Emerald Christmas 2015

[napunani]

We’ve cruised during Thanksgiving and New Year’s, but this was our first Christmas cruise.

Prior to booking, we read about Christmas on-board and all the activities, so we were really looking forward to that experience.

 

The Emerald Princess Southern Caribbean cruise departed Ft Lauderdale with four seas days on December 19 and returned December 27. Christmas Day was a sea day and therefore dinner was formal. Christmas Eve was in Bonaire. It was interesting to see how Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire decorated for the holidays. Pretty much minimal decorating in shopping/public areas with few homes displaying exterior decorations and/or lights.

 

We dined at Crown Grill for Christmas Eve and there were no special holiday additions to that menu. Christmas Day MDR formal dinner menu choices were Roasted Turkey, Virginia Ham, Halibut, Tiger Shrimp and Beef Tenderloins. No lobster! Dessert selections included Italian Christmas Panettone, English Christmas Pudding and Gingerbread Soufflé. A tiny stocking stuffed with miniature candy canes replaced the cabin pillow chocolates on Christmas Eve.

 

The ship had more than a dozen nicely-decorated Christmas trees throughout. In the Piazza there was a miniature village with a toy train surrounding it, but we never saw the train operating. The Piazza stair railing was decorated with garland, wreaths and white lights. Each cabin had a holiday spray fixed to the corner of their “mailbox”. Each dining room table had a small holiday candle ring at the base of the flower vase. Decorated wreaths were in public places, like the entrance to the dining room. There were live poinsettia plants in various places like the Front Desk and host desks at dining venues, including the MDR. There were some cabin doors decorated by the cabin occupants…from a simple stocking hanging on the door to fully covered door décor, which was fun to see the creativity and the pre-planning!

 

Most dining and bar crew members wore a Santa hat on Christmas Day. Passengers had a huge variety of holiday attire and accessories that were worn throughout the entire cruise. It seemed to us that formal night was a bit more dressier than what we have seen in recent cruises.

 

Christmas music playing throughout the ship was hit and miss. Some places, some days. No solid feed of Christmas music though, except for one of the in-cabin television channels.

 

There were just a few Christmas activities, gingerbread house completions, holiday quilling, and carolers in 19th century garb singing in the Piazza, prior to Christmas Eve on the sea days.

 

Then on Christmas Eve, there was the reading of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by the Cruise Director, the Captain’s and his officers Christmas Choir in the Piazza, Christmas Carols at Crooners and ending with the Christmas Eve Protestant Service and Catholic Mass at 1130pm.

 

Christmas Morning began with Catholic Service (priest led) and Interdenominational Service (passenger led). Then at 10am there was cookie decorating and the 11am arrival of Santa in the Piazza. Children under a certain age could line up to sit on Santa's knee for a photo opt and was given a small wrapped gift (never saw it unwrapped). At 4pm in the Piazza there was a Christmas Horn concert. At 5pm there was a Holiday Wishes Show in the Princess Theater, hosted by the Cruise Director and featured the Princess Pop Choir.

 

MUTS movies included “It’s A Wonderful Life”, “Polar Express”, “The Santa Clause Movie”, and “The Muppet Christmas Carol”. “Scrooge” was showed in the Explores Lounge. Eventually these all were viewable via the in-cabin television channels.

 

Last, but not certainly least, the shops onboard had various holiday “sales” and there was a "holiday store at sea" held for a couple of hours in one of the dining rooms.

 

Would we cruise again over Christmas - you betcha!

[crows nest club]

Great review. Thanks. Seems to mirror our experiences on Christmas cruises gone by. Cannot do the long flights over the Pond now to the Caribbean, to ensure some warmer weather, than the UK.

[floridalover5623]

The small touch on the mailbox does add to the atmosphere for sure. I'm not sure that other ships do the same.

[framer]

WOW! a perfect review. Let me throw in a few pictures I took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also second :( no lobster or Beef Wellington for 2nd formal & Christmas dinner.

 

framer

[Dietemann]

The small touch on the mailbox does add to the atmosphere for sure. I'm not sure that other ships do the same.

We still had the sprays on our New Year's cruise on Coral Princess, very nice.

[napunani]

Here's a couple more from my collection...

 

 

 

 

[napunani]

Here's a couple more from my collection...

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry - upload failed...