Selecting South America cruise around Christmas - New Year

Hello, I would appreciate your expert advice regarding cruise itinerary selection for 2018-2019 winter break .

I am well aware that it might be one of the most expensive periods to go but our daughter is still in High School which significantly limits our possibilities. Next year it will be Dec.21 - Jan.6. December of 2018 is also our 30th anniversary so my husband and I really want it to be something special. We've already done Caribbean cruises three times visiting most of the islands, done ABC Islands cruise with Princess in 2017, done Panama Canal with Norwegian and loved all of those trips! So here is my problem - I'd love to go on a cruise where it will be warm and sunny so we can spend some time on the beaches. But we can't go on any cruise longer than 15 days because of our daughter's school schedule. And my husband does not want to fly too far from home (we live in Oregon) so South East Asia is out o questions for us.

We are considering three options:

#1. 10-days Canary islands and Morocco from Barcelona (but I am afraid that Canary Island will be not warm enough to swim in December)

#2. Cruise around Hawaii with Norwegian (cruise itself seems to be exceedingly expensive around Christmas-New Year but with airfare and hotel stay on the island it becomes much more expensive than other destinations)

#3 - Chile &Argentina Cruise (Celebrity?) . The last one leaves from Buenos Aires on Dec. 23 and comes to San Antonio, Chile on Jan. 6. Two big concerns with the last one - flying to Buenos Aires and back home from Chile and weather in December. December is summer in South America but still it is far from equator so I am concerned if there is a chance to swim at the beach all while on this cruise?

Any other warm places to go in December ? I would love to go to South America from a US port or coming back to US port to eliminate one long flight. Many thanks!

I recently returned from the Zaandam's Christmas/New Year's cruise to this area. Weather in Santiago and Buenos Aires was Summer-like. (B.A. was 97 degrees the day before we arrived.) I did not visit any beaches or were near any beaches during this trip so cannot address that concern.

My flight weather on both ends of the trip was good with a snowy departure from my home airport, but the flight was on time with no issues. December weather will be what it is at the time you fly. Planning to arrive a day or two early at your port of embarkation is always wise, if it can be arranged.

Hello, I would appreciate your expert advice regarding cruise itinerary selection for 2018-2019 winter break .

I am well aware that it might be one of the most expensive periods to go but our daughter is still in High School which significantly limits our possibilities. Next year it will be Dec.21 - Jan.6. December of 2018 is also our 30th anniversary so my husband and I really want it to be something special. We've already done Caribbean cruises three times visiting most of the islands, done ABC Islands cruise with Princess in 2017, done Panama Canal with Norwegian and loved all of those trips! So here is my problem - I'd love to go on a cruise where it will be warm and sunny so we can spend some time on the beaches. But we can't go on any cruise longer than 15 days because of our daughter's school schedule. And my husband does not want to fly too far from home (we live in Oregon) so South East Asia is out o questions for us.

We are considering three options:

#1. 10-days Canary islands and Morocco from Barcelona (but I am afraid that Canary Island will be not warm enough to swim in December) The Canary Islands and Morocco are popular winter tourist destinations for Europeans. The average Ternerife temperature in December is in the low 70s. We were on a cruise from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale last October with two stops in the Canary Islands (Tenerife and Lanzarote) and had great day long private tours.

#2. Cruise around Hawaii with Norwegian (cruise itself seems to be exceedingly expensive around Christmas-New Year but with airfare and hotel stay on the island it becomes much more expensive than other destinations) If you've never been to Hawaii before, I recommend a land vacation not a cruise but then I've never done a Hawaii cruise (but have done 3 land vacations) :D

#3 - Chile &Argentina Cruise (Celebrity?) . The last one leaves from Buenos Aires on Dec. 23 and comes to San Antonio, Chile on Jan. 6. Two big concerns with the last one - flying to Buenos Aires and back home from Chile and weather in December. December is summer in South America but still it is far from equator so I am concerned if there is a chance to swim at the beach all while on this cruise? In December 2017 we sailed on Princess from Valparaiso to Rio de Janiero. The temperatures at each end (including Buenos Aires) were hot -- the 90s in Valparaiso and Buenos Aires and 110 in Rio. Those are the only ports were there might have been swimming. The others as you round Tierra del Fuego were in the 40s and 50s. This itinerary - which we really enjoyed - isn't really a 'beach' itinerary.

 

Any other warm places to go in December ? I would love to go to South America from a US port or coming back to US port to eliminate one long flight. Many thanks!

See comments above.

We have booked a South American that goes Buenos Aries to Buenos Aries so all warm weather. Lots of beach and New Year in Rio.

Have done lots of research and can tell you Hawai is nice but lots to see that is why we went back for a land holiday. Ocean is cool at that time of year.

Canary nice late spring weather not really beach.

The around the cape is great outdoor nature but quite cool past Montevideo or mid Chile. We have done Galapagos which in winter is warm we swam with the animals and hiked.

We just finished Vietnam in Dec for a cruise but I hear you on time limits as was a teacher.

I would think So. America would be a little much with time constraints. Finding one from the U.S. to S.A. with your time frame likely isn't going to work. As someone mentioned, going around the horn, further south in S.A. isn't about beaches. It is for nature, glaciers, mountains, wild life, and it isn't warm. There is a website that gives port info, average temps, which might help with your decision. https://www.whatsinport.com/index.htm

As much as I love cruises, the suggestion to go to Hawaii for a land trip sounds good. The Canary Islands are great, but my thing would be with a shorter time frame, using so much of it for flights a drawback.