there were 900...still a lot but not nearly as many as the first week. A lot of kids in California have presidents week off, maybe other states too. That’s what you could be running into in Feb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGSLC5 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 2 hours ago, Linda216 said: We get the whole week of Presidents’ Day off. (Feb 17th Navigator) That’s when we’re going. Hoping others don’t all have it off. I was surprised it wasn’t more expensive than the the surrounding weeks. Reasonable price and no school! Score for us! The Whole North East including New York and New Jersey have off that week.. Just a friendly warning because of this we have a HUGE influx of tourists and Hotels raise the prices in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami to extremely high rates that week. So if you can book now and try to find a deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda216 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 @AGSLC5 good to know. I think we’re gonna fly to grandparents first so won’t need hotel but worried about flight costs. That month is slowly opening and it’s high! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGSLC5 Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 32 minutes ago, Linda216 said: @AGSLC5 good to know. I think we’re gonna fly to grandparents first so won’t need hotel but worried about flight costs. That month is slowly opening and it’s high! Yes the flights during that week are always super high... My friends live in NY and always want to come visit me here in South Florida that week because they are teachers and are off of work but the flights are so expensive they never can end up coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 25, 2019 Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 On 3/23/2019 at 4:56 PM, AGSLC5 said: The Whole North East including New York and New Jersey have off [Presidents’ Day] week. Not the schools in my northern NJ district! We have Christmas to NYE, then MLK day (only), Presidents’ Day (only), and spring break the week before Easter (or after Easter when it’s really early like it was in 2018). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 I booked Feb 20, 2021 (and Feb 22, 2020). Hopefully I won't regret those dates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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