mafig Posted April 28, 2022 #1 Share Posted April 28, 2022 I grew up in NJ and remember having a few days off every Nov. for Teacher's Convention. Apparently they still have this. I recall reading "somewhere" that Teacher's Convention week has a lot of kids on their sailings (apparently the parents take them off for the whole week). We just came off a cruise during Spring Break (on NCL). I'm in no mood to repeat that so soon. We're looking at an Oasis'class ship. Have you had any experience with Teacher's Convention week on RCL cruises? Should we eliminate looking at booking this particular week? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare shof515 Posted April 28, 2022 #2 Share Posted April 28, 2022 I cruise on a different cruise line twice during this week. The week is usually called Jersey week I had no issues with crowds and it felt like a regular cruise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyitsmema Posted April 28, 2022 #3 Share Posted April 28, 2022 We avoid that week like the plague. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerseygirl1416 Posted April 28, 2022 #4 Share Posted April 28, 2022 31 minutes ago, mafig said: I grew up in NJ and remember having a few days off every Nov. for Teacher's Convention. Apparently they still have this. I recall reading "somewhere" that Teacher's Convention week has a lot of kids on their sailings (apparently the parents take them off for the whole week). We just came off a cruise during Spring Break (on NCL). I'm in no mood to repeat that so soon. We're looking at an Oasis'class ship. Have you had any experience with Teacher's Convention week on RCL cruises? Should we eliminate looking at booking this particular week? It sounds like you should avoid it. There may be more families than a usual week when kids are in school. The convention is always the first Thursday/Friday in November. Some districts give the whole week off because it usually falls in the same week as Election Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelife Posted April 28, 2022 #5 Share Posted April 28, 2022 Doesn't Oasis leave Jersey October 30 and begin sailing from Miami November 3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadowlander Posted April 28, 2022 #6 Share Posted April 28, 2022 59 minutes ago, lovelife said: Doesn't Oasis leave Jersey October 30 and begin sailing from Miami November 3? Yes, Jersey week is in November when Oasis is back in Florida and Anthem is sailing from Bayonne. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted April 28, 2022 Author #7 Share Posted April 28, 2022 This year it's Nov. 10 and 11. So the week of Nov. 3 is what I would avoid. I have read that it's not only NJ/NY cruises that are affected, so I will follow reallyitsmema's advice and avoid that particular week. Thanks all.💘 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkacmom Posted April 28, 2022 #8 Share Posted April 28, 2022 It’s really only cruises that leave from NY/NJ that week (we’ve sailed on a few with our kids that week, tons of kids, many passengers very confused). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted April 28, 2022 Author #9 Share Posted April 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, mjkacmom said: It’s really only cruises that leave from NY/NJ that week (we’ve sailed on a few with our kids that week, tons of kids, many passengers very confused). Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine3601 Posted April 28, 2022 #10 Share Posted April 28, 2022 36 minutes ago, mafig said: This year it's Nov. 10 and 11. So the week of Nov. 3 is what I would avoid. I have read that it's not only NJ/NY cruises that are affected, so I will follow reallyitsmema's advice and avoid that particular week. Thanks all.💘 I haven't looked at a calendar but if it is Nov 10/11th this year shouldn't you avoid that week not the one before? Or maybe avoid both weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted April 28, 2022 #11 Share Posted April 28, 2022 10 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said: I haven't looked at a calendar but if it is Nov 10/11th this year shouldn't you avoid that week not the one before? Or maybe avoid both weeks? I would say avoid weekly sailings departing 11/5 or 11/6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasukkie Posted April 28, 2022 #12 Share Posted April 28, 2022 Yes, it's a very popular week for families from NJ to vacation. Also keep in mind winter break for Jewish schools is generally mid-January and that can also mean a lot of kids on board on NJ sailings when you might not expect it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegirlum Posted April 28, 2022 #13 Share Posted April 28, 2022 58 minutes ago, mafig said: Really? We are looking at cruising out of Florida that week (our first in 3 years and the one that will get us to Diamond!). Will those be crowded too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted April 28, 2022 Author #14 Share Posted April 28, 2022 53 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said: I haven't looked at a calendar but if it is Nov 10/11th this year shouldn't you avoid that week not the one before? Or maybe avoid both weeks? Yeah, you're right. Wasn't thinking. LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted April 28, 2022 Author #15 Share Posted April 28, 2022 37 minutes ago, Jasukkie said: Yes, it's a very popular week for families from NJ to vacation. Also keep in mind winter break for Jewish schools is generally mid-January and that can also mean a lot of kids on board on NJ sailings when you might not expect it. I was looking at January also. Someone posted to choose sailings departing on a Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jean87510 Posted April 28, 2022 #16 Share Posted April 28, 2022 It was known as teacher's convention week and was usually the 1st week of November. Always right after Halloween. It has only been a couple of days in the past few years. Problem was the teachers were supposed to be at the conventions but many were posting on social media pictures of themselves on cruises, Disney, Cancun... family in tow, drinks in hand clearly NOT at a working convention. Plus the taxpayers of NJ were paying for them for this week. And a lot of the teachers stupidly would brag about their escapades on social media and would laugh about how they were getting paid. This led to the downfall. I know quite a few people who did this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RobInMN Posted April 28, 2022 #17 Share Posted April 28, 2022 Minnesota has the same thing. "MEA" It's essentially a conference put on by the teachers union. Always the 3rd Thursday in October. But then they take Friday too. And of course, many school districts (like the one we live in), end up having an "staff development day" on Wednesday. So many, families pull their kids Monday/Tuesday and end up scheduling vacations for the whole week. BTW, I don't know a single teacher that has ever gone to the MEA conference, choosing to take a vacation also. It's a well know joke, but since "Education Minnesota" is the single largest lobbying group in this state, they aren't about to give it up. They've got the dates for the next 10 years posted on their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine3601 Posted April 28, 2022 #18 Share Posted April 28, 2022 1 hour ago, mafig said: I was looking at January also. Someone posted to choose sailings departing on a Saturday. The Jewish board of educators 2023 calendar for recommended school closings: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelling2Some Posted April 28, 2022 #19 Share Posted April 28, 2022 2 hours ago, Jasukkie said: Also keep in mind winter break for Jewish schools is generally mid-January and that can also mean a lot of kids on board on NJ sailings when you might not expect it. It's called Yeshiva Week in New York and it also results in partial charters and a decline in the quality of dining since there is a high demand for Kosher meals with conflicting requirements that stress the kitchen out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuxieloaf Posted April 28, 2022 #20 Share Posted April 28, 2022 (edited) I've cruised on this week (on Disney not RCI) and it didn't feel particularly packed... just a lot of people from NJ versus other states. Edited April 28, 2022 by tuxieloaf more information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bound4Bermuda Posted April 28, 2022 #21 Share Posted April 28, 2022 I’m from Jersey and didn’t realize how infamous this break was to people in other states! I apologize on behalf of my people, lol. It’s Nov 10 & 11 in 2022. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkacmom Posted April 29, 2022 #22 Share Posted April 29, 2022 17 hours ago, jean87510 said: It was known as teacher's convention week and was usually the 1st week of November. Always right after Halloween. It has only been a couple of days in the past few years. Problem was the teachers were supposed to be at the conventions but many were posting on social media pictures of themselves on cruises, Disney, Cancun... family in tow, drinks in hand clearly NOT at a working convention. Plus the taxpayers of NJ were paying for them for this week. And a lot of the teachers stupidly would brag about their escapades on social media and would laugh about how they were getting paid. This led to the downfall. I know quite a few people who did this. I’ve lived in NJ my entire life, it was always just the Thursday/Friday fir the convention. Election Day is the Tuesday, and many polling places are in public schools, ours are closed for that. We once took a nice long vacation, starting the Friday before the convention until the following sunday. The vacation week that gets crowded is the week leading up to the convention, not the week after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corby114 Posted April 29, 2022 #23 Share Posted April 29, 2022 I have done a few convention week cruises over the years and have noticed that there are more passengers from New Jersey that week than more juveniles. That included a repositioning sailing from Bayonne and a few Allure Of The Seas sailings from Port Everglades. My advice in reference to juveniles is to sail on an Oasis class vessel if your concerned with being overrun with them. The ships are so big that you really don’t notice them.Some adult passengers cause more problems than the younger ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jean87510 Posted April 29, 2022 #24 Share Posted April 29, 2022 4 hours ago, mjkacmom said: I’ve lived in NJ my entire life, it was always just the Thursday/Friday fir the convention. Election Day is the Tuesday, and many polling places are in public schools, ours are closed for that. We once took a nice long vacation, starting the Friday before the convention until the following sunday. The vacation week that gets crowded is the week leading up to the convention, not the week after. In my area, it was a week. Lived here all my life as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerseygirl1416 Posted April 29, 2022 #25 Share Posted April 29, 2022 4 minutes ago, jean87510 said: In my area, it was a week. Lived here all my life as well. In our area it’s just the two days but we used to pull the kids out when they were young and go down to Orlando and do the parks. It was funny because we’d run into so many from our small town down there that week 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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