Is the cruise being pushed back a week every year?

edited February 2013 in JoCo Cruise
Hi, don't know if any of you remember me. I used to come around here a lot years ago, but stopped for some reason

When the first cruise happened, I was a sophomore in college. I was really upset because I knew I would never be able to become a Sea Monkey. I'm intending to get my Ph.D and become a professor. Even if the cruise would still be going on once I get my degree, I'll still be teaching classes, and wouldn't just be able to cancel them for a week to go on the cruise.

But then I started to notice that every year, the cruise seems to be occurring later and later in the year. When I read the blog and saw the dates of the next cruise, a thought occurred to me: Spring Break. Is it possible that the cruise would happen to fall on the week I have Spring Break? I rushed to check the calendars of the 2 schools I'm most likely to be attending next year, and was quite upset to see that Spring Break starts on the last day of the cruise (And thus is in the week following the cruise).

But since it appears to me that the cruise is taking place a week later year after year, should I be hopeful that I'll get to be a Sea Monkey on JCCC5?

Comments

  • JCCC3 was earlier in the year than JCCC2; I know because the KSC annual pass I got before JCCC2 was still valid to go there before JCCC3. (Also, I left, several days early, for JCCC2 on Valentine's Day, and I was already on JCCC3 for Valentine's Day.)

    I suspect that they might actually avoid such holidays for the cruise because the cruise fares might be more expensive at times when everyone can go, but I don't know.
  • Damn, you're right...

    Well, I can still hope
  • Yes, President's Day fell during JCCC2 but after JCCC3. I think the FAQ can be taken at face value here ... a million factors have to align among performers, destinations, holidays, etc., etc., etc.
  • It would be a beautiful thing if all schools everywhere agreed on the same week for Spring Break, but sadly they don't. This is especially annoying for my wife who is an adjunct professor at two schools, with different schedules, so she doesn't actually get a week off, just two different half-weeks.

  • edited February 2013
    If the cruise ever happens to coincide with my wife's spring break, I might at last be able to bring her and introduce her to all the amazing Sea Monkeys I've been going on about. (As it is, the only four people from the boat whom she has met -- in different places around the US -- are Paul, Storm, JoCo, and @Blue.) It's hard to be without her for a week, even though she helps to handle the emergencies that inevitably crop up.
  • One issue is that cruises during holidays (or any universal time off, like the Grand-Unified Spring Break of legend) tend to be more expensive. I suspect that's one reason there hasn't been a summer JCCC, and I was told that cost is one reason why more expensive destinations like Alaska haven't been pursued (and I'd much rather cruise to Alaska than another mostly-interchangeable beach).
  • I kind of hope next year is about as late as it gets. There are conflicts with cons already next year and I don't want it to be closer to PAX East. I also like getting a break from winter. I'd rather see a push back into early January for those effected by college.
  • "I kind of hope next year is about as late as it gets. There are conflicts with cons already next year and I don't want it to be closer to PAX East. I also like getting a break from winter. I'd rather see a push back into early January for those effected by college."

    Agreed on all points. The first cruise was the perfect time for us, as spouse did not have to miss teaching.
  • Well, I certainly wouldn't want it to interfere with anyone else's ability to go, but I still want to be able to go myself :/ And early January sadly wouldn't work for me, since it looks like the school I will most likely be at next year starts classes on the first Monday after New Year's, and since I highly doubt they'd ever do the cruise during the week of New Year's...

    Oh well. I guess time will tell
  • We select the itinerary dates based on a ton of factors, with an eye overall on delivering a good value to the most possible monkeys. Holiday cruises are indeed WAY more expensive, as are the airfares to get to them. Same goes for the most desirable vacation times, including the spring break period.

    But in general we ask to see itineraries in the late January to late February period, and make a decision from there.

    "S"
  • "And early January sadly wouldn't work for me, since it looks like the school I will most likely be at next year starts classes on the first Monday after New Year's"

    What kind of MONSTER starts a school session the first week of January???


    @paulandstorm:  Very much understood on my part why the scheduling works out how it does due to many complicated factors and conflicting interests and schedules. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, etc etc.

    Though I am curious: I had been told in years past that the cruises that leave within that first week or two after New Years tended to be among the cheapest itineraries. Is that not true/no longer true? Or was it other availability factors that made the later itineraries more appropriate for JCCC?


  • Yeah, makes sense. Guess I was just getting too eager. I'm probably doomed to never be a monkey :(
  • Don't worry Dr. Cox, you're in good company! Well, at least your in the same metaphorical boat as I am. 

    Anyway, embrace your destiny as a Land Pony. It's not so bad. Though it does get *really* lonely here on the forums around the middle of Feb. 
  • @mikesphar It could be true generally that the itineraries immediately after New Years are usually cheapest, but among the itineraries bid to us, the one we chose was the best dollar value. Another big factor was that it's a Fort Lauderdale departure, which effectively makes it even less expensive than JCCC3 (because of the additional shuttle cost to Port Canaveral.) Then came a zillion other factors.

    "S"
  • Interesting! Thanks for the info. I certainly agree that having done both I definitely prefer a Ft Lauderdale departure.

  • The Port Canaveral terminal sucked and was pretty far from MCO, but I liked being able to arrive a bit early and hang out in Orlando for a few days since there's a lot to do there. There's far less to do in Fort Lauderdale, especially if you're a pasty nerd who sunburns horribly and isn't into bar-hopping. (Having lived in the Fort Lauderdale area for 3 years, I feel pretty qualified to make this judgment.) So I'm both happy and sad at the embarkation point change.

  • I've gone to Orlando before every cruise, so I also liked leaving from Port Canaveral. :)
  • I am sympathetic to all the schedule challenges Paul, Storm, and company must navigate. You throw all these concerns into the mix and make the best possible choice, but you know you have to disappoint someone.

    Personally, I wouldn't want to see early January because for three letters:  CES.
  • So there are good bars in Ft. Lauderdale?
  • BassBone: I don't drink, so I can't speak to 'good' but as a former resident Ft. Lauderdale is all bars, beach, churches, and strip clubs.
  • edited March 2013
    And trailer parks.

    Also, Fort Lauderdale is the fraud capital of the United States. Yes, really. More scams per square inch than anyplace else in the country. Only place on Earth that beats it is Nigeria.
  • But at least it's closer than Cape Canaveral to Shark Valley and Big Cypress Gallery for those of us who are no longer as into the man-made amusements in Orlando?
  • aww, jeah. Being closer to the Everglades is a huge plus in my book.
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