At Sea – May Weather

[redwave]

Re May Cruise, what was your experience weather wise (temperature, wind, rain) during your first two days at sea from New York to Bermuda during the day and at night? And the last day at sea on the return?

 

(e.g. Sunday evening – temperature - any wind or rain

Monday - temperature - any wind or rain

Monday evening- temperature - any wind or rain

Tuesday – temperature - any wind or rain

Saturday – temperature - any wind or rain...)

 

Thank you.

[flowers44]

Weather is ALWAYS a crap shoot. You can have almost anything, especially in May and then later on in October and November. There is no way to predict what will be going on in the Atlantic Ocean. Could be warm in NY but cold further south. You just never know.

[Charles4515]

Re May Cruise, what was your experience weather wise (temperature, wind, rain) during your first two days at sea from New York to Bermuda during the day and at night? And the last day at sea on the return?

 

(e.g. Sunday evening – temperature - any wind or rain

Monday - temperature - any wind or rain

Monday evening- temperature - any wind or rain

Tuesday – temperature - any wind or rain

Saturday – temperature - any wind or rain...)

 

Thank you.

 

As Flowers said it is a crapshoot. You can't predict wind and rain anytime of the year and past experience won't tell you about wind or rain. In May though it is more likely to be coolish air temperatures on the sea days both during the day or night. Don't count on sunbathing by the pool in May on the sea days unless there is an unseasonable heat wave. Don't even count on that on the days in Bermuda in May. Since I am a beach person I have given up on cruising to Bermuda in May.

[redwave]

Thank You Charles & Flowers,

 

Just want to clarify, We initially were going to do a January cruise to Bahamas on the Breakway, Because we didn't want to lose the days at sea to winter weather, we figured the month of May out of NYC might be a safer bet. It seems based on your two responses that this is not the case. Some follow up:

 

Why would there need to be a heat wave to sit on deck. This past May (checked every day) the average temperature in Buxton NC and Hamilton was 73 degrees. In this scenario, day two and three at sea should not be lower than 65 degrees.

 

If in perfect conditions, the area of the Atlantic between NYC and Bermuda is always overcast and not higher than sixty degrees it makes sense that it would not be comfortable on deck. Is this in fact the case?

 

I understand this area is unpredictable and can't be forecasted which is why I'm not asking for guesses. But rather, actual past weather for spring days at sea from NE US coast to Bermuda from the past few years. If majority of responses are not good weather conditions then we will cancel. If however its fifty fifty or less then we will take our chances.

 

Any clarification would be great.

 

Thank you.

 

[flowers44]

It always seems it is cooler out on the ocean than on the land. Same way it always cooler next to the water than inland. This last May was the warmest month of May in recorded weather history in upstate NY. It is not always that way. I have seen snow in May.

I would not consider this a reason to not go on the cruise. But, if your are expecting warm to hot weather, a cruise in July or August would be a better bet.

[woods79]

I was on the May 24th, 2015 sailing of the Breakaway from NYC to Bermuda and was also kind of nervous of the weather.

 

The 2 sea days to Bermuda were nice and sunny. It was warm enough to go swimming in the pools and get some sun. The pools were heated, but the air temperature was just fine to be out. The sailing was nice and calm - no rough seas.

 

During the 3 days in Bermuda (May 27 - 29) the weather was also warm and sunny, however there was a strong wind that blowing for the whole time we were docked. Not quite sure what it was, everyone we spoke to had a different story. In any case we made the best of it and went to the beaches for a couple hours on 2 days. Apart from the wind the weather was great, and the seas were not as cold as I was expecting. I HATE cold water, and had no trouble going in.

 

During the one day back to NYC it was sunny and warm in the morning, but later in the day it got cloudy and cooler.

 

We were told that Bermuda weather is hard to predict, even with today's technology. Apparently they are used to getting 4 seasons in one day - from what the locals told us!

 

Many people I spoke to say they always travel to Bermuda in late May as they try to beat the heat of the summer and hurricane season. I would definitely go back during this time, it was perfect!

Edited June 7, 2015 by woods79

[Charles4515]

The month of May was unseasonably warm this year. That is why I said unless there is a heat wave. Here in Washington DC the temperature was 90 or near that most of that same week you were in Bermuda. It was also in the 80's in the middle of May. Usually I don't bring out my shorts until June. This year I was in shorts in May. If I could have predicted that hot weather I might have booked Bermuda too. Maybe it will be warm next year too. Or maybe it will return to the norm. One year does not make a trend.

 

As far as being cool on deck, there are often winds in May and those winds make for a chill breeze on deck. But then that doesn't have to be that chill breeze. The odds are higher for May though for winds but it all depends on El Niño and La Niña. I have found June, September and October to be the better Bermuda weather. Of course September and October there is the chance of hurricanes. June avoids that so I am going to Bermuda late June. I was going to book for next week but there was a schedule conflict.

 

The other person mentioned they were changing their plans from January to May because of losing sea days to winter weather. You still have the sea days, can't lose them....so I figure they mean time by the pool. There might not be all that difference between May and January as far as that. Besides cruising to Bermuda twice in May I have cruised out of northeast ports, Baltimore in May and the first day was brisk. Since those were eleven day cruises there were plenty of days by the pool.

 

I also cruised in December of 2013 out of New York on the Breakaway to the Bahamas. Because of the Gulf Stream we really only had one cool day going and one returning. About the same as going to and returning to Bermuda in May. Sailing to Bermuda the ship goes slowly to Bermuda across the open Atlantic. Sailing south to the Bahamas the ship is going full speed and gets into the warmer gulf steam fairly quick.

 

 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Golfstrom.jpg#/media/File:Golfstrom.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited June 8, 2015 by Charles4515

[3Mickeys]

I was just on the Boston to bermuda cruise that left May 29 and I didn't have enough warm clothes. We had damp fog, mist, wind while cruising. I wore jeans and windbreaker to be outside part of the day. A spot outside protected from the wind was nice once the damp air cleared up.

 

In bermuda we had a day that was spectacular, sun 80s. The other day was rain, sun, rain, monsoon, sun. It was an unfortunate day.

 

Cruising back the wind outside on deck was significantly less, sun was out and it was lovely. Last sea day was low 50 degrees outside and the top deck was abandoned except for diehards.

 

We had a great trip, but I think the weather can not be guaranteed.

[Debzee53]

We recently sailed on HAL Veendam from Boston to Bermuda. Our cruise dates were from May 9th through May 16th 2015. Here is some information for you based on our cruise log:

When we left Boston, it was 54 degrees F with clear skies. (We'd left upstate NY that same day where the temperature was 86 degrees.) Sailing on Sunday, the temperature rose to 70 degrees with sunny skies and light clouds, but the breezes felt cool. You needed a light sweater or jacket on the open decks. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, while we were docked in Hamilton, the weather was perfect, sunny with light clouds, a moderate breeze, and a high of 75 degrees all three days. The air and ocean water felt warm enough to wear shorts or a bathing suit and there were a lot of people on the beaches and in the water. Of course the evenings felt much cooler. On Thursday, we left Hamilton at 1PM. There were rain showers in the morning and then partly cloudy skies, and the daytime high was 73 degrees. The sea day on Friday felt cool. There were sunny skies, light clouds and a fresh breeze, but the high temperature was only 64 degrees. The sea was calm. When we arrived in Boston on May 16th, it was drizzling and 57 degrees.

This was our first trip to Bermuda, and maybe we were just lucky with the weather. I hope this information helps.

[Keith1010]

Was just there this past May. Had two days there.

 

One day was sunny and temperature got to low 80's. Other day was rainy.

 

You just never know but to me it's a nice time to visit because it is still early in the season.

 

Keith