Tell me about Cruising in the month of May

[Kenlorz]

We will be booking a cruise for our 25th year anniversary on the Breakaway next May. Quick question:

 

We are looking at either of the last two sailings in May. Either May 24-30 (Memorial day is Monday May 25th) or May 31-June 6. I know that this is probably a total crap shoot of a question, but do you think one week will be more crowded than the other? Is one more apt to have a ton of kids sailing than the other?

 

My husband thinks the Memorial Day sailing will have more kids, because of Monday being a day off from school. I think that the following week will have more kids because more of the southern schools will have started with their summer break. I thought we would ask the experts over at CC! Would you recommend one sailing over the other? Both are priced exactly the same for our category of cabin. Thanks in advance!

[dalgirl]

We will actually be on the Breakaway this Sunday. We chose this week because we will be back on the Sunday before Memorial day - we can fly home on Sunday and have Monday to regroup.

 

We really like to sail in May, the weather is usually more pleasant, the price is usually cheaper and the kids are usually still in school.

[www3traveler]

I would tell you to sail prior to Memorial Day (17th to the 24th maybe). Beginning about the 17th, a lot of schools will begin their summer vacation break. Check the price for earlier May too, it might make a difference further from the summer season.

[garycarla]

They are both apt to have more kids than earlier in May, but not as bad as later in June when more schools are out.

 

Memorial Day itself has very little impact, but end of school year will. I would go a week earlier myself.

[peg013]

The water in Bermuda will be much warmer in June than anytime in May so if you want to enjoy the water as well as the beaches, I would pick May 30 - June 6. Also Fleet week is around this time. We found it easier to get into NYC at the end of Fleet week rather than the start of it.

[Kenlorz]

Thank you all for your sage advice so far! It is greatly appreciated! One question... what is fleet week?

[peg013]

http://www.fleetweeknewyork.com/fleetweeknewyork/

 

Fleet Week New York, now in its 26th year, is the city’s time-honored celebration of the sea services. It is an unparalleled opportunity for the citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as witness firsthand the latest capabilities of today’s maritime services. The week-long celebration has been held nearly every year since 1984. It is anticipated that nearly 1,500 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen will participate.

Edited May 14, 2014 by peg013

[Sauer-kraut]

Thank you all for your sage advice so far! It is greatly appreciated! One question... what is fleet week?

 

Lots of great looking people in nautical uniforms!! Woohoo! :D

[Truluv]

Does Fleet Week impact the Port? Do you think it will impact traffic at Port and Port parking on May 18, or the traffic/departure on May 25 when Breakaway returns?

 

My last experience trying to get to the Port for a cruise was a few years ago, but I found it very stressful. I think I drove around one block about 4 times before anyone would let me get into the right lane. My NYC driving survival skills have deteriorated since I've lived in a place without significant traffic for 35 years (let's say age has nothing to do with it LOL). Hard to believe I once lived in NYC and even had a car there.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Truluv

[newmexicoNita]

We will be booking a cruise for our 25th year anniversary on the Breakaway next May. Quick question:

 

We are looking at either of the last two sailings in May. Either May 24-30 (Memorial day is Monday May 25th) or May 31-June 6. I know that this is probably a total crap shoot of a question, but do you think one week will be more crowded than the other? Is one more apt to have a ton of kids sailing than the other?

 

My husband thinks the Memorial Day sailing will have more kids, because of Monday being a day off from school. I think that the following week will have more kids because more of the southern schools will have started with their summer break. I thought we would ask the experts over at CC! Would you recommend one sailing over the other? Both are priced exactly the same for our category of cabin. Thanks in advance!

 

Our favorite time to cruise is April/May but when you get close to the end of May and memorial day you will be dealing with a lot of kids. Many schools, throughout the country are on summer break by May 20th or so. Of the 2 weeks you are considering the 24-30 would probably be better but both will have a lot of kids, plus college kids enjoying a weeks vacation before they head to their summer jobs.

[Jenjer]

We love to cruise the week before memorial day. Its usually less expensive and there will be less kids.

 

After memorial day the price goes up and so does the amount of kids on board.

 

This year we are going after Memorial day because I can not longer pull my kids from school.

[Anthony&David]

Twice we have sailed late May. The first (2010) was the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend on the Jewel out of NYC (to Florida and the Bahamas). The second (2012) was the week of Memorial Day weekend on the Celebrity Summit out of Bayonne (to Bermuda).

 

On the Jewel cruise, there were several high school senior class trips and some groups of college students, but this was not evident on the Summit. The most significant difference we noticed (compared with cruises at other times of the year, three times in November and once in January) was at night in the bars/clubs - they were more crowded and stayed more crowded later into the night (and the deejays tended to play current dance/pop/club music rather than a more balanced mix inclusive of music from the 70s/80s/90s).

 

Based on our experience, we would not purposefully avoid booking for this time of year.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited May 15, 2014 by Anthony&David

[Kenlorz]

Thanks again to those who have posted your experience. It greatly helps :)

 

While I see that booking earlier in May would probably mean less kids to contend with, I think the warmer weather in the latter part of the month weighs out more heavily for us as we want to do many water related activities in Bermuda. Plus our anniversary is June 2, so we would like to sail as close to the date as possible. Our son graduates HS the week after that, so the second week of June is out of contention all together. That seems to leave us narrowed down to the last two weeks of May for sure. Thanks to all of you, I'm thinking we are safe with either one :)