In Southern California, our long, cold winter is certainly milder than the midwest and New England, but even we feel the difference.
Then, spring unfolds, and we realize we can spend our lunch breaks reading beside the pool without wearing the light coat required when Febraury's mid-day temperatures stubbornly refuse to rise above 65 for as long as a week.
For many college students throughout the country, Spring Break has come to be an excuse to travel to warm destinations like Florida beaches for sunny escapes from class (pun intended), and their teachers and parents with younger children fill cruise ships for less rowdy but surpassingly fun vacations of their own.
All those people flocking to sunshine translates into airline seats and cruise berths filling early for Easter Vacation, pushing prices up, but fortunately schools around the country stagger Spring Breaks, so it's not as expensive as the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.
For many, Spring Break is the last chance to escape the daily grind before summer brings another bulge in demand.
Cruise lines take advantage of this lower demand period after Easter Vacation to reposition cruise ships during some of the best cruising weather of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Translation: there are bargains if you're interested in cruises featuring relaxing days at sea traveling between continents, like America to Europe or Asia to North America.
Did you know there are also deals on cruises between distinctly different regions in North America?
You may be aware of Panama Canal cruises that fill this bill, because cruising through that Wonder of the Modern World is on many people's bucket lists.
Did you know "Wine Cruises" reposition ships up the West Coast between Southern California and Canada to kick off the Alaska season?
How about one-way trips around the Hawaiian Islands en route to the Pacific Northwest?
On the East Coast, some ships change from Caribbean southern home ports to northeastern starting points for Canada/New England or Bermuda.
All of these one-offs represent opportunities for great bargains, because the average person thinks of only one region for their vacations (translation: lower demand).
However, it should also be noted that some of the most gorgeous days of the year in the Caribbean flower from Easter through early June, bringing some last minute deals there too, despite the decrease in the number of ships in the region.
Don't expect to be able to snag the Suite of your dreams for a pittance, because quite frankly people who book the best Suites do so early and rarely lack the money to actually go when the time comes.
And don't expect to get that perfect mid-ship balcony room on the ideal deck, because the cheapest flash promotions can be translated to being cruise lines filling rooms that for one reason or another happen to still be open.
You're like a seat-filler at an awards show, so you only go where they need someone to take up space.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, because as I mentioned, it is one of the best times of year for cruising, especially in the Caribbean, and at least for the most part you get the same cruise as everyone else.
Getting back on track to the actual subject of this article, that can be number one on my list of "7 Reasons to Avoid a Last Minute Springtime Cruise."
1. You may not get the room or ship you want, if they're all sold out or you want the very lowest price.
2. If you're an empty nester, late spring cruising may be a reminder that you don't have children living at home whose school schedule dictates your life, possibly causing a bit of angst if this crosses your mind while snorkeling on a sunny Caribbean day or sipping a Margarita at sunset.
3. You may have to decide if you want to spend a few days in Spain, Italy or Scandinavia, as long as you're already in the area.
4. Payng less than you would have paid for a prime season cruise might leave you with money burning a hole in your pocket, causing you to spend freely on enriching shore excursions, jewelry or future cruise deposits, making your friends jealous.
5. You may feel guilty about all those teachers and students slaving away at school or trying to figure out what to do once the STAR tests have been completed, while you are living the life you dreamed about when you were 21 but couldn't afford at the time, because you were delivering pizzas while trust fund kids were partying in Miami.
6. You will need to buy a fresh bottle of SPF 50 sunscreen or risk a mild sunburn.
7. You could return to work so relaxed and full of wisdom found in unexpected leisure moments that you become a more productive person that results in a promotion that puts you into a higher tax bracket, with all the discomfort that might cause you.
So what are you waiting for?
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