How crowded at Christmas?

[jjmsbu09]

We usually cruise in April and September when school is in session however we're considering a Christmas cruise (12/21 out of Mobile specifically). How busy is it? Is it still enjoyable? A lot of kids?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

 

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Edited September 18, 2017 by jjmsbu09

[cruisinaz]

Just like in the summer.... ships are usually full. Lots of kids..but IMO less than summer due to the increased holiday fares

[navybaby1113]

We did one Christmas cruise and probably will never do it again. Overpriced and there were way too many kids on board for our liking.

[OCruisers]

We took lots of Christmas/NewYear's cruises back when our girls were still in school and cruising with us. Always crowded but fun.

Now, we prefer to cruise in the Jan/Feb time frame.

[mikolajk]

We always cruise at Christmas because we have now teenagers in school. It is always full of families, but lots of extended families seem to be together during this time of year and kids hanging out together unsupervised. This doesn't deter us because it is the only time we can cruise. I can tell you if I could cruise another time of the winter, I'd do it.

[sapphire_407]

I always cruise one or two weeks before Xmas because you get the best prices and the ships are decorated. Cruising at Xmas? Heck no. Way too expensive.

[Drazil65]

We cruise every year the week before Christmas and although the ship is full like normal we dont believe it is any worse than a non holiday time with kids onboard. The ships are decorated and there is that holiday magic in the air, people getting excited about the cruise and the upcoming holiday's. Plenty of holiday song singing, gingerbread displays, very festive!!! When we get off the cruise ship we have the actual holiday to look forward to once we get home, so for us it extends the excitement of the cruise after we leave the ship.

[Camirol]

This will be our fourth year of taking a Christmas cruise and I think its definitely worth it. As a matter of fact, my two kids (now 10 and 13), have told their grandparents for 2 years they would rather go on a cruise and make new friends than stay at home and trek all over to visit family. The past 3 years our ships have been sold out. But lots of families, so it gives the kids many options of finding someone else to play with. It was way better (IMO) than the cruise we took in the summer that wasn't sold out and had fewer kids on it, and therefore less options.

And yes, the price is a little more than a typical week, but we take the trip in lieu of buying a bunch of junk our kids really don't need. The family time, disconnected from the distractions of home, is worth the price we pay.

[jjmsbu09]

Thanks everyone for the input. We don't have kids (yet) so maybe we'll wait to sail during actual Christmas week until then. How early is the ship decorated? We might like to go a few weeks early.

 

 

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[Carol Jones]

We ( 8 of us in 4 cabins) will be on this cruise. We have done a few cruises during the week of Christmas and we all really enjoy it.

 

 

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[Sauer-kraut]

Thanks everyone for the input. We don't have kids (yet) so maybe we'll wait to sail during actual Christmas week until then. How early is the ship decorated? We might like to go a few weeks early.

 

 

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They usually start decorating after Thanksgiving and continue until its a complete Christmas wonderland.

[riclop]

We usually cruise in April and September when school is in session however we're considering a Christmas cruise (12/21 out of Mobile specifically). How busy is it? Is it still enjoyable? A lot of kids?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

 

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Think about it , holiday means lots of families and kids.

[cruisinaz]

Thanks everyone for the input. We don't have kids (yet) so maybe we'll wait to sail during actual Christmas week until then. How early is the ship decorated? We might like to go a few weeks early.

 

 

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We cruised over Christmas as a couple without kids and it was one of the most memorable Christmas' with my husband

[sissyfromcab]

We're booked for our fifth straight Christmas cruise this year. We both work in education, so are limited to sailing over the summer or Christmas and prefer the weather in the Caribbean in December.

We enjoy sailing on the actual holiday, because we get away from the stress of going back home to visit all of our families.

There are lots of kids, but it's never been an issue for us. We saw more kids out causing problems on the few summer cruises than we've seen on our Christmas cruises.

 

 

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