Cancruizer

I may have missed it, but we love the nutella donuts and mozzeralla and tomato paninis. Those nutella donuts were only out once if I'm not mistaken and so delicious!

On 9/4/2019 at 4:55 PM, Triptkr said:

That's so funny!  I'm the exact same way...don't eat donuts at home--ever but on Princess ships will eat one of the sugar donuts.  They do a good job with them.  

Mu husband loves these! We stop there every morning for one (or two)

That's interesting. Thanks so much for sharing. When we were on in mid/end of June we were hoping they would have had this, but they hadn't started yet. Enjoy your cruise!

On 9/12/2019 at 6:10 PM, tailspintom said:

Hello Cancruizer, we do a bit of cruising at this time of the year.  We have seen young adults on the ship and believe that a 19 year old is closer to a 70 year old than a 13 year old. If the lad is in college I am sure that he may be interested in the European exploration of the Americas and the implication of their influence. There is a plethora of great information about the Americas available on the cruise. destinations 

 

The young folk we have met met on the cruises have always made us feel younger. So, give us older folk a break and bring him on that cruise. And, who knows, there may be some new younger acquaintances that he meets that are his age. Or maybe not. 

 

At any rate, I am sure that he will meet interesting people from different places with different ideas that will, maybe, hopefully, fill his mind with ideas that will lead him to a learned life-long perspective.

What a nice perspective! I am hoping that there will be others (even a handful) around his age, but I'm sure he will meet and talk with people of all ages. Thank you!

On 9/12/2019 at 5:41 PM, DrivesLikeMario said:

State colleges in CA usually don't go back until around the 18th of January so maybe there'll be a few his age.  Make sure he goes to the 18-20 yr. old get-together at the very beginning of the cruise if they have it.

Thank you. He definitely will!

On 9/12/2019 at 5:05 PM, katisdale said:

We are cruising over Christmas this year. Our grandchildren go back to University on January 6. Our cruise is December 19 through January 3 so not much time after we get back.

Enjoy it! We love the holiday sailings when we can do them!

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Of course, one never knows until one knows,  but I have a slightly different take. (And it is only slight).  Many colleges don't begin their Spring semester until around the 15th-20th of January.  We have taken a couple of cruises with our college-age daughter right after New Year's, and before she has to report back to school.  She was far from the only college age person on the ship though I can't say that there we throngs of them. The first two weeks of January are actually great weeks to travel if you have a family member in college (anywhere, not just on a cruise.).  You avoid the holiday crunch and high season pricing.  This concept is not lost on seasoned travelers.  Still, all this means is that the number of similar aged passengers will be slightly more than "none". I'm not suggesting that the ship will look like Spring Break.

Thanks - I had the same thought. Tbh, we were on Celebrity mid june for 11 days and there were about 10 people ages 18-23. They all did fine. Just hoping there are a handful that may be on before heading back to school later in January

2 hours ago, skynight said:

I see you are looking at the January 6th sailing. Observations from January and other non-holiday periods is very few in the 19 year old age range. If you call Princess you may be able to determine how many youth are on board and the age ranges, but realize that 19 will be an adult. Counts would be for 17 and under.

I would plan on booking some really nice beach, snorkeling and boating tours which should be of interest. We are on the same itinerary in February. It's a nice voyage. The 19 year old should enjoy, but may have to spend some time with the parental types. I have met younger cruises playing trivia, at karaoke, at deck parties and other activities. We always got along during the activity, but of course we didn't pal around afterwards. The 19 year old probably will have more in common with the Cruise Director staff.

Thanks for the observations and suggestions. Last year we were on for the holidays and NY - this will definitely be different :-)

3 hours ago, deliver42 said:

Highly doubtful, since they already came off Christmas vacation, and this is for a longer cruise . 7 days, small possibility, but not so much on a 10 day. Sorry.

Thanks for that.Where we live,college goes back about Jan 22,so we're still on "break". Hoping maybe others will be in the same position

3 hours ago, Waynetor said:

We have done 14 cruises over the last 2 winters which included 4 of the 10 day voyages.  There were some children 8 yrs and younger, mostly 4 or younger.  I don't recall seeing any that were older teens travelling with family.  Possible to get some young couples (early 20s) travelling together.

Thanks for sharing that

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone who's cruised before on this itinerary at this time might be able to help me with this.

I'm looking at the Crown Princess 10 day Caribbean in early January, however we have a 19 year old son that will be with us. I'm wondering if there are some families with kids/young adults on board at this time/on the longer sailings? 

To clarify, we enjoy Princess and have no issue with people of all ages, but I know it would be nice for him to find a few friends closer to his age. We've cruised over the Holidays and have done 7 days right after New Year before, but I know longer cruises tend to have less families.

I appreciate your insight and experiences

Ilana

On 3/13/2019 at 3:10 PM, chengkp75 said:

One of the best to mix "surf and turf" is Boone's Fish House and Oyster room, which does dynamite seafood, and some nice steaks as well (the owner also owns the Grill Room just up the street, which is probably the best steak house in Portland).

 

One thing I always recommend to folks coming by ship, is to forget the lighthouse tours, and get up early in the morning.  About 45 minutes before docking time, the ship will pass very close by the famous Portland Head Light, giving a unique photo opportunity to get it from the seaward.  You will also pass close by Bug Light and Spring Point lights in South Portland as well as Ram Island Ledge light, which is on a rock in the middle of the bay.

Wow, love that tip! This is a great thread as I'm reading through. 

As a Montreal I would say either rent a car, but there's so much construction as you approach Montreal that it can be frustrating drive, or take a bus. I've known people who've done this and it's not a long drive. Enjoy your cruise and your stay in Montreal.

3 hours ago, Charles48 said:

I understand that a Back to back cruise is where you sail back to your starting point on the same ship and that it makes your trip twice as long. Besides only having to pay for the flight  once, but having twice as long a cruise, are there any other advantages, cost discounts or perks?  Thanks!

We did a B2B over the holidays and honestly the biggest advantage for us was just not having to pack up after the first 7 days. I hate that feeling and was glad to avoid it ;-).

Sometimes, the price of the B2B may be less comparatively, but not significantly. 

56 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

Oh good ...thank you!!  I haven't received anything stating we can pre-register through Ocean Ready.  I think I will download Ocean Ready on my tablet.  

I downloaded it before our cruise on the Regal Princess. While it wasn't necessary, it was handy that it was already downloaded when we boarded.

Thanks to all for the great replies. Super helpful - much appreciated!

Ilana

2 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

How can you write an article on this with not having done it?    

 

I'd suggest you go to the NCL cruise reviews on multiple ships,  and look at the Dec/Jan posts for last year and spend a few days reading these.    You aren't going to get much otherwise.   

Good question. I'm not writing a review, which would mean I was recounting my own experience. My intention is to write what cruisers can expect from a Christmas cruise on various cruise lines. If cc members have done Christmas cruises before, then I'd be grateful for their input.  Thanks

2 hours ago, fabby50 said:

Do a search for the Star on this board for approximately January 2018.  There was a poster that did an extensive review with pictures of his Christmas cruise.  We are on her this year for Christmas and it was very informative for me.

Thanks for the info!

1 hour ago, digital_curator said:

We have done holiday cruises on both the Eclipse and Reflection. In addition to the decorations (great on Eclipse, less so on Reflection), there was caroling on Christmas Eve and a turkey dinner option in the MDR. Santa arrives "down the funnel" and parades the kids down to the theater, where he gives each child a present. 

 

We enjoyed the festivities on the Eclipse better but the Reflection had lots of extra festive foods (including bottles of eggnog) in the buffet. 

 

New Year's Eve is also a lot of fun. There is (weather permitting) a pool party. Everyone gets hats and noisemakers at dinner and then at midnight, they push an ice sculpture of the "old date" into the pool and set up a new ice sculpture with the new one. 

 

A lot of people also bring their own decorations to hang on their doors. All in all, it is quite festive!

Oh cool ice sculpture tradition!! Thanks for the other info too!

Thanks so much for the very helpful replies as well as the photos! This year I'm celebrating on Princess (shhh), but maybe next year on Celebrity, lol

Ilana

Hi All,

I'm hoping some of you might be able to help me out. I'm wondering what cruisers can expect on Celebrity if they cruise during Christmas (decorations, special holiday dinners, Santa?). Any info you can share would be super helpful.

Thanks so much!

Ilana

Just checking in - have you cruised with Norwegian during Christmas? I cruised on NCL, but not during the holidays. What can cruisers expect? Thanks so much!!

12 hours ago, clarky213 said:

We were on Ovation Last Christmas in New Zealand. Carol Service on xmas eve in the main shopping area with all the Officers. and Midnight Mass in the theatre, Then Santa arriving Christmas Day from the Pod.

Atmosphere on the ship was amazing.

Sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing your experience with me :-)

21 hours ago, nanseev said:

I traveled last year on the Oasis.  Decorated, great Christmas dinner, movies all Christmas themed.  Busy week.  I didn't love that they were showing Christmas movies for days after Christmas. But, it was a great cruise.  The specialty restaurants increase their prices this week as well, so the holiday nights are more expensive, and the week-dining eating packages are usually not available.

I hadn't even thought of the Christmas movies, fun (I guess for a while, lol). Thanks for the info!

14 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Turkey will be one of the choices in the MDR.

Good to know, thanks :-)

13 hours ago, sjb317 said:

We were on Grandeur for Christmas and New Years  in 2016. Santa came down the elevator Christmas morning as “snow” was falling into the Centrum. Santa had a gift for each child (a beach towel) and we could get pictures of the child with Santa.  Eggnog was handed out Christmas morning.   There was Christmas related meals in the MDR on both Christmas Eve and day.  Christmas music was everywhere for the entire cruise.  And of course, the ship was beautifully decorated.

 

Our adult son it was the most “christmassy” Christmas he had ever seen.😂

 

Sherri🙂

I have to say that sounds amazing!! Wow

On 11/26/2018 at 6:40 PM, ONECRUISER said:

Yes, decorations on all Royal ships go up this week until first of the new year. Santa comes every week, lots of Xmas music below deck... Great Xmas Day meal

Thanks!! I'm on for Christmas this year - should be fun :-)