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Christmas Cruise...Should We?

michigyrl

By michigyrl,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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michigyrl

michigyrl

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I am seriously considering booking a cruise for my daughter (24) and I for Christmas 2014. I saw a Carnival cruise that I was so close to booking today! For those of you that have cruised at Christmas, is it mostly families cruising or is it a mixture?

 

I spend so much time "doing" around the holidays...baking and buying that it just gets tiresome. We really have no family left in the area and I think getting away for the holidays would be perfect for us!

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bwg03

bwg03

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I have been on two Christmas cruises and they are fantastic. Many more kids but the atmosphere is great. It's a great mix that if you want to getaway from Christmas you can but the ships are also tastefully decorated.

 

Also, the weather is absolutely perfect!

 

DO IT!

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endymion6942

endymion6942

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My DW and I have done a Christmas cruise with our two sons every year since 2006. Since my wife is a teacher, we have to look close at school schedules and sailing schedules. For us it is not a question IF we are doing a Christmas cruise, but which one.

I highly recommend it.

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forwardcabin

forwardcabin

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By all means--book the Christmas cruise. We have been on both Christmas and New Years cruises with our family. It's a great alternative to staying home for Christmas. The ship is decorated. There's Christmas music playing. On our last Christmas cruise there was caroling and dancing in the atrium where they made real snow fall from the top. They had a big Christmas show in the main lounge complete with the Camp Carnival kids performing Christmas music and Santa reading a Christmas story. Again, real snow fell from the top of the show lounge. Be sure to bring your own Santa hats.

 

New Years is another great time to be cruising--perhaps you could book a B2B! What a party! On New Years Eve, there's complimentary champagne. They give you hats and noise makers. There are New Years Eve parties in all the bars and lounges. There's a killer rock-n-roll party on Lido. Then they blow the horn at Midnight (no fireworks, of course)!

 

Here's hoping you have a great holiday cruise. Bon Voyage!

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winddawn

winddawn

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I am seriously considering booking a cruise for my daughter (24) and I for Christmas 2014. I saw a Carnival cruise that I was so close to booking today! For those of you that have cruised at Christmas, is it mostly families cruising or is it a mixture?

 

I spend so much time "doing" around the holidays...baking and buying that it just gets tiresome. We really have no family left in the area and I think getting away for the holidays would be perfect for us!

You are so correct! Cruising over Christmas is a great way to get away from the stress associated with Christmas. I've cruised over Christmas many times. You can leave the cooking and decorating to Carnival. With a little imagination, you can personalize the experience and create new family traditions not only by cruising at Christmas, but by figuring out gifts that fit in your suitcase to take with you to make the experience more fun and memorable.

 

I hope it works out for you where you can cruise at Christmas. Start a new family tradition!

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forwardcabin

forwardcabin

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...With a little imagination, you can personalize the experience and create new family traditions not only by cruising at Christmas, but by figuring out gifts that fit in your suitcase to take with you to make the experience more fun and memorable...

...That's exactly what we did. DW made some little mittens out of felt and ribbon. Then we packed them with gift cards and cash. There were multiple mittens from which to choose on the table with their names on them. We all exchanged other gifts that were small enough to bring in luggage. The kids still talk about this as the best family cruise they've been on.

 

DSC00991.jpg

 

 

Here's hoping you have a great Christmas cruise. Bon Voyage!

Edited by forwardcabin
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carrieluvsgreg

carrieluvsgreg

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We went on a 4-day in December, but returned on December 23. The ship was decorated beautifully, there was a special show on the last night that was for Christmas. There was even "snow" in the atrium! All that being said, by returning on the 23rd, there was still the push to have traditional Christmas things when we returned. It was a lot to accomplish and left us feeling drained. I could easily do a cruise that happened over Christmas, but because of our extended family, it's just not an option for us. :(

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cruisegal11

cruisegal11

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Do it! We just returned from a Christmas cruise on the Freedom. We had a fabulous time! It was so nice not to have to cook and clean. There was free champagne on the first day and on Christmas day. Our next adventure will be a NYE cruise on the Breeze 2015. We're anxiously awaiting the rest of the 2015 itineraries. Happy cruising!!

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michigyrl

michigyrl

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Do it! We just returned from a Christmas cruise on the Freedom. We had a fabulous time! It was so nice not to have to cook and clean. There was free champagne on the first day and on Christmas day. Our next adventure will be a NYE cruise on the Breeze 2015. We're anxiously awaiting the rest of the 2015 itineraries. Happy cruising!!

 

Funny because I was thinking about booking the Breeze. 8 days and a great itinerary! Thank you!

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michigyrl

michigyrl

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...That's exactly what we did. DW made some little mittens out of felt and ribbon. Then we packed them with gift cards and cash. There were multiple mittens from which to choose on the table with their names on them. We all exchanged other gifts that were small enough to bring in luggage. The kids still talk about this as the best family cruise they've been on.

 

DSC00991.jpg

 

 

Here's hoping you have a great Christmas cruise. Bon Voyage!

 

Love the photo!! And thanks for the ideas! I told her the cruise WAS her Christmas gift, but I would love to secretly take something along to surprise her Christmas morning!

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healthcoachAmy

healthcoachAmy

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My husband and I spent 8 days on the Splendor for Christmas!! It was awesome!! Quite a few kids but nothing more than what I would call as usual. If you pick a large enough ship you won't see the kids that much. Kind of fun to get a "slight" sunburn on Christmas Eve while in Freeport, Bahamas full well knowing that all my friends in Connecticut were freezing their rears off!

 

We don't have family in the area so it wasn't a hard choice to make. Sit on a boat and complete 2013 with three cruises or sit at home and grumble that it is cold. Ha.

 

The meals on Christmas Day in the main dining room are over-the-top and a little extra special. snow in the atrium, and a christmas special. the in room movies were holiday themed at times so I was able to see some of the traditional holiday movies. :)

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ibcnusoon

ibcnusoon

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I am seriously considering booking a cruise for my daughter (24) and I for Christmas 2014. I saw a Carnival cruise that I was so close to booking today! For those of you that have cruised at Christmas, is it mostly families cruising or is it a mixture?

 

I spend so much time "doing" around the holidays...baking and buying that it just gets tiresome. We really have no family left in the area and I think getting away for the holidays would be perfect for us!

 

I would book a Christmas cruise in a heartbeat! Every year I hint to my girls (23/17) about going away for Christmas and they are dead set against it. I figure we could cruise, then when they start having families, etc. we'll stay home.

 

I don't think I can convince them in time this year as I did win out on going away for Thanksgiving.

 

Book and have a great cruise!

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michigyrl

michigyrl

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A week or two earlier, if possible; half the price, 1/3 the kids. Xmas week is one of the most expensive weeks to cruise.

 

I wish I could! I see those prices and they are a great bargain! But my daughter's a nanny and only gets the time off at Christmas. Plus we really want to get away at Christmas.

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  • 2 weeks later...
cruz.n.carebear

cruz.n.carebear

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I just booked yesterday for our Christmas cruise, too! I went back and forth and decided that this would be our Christmas in lieu of gifts! We are not telling the kids - we're sailing on a 12/21 sailing - so we're going to somehow surprise them by maybe wrapping up little gifts that give hints, like sunscreen, or shore excursions, etc and let them open them up on the 19th and tell them to start packing!

 

I do have a question since there are so many of you that have done this over Christmas. Are shore excursions affected on Christmas Eve/Day? We are in Cozumel on Christmas Eve and in Grand Cayman on Christmas Day. Will the excursions be operating as usual, or will we have to adjust our plans? We want to do Amazing Cozumel Race and Stingray City.

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