Expert: Linda - 4/9/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

I will travel the eastern varribean in July with my mom.Its er first time. I hope it wont be too hot. How hot will it be? Will it be at all enjoyable or unbearable?
We go from Miami to Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, St. Juan & Grand Cayman.
Many Thanks for answers!!
Anja from Germany

ANSWER: Hi Anja,
It will be very hot in July, not unbearable, but HOT.  You will have temps from the mid 80's to the mid 90's.  I know Germany is very cold in the winter, so you may feel it more.  However, you will have warm tropical breezes also.  The only place I think may bother you will be San Juan as you're in the city.  The rest of the islands you will be snorkeling or on a breezy beach or swimming so you will not feel the heat as much.

On the ship, you'll be fine, there are plenty of places with a nice breeze and many with air conditioning.  Please bring lots of sunscreen with you and a hat for being on shore to keep the sun from your face.

If the heat bothers you then schedule your schore excursions for the first thing in the morning.

Half Moon Cay, go early over to the beach, swim, enjoy the beach and walk around, have lunch, then come back to the ship.....you can go to the hot tub, or swim in the cooler pool, or sit in the shade and read.  For Grand Caymen, swim with the stingrays, they have several times...go early for the coolest time.

Please enjoy your vacation and enjoy the caribbean, it's islands of paradise.

Linda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Linda, Thank you very much for your quick reply!!
However I meant Grand Turk (Turks & Caicos) not Gran Cayman. :) Any sugestions on what we can do there? And do we need to book the excursions in advance? Before the cruise we will be for 1 week in Miami. What about the weather there?  many, many thanks for all your advice, really helpful!  Anja

Answer
You'll probably hit Grand Turk, both great islands and known for friendly people and anything water related, snorkel, dive, do that thru the ship.  If you want to sightsee, you can get private drivers outside the dock, listen and walk by as if you're not interested and hear what others are paying, then you can turn around, and listen to the guides tell you where they will take you and for how much.  You may also find another couple or singles that you might end up meeting and want to do the isand together.

Miami will be the same as the caribbean, it'll be HOT, but remember, air conditioning is EVERYWHERE.  There is lots to do in Miami, I'm sure you've read everything there is to do.  the beaches are quite nice and compared to the prices in Germany, quite reasonable.

You will have a wonderful time, but PLEASE, do NOT get sunburned, it will ruin your vacation!  If you want to go back home with a nice tan, start out with 20 min only before 10 Am or after 2 pm, add 5 min per day.  After day 3 you can do 15 min in the morning and 15 in later afternoon.  You can build up your time before the cruise.  On the cruise you will BURN much more quickly as you're on the water.  We've met so many people that said "I wish i would NOT have gotten burned".  I want you to go to cruisecritic.com.  join the group, it's free.  You can go to your cruise line, then Message Boards and you can even find people that may be sailing with you  It's a great site and one I use all the time.

Have a wonderful cruise!

Linda