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Impact of NJ Teacher's Convention on Oasis-class

mafig

By mafig,
in Royal Caribbean International

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mafig

mafig

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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?

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Jerseygirl1416

Jerseygirl1416

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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.

 

 

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mafig

mafig

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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.💘

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mafig

mafig

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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?  

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

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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?

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Jasukkie

Jasukkie

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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.

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mafig

mafig

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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

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mafig

mafig

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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. 

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jean87510 Great Review Rare

jean87510

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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.  

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RobInMN Great Review Rare

RobInMN

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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.

 

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Travelling2Some

Travelling2Some

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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.

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mjkacmom

mjkacmom

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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. 

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Corby114

Corby114

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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.

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jean87510 Great Review Rare

jean87510

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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.

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Jerseygirl1416

Jerseygirl1416

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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 😂

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