Spring Break Cruises: Weighing the Pros and Cons

Spring break cruises get the impression of a bunch of drunk college students. Or is it roving gangs of ten year old kids trying to get a year’s worth of energy out during one week? People often have the impression that Spring Break cruises are full of rowdy young people. Sometimes that is true and sometimes it’s not. It largely depends on the cruise line, the length of the cruise and the price.

Trying to decide if a spring break cruise is right for you? Read on for some pros and cons:

Let’s start with the positive.

Pros of taking a Spring Break Cruise:

Spring break cruises, well, match up with spring break.

Presumably you’re checking out this post because you are trying to decide what to do with a spring break week (yours or someone you want to bring with you) and one of the major benefits is that they do match up with the week. Some cruises match better than others, but it is easy to find cruises that fit into the 9-day window that is spring break (Saturday to the following Sunday).

Great weather

Spring is a great time to cruise the Caribbean. (Is winter a better time? Check out why Winter Caribbean Cruises are Great!) It’s hot, but not too hot. A beach feels pleasant without feeling like you are going to sweat your t-shirt off. It’s also fun to pull out all the summer clothes when it’s not quite warm enough at home to wear them yet.

Spring Break Cruise to Grand Cayman — Does it get any better than this Spring Break beach in Grand Cayman? And because it was spring it wasn’t even that hot!

Cons of Spring Break Cruises:

They’re Crowded

They are popular for a reason. Many of us have reasons that they fit nicely into the schedule so expect them to fit into everyone else’s schedule too. Be prepared for crowds and congestions. A few weeks earlier or later and it won’t be nearly so crowded on the ship.

Spring Break Crowds — There are a few people on this pool deck. This picture from the Carnival Vista was taken mid-afternoon on a sea day during Spring Break.

There are a lot of young people

Children, teenagers, college students are who you expect to find on a spring break cruise and that is generally true.

Some of the longer cruises that technically fit into this window do not have the hoards of young people. But if you are on a cruise ship that has features that are attractive to children, expect to find a lot of children.

In general college and school spring breaks are often not the same week and the spring breaks throughout the country (and even the state) can vary by several weeks (to months) so don’t expect all of these groups at the same time. But yes, it will be a younger crowd.

Expense

A cruise that sails over spring break and is trying to attract a spring break crowd is going to be more expensive than one at a less popular time. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t cruise then, but it may not be the one to upgrade to a suite on.

So what’s the answer? Is a spring break cruise right for you only if you’re ready to party?

All of the pros and cons can depend on the cruise line AND cruise ship. We took a spring break cruise to the Panama Canal on Carnival and there were almost no kids, no teenagers and nobody in their 20s. (Check out that experience here.) But a different spring break cruise on the newest Carnival ship (at the time, the Vista) and we were so overrun with kids that it was hard to do anything.

You may not even notice it’s spring break if you are on the longer cruises, but those short cruises and especially Monday-Friday type cruises are going to have a lot of young people trying to fit months of fun into a week.

Is that a reason not to take the cruise? Absolutely not! Just know in advance what you are getting yourself into!