What to Do During Fleet Week

Fleet Week is a cultural institution in New York. Since 1984, Fleet Week has welcomed the citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, and tour vessels that have been docked in New York’s harbor. Attending Fleet Week events, or even just being in the city during this special time, is an experience that you’ll remember forever. By living in Brooklyn, you’re in the perfect place to get out and enjoy Fleet Week events and still have the ability to get back to your Gowanus apartment and find respite from all the happenings. Here are some things you can check out during the week-long celebration from May 23-29.
May 15, 2018

Vessel Tours

One of the biggest components to Fleet Week is the opportunity to board and tour a variety of vessels in New York Harbor. There will be several vessels at various ports throughout the city that civilians can tour during the celebration. Daily tours are conducted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.

Close to home you’ll find Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), from Norfolk, Virginia, at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in the Red Hook community.

At the Homeport Pier in Staten Island you can tour several vessels including:

  • Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS 9), from Mayport, Florida
  • **USCGC STURGEON BAY is WTGB-109 (140 ft Icebreaking Tug), from Bayonne, New Jersey
  • Reliance-class cutter USCGC Diligence (WMEC 616), from Wilmington, North Carolina
  • Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship USNS Maury (T-AGS 66)

In Manhattan at Pier 90, you’ll be able to board:

  • San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Arlington (LPD 24), from Norfolk, Virginia. Arlington will embark several hundred Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
  • Kingston-class coastal defence vessel HMCS Moncton (MM 708), from Canadian Forces Base Halifax

In addition to these tours, you can see five additional vessels that will be docked at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum at Pier 86, though some of these will be departing earlier than the end of Fleet Week.

Whether you’re interested in maritime services or you just want to experience an institution of New York, head to Fleet Week at the end of the month and have a great time!