done many cruises, will we like a Xmas Cruise...

[newlu]

HI,

 

I have probably cruised 20 times, but never a Xmas Cruise.. With our kids (24-22-20) 2 still in College, we are thinking of giving it a try.. but.. so much more $$, I would like your input on the following:

 

Is it crazy crowded (but I think that most times, ships are full)

I presume more kids onboard,

Is the food, service, still the same,

 

It must be gorgeous (decorations), we once left January 2nd, and still had some decorations, but it was a quiet sailing..

 

We have only 2 good choices (well there's also the smaller ships, 4-5 nights)

Independence, 5 nighs

Oasis, 7 nights,

 

We need to fly back December 30th the latest to be back with family, so its really a xmas cruise...

 

Thanks everybody!!

 

PS Prices are reasonable right now for these 2 cruises, is there a better time to book?

I will be on Celebrity in less than 3 weeks, I know I can also book Royal (with our kids, Royal is better..)

Will I get more onboard credit? Inside cabins for them, we need 2 insides,

[Clarea]

Ships are virtually always full, but there's a much higher percentage of children aboard during a Christmas cruise. Prices for specialty restaurants have been jacked up on these cruises.

 

If you want decorations, they start decorating the day after Thanksgiving and remove the decorations the week after New Year's.

[Ourusualbeach]

We’ve done several holiday cruises and the current prices for Oasis are pretty good. They are actually comparable to summer months. I would book now, if they go down you can get a price adjustment prior to final payment. We are booked on Oasis for NYE and prices have gone up $400pp from when we booked.

[Desert Cruizers]

I have always wanted to book a Christmas & NY's cruise for my husband & I however now that he passed away this past Sept, I am not sure I would enjoy it as much but would like to for the decorations and spirit of the Holidays.

[newlu]

thanks, I have made our 2 choices, either 5 nights on Independance or 7 nights on Oasis,

 

I will be on Celebrity in 20 days, hope prices remain the same, as I want to book onboard, to get perhaps a bit more onboard credit...

 

That's what I figured, more younger kids, but ours are not young, and its either that time or summer (but now one works and the 2 others work during summers..)

 

thanks!!

newlu

[Ourusualbeach]

thanks, I have made our 2 choices, either 5 nights on Independance or 7 nights on Oasis,

 

I will be on Celebrity in 20 days, hope prices remain the same, as I want to book onboard, to get perhaps a bit more onboard credit...

 

That's what I figured, more younger kids, but ours are not young, and its either that time or summer (but now one works and the 2 others work during summers..)

 

thanks!!

newlu

I would still book now. If the refundable price stays the same then cancel and book on board , if by chance (which could easily happen) the price goes up then you got a better deal by booking early.

[harryfat1]

HI,

 

I have probably cruised 20 times, but never a Xmas Cruise.. With our kids (24-22-20) 2 still in College, we are thinking of giving it a try.. but.. so much more $$, I would like your input on the following:

 

Is it crazy crowded (but I think that most times, ships are full)

I presume more kids onboard,

Is the food, service, still the same,

 

It must be gorgeous (decorations), we once left January 2nd, and still had some decorations, but it was a quiet sailing..

 

We have only 2 good choices (well there's also the smaller ships, 4-5 nights)

Independence, 5 nighs

Oasis, 7 nights,

 

We need to fly back December 30th the latest to be back with family, so its really a xmas cruise...

 

Thanks everybody!!

 

PS Prices are reasonable right now for these 2 cruises, is there a better time to book?

I will be on Celebrity in less than 3 weeks, I know I can also book Royal (with our kids, Royal is better..)

Will I get more onboard credit? Inside cabins for them, we need 2 insides,

 

We just came back from a 9 day Independence of the Seas Christmas sailing, started from 12/21 to 12/30. I just started to write my somewhat detailed trip report (link under my signature below) that you can take a look if you want to have an idea on what a holiday cruise looks like. But I don't think I will be able to finish within next 3 weeks but you can check out whatever info might influence your decision making.

 

Can't tell you if the premium price is worth it or if your family will like it. That's a personal decision.

 

In answering couple of your questions, yes, expect all pre Christmas week and Christmas week cruises to be full of capacity (last 2 years we have seen 116% range) and likely over 20% of the passengers will be 17 years or younger as that is what Royal define as a kid in the counting.

 

Lots of holiday decoration. But they are up from Thanksgiving onward so you don't have to wait until Christmas week itself to see these. But they did have special Christmas caroling if that is of interest.

 

MDR had ham and turkey as special menu on Christmas day or if you want to splurge, Royal is more than happy to charge you $79/pp for their specialty dinners on 12/24 & 12/25.

 

 

]

 

[Ourusualbeach]

We just came back from a 9 day Independence of the Seas Christmas sailing, started from 12/21 to 12/30. I just started to write my somewhat detailed trip report (link under my signature below) that you can take a look if you want to have an idea on what a holiday cruise looks like. But I don't think I will be able to finish within next 3 weeks but you can check out whatever info might influence your decision making.

 

Can't tell you if the premium price is worth it or if your family will like it. That's a personal decision.

 

In answering couple of your questions, yes, expect all pre Christmas week and Christmas week cruises to be full of capacity (last 2 years we have seen 116% range) and likely over 20% of the passengers will be 17 years or younger as that is what Royal define as a kid in the counting.

 

Lots of holiday decoration. But they are up from Thanksgiving onward so you don't have to wait until Christmas week itself to see these. But they did have special Christmas caroling if that is of interest.

 

MDR had ham and turkey as special menu on Christmas day or if you want to splurge, Royal is more than happy to charge you $79/pp for their specialty dinners on 12/24 & 12/25.

 

 

]

 

Well there you go giving everyone a preview of days to come on your review.:)

[harryfat1]

Well there you go giving everyone a preview of days to come on your review.:)

 

It's called shameless marketing and promotion...;p

[sunandseagirl617]

HI,

 

I have probably cruised 20 times, but never a Xmas Cruise.. With our kids (24-22-20) 2 still in College, we are thinking of giving it a try.. but.. so much more $$, I would like your input on the following:

 

Is it crazy crowded (but I think that most times, ships are full)

I presume more kids onboard,

Is the food, service, still the same,

 

It must be gorgeous (decorations), we once left January 2nd, and still had some decorations, but it was a quiet sailing..

 

We have only 2 good choices (well there's also the smaller ships, 4-5 nights)

Independence, 5 nighs

Oasis, 7 nights,

 

We need to fly back December 30th the latest to be back with family, so its really a xmas cruise...

 

Thanks everybody!!

 

PS Prices are reasonable right now for these 2 cruises, is there a better time to book?

I will be on Celebrity in less than 3 weeks, I know I can also book Royal (with our kids, Royal is better..)

Will I get more onboard credit? Inside cabins for them, we need 2 insides,

We have cruised both Christmas and New Years on Royal - Christmas was on Allure and NYE was on Independence. Our preference was the Christmas on Allure. On the NYE cruise, Royal was "selling" premium seating on the Royal Promenade. For instance it was $68 per head for inside seating at Vintages versus $159 per head at the Champagne Bar. We chose to celebrate NYE on the pool deck, which was free, relatively crowd free, and you could bring your champagne bucket up there to celebrate just the same as the Promenade. (An amazing experience)

In either scenario, there are more families aboard and it is equivalent to a prime summer sailings, however, we loved the ambience and decor to keep us in the holiday spirit. It is definitely worth trying for either Christmas or New Years.

[newlu]

wow!! thanks so much, pics are amazing, i will go start reading your review.. As I said, I will wait until I am on Celebrity in 3 weeks to book, to try to get something extra, because omg, cant believe how expensive the restaurants are, but hey, like any other venue on land..

 

I think we need to try it, the kids want to try it, just need to decide on the ship, Indy 5 days, or Oasis, 7 days,

 

newlu

[Slainte!]

I have always wanted to book a Christmas & NY's cruise for my husband & I however now that he passed away this past Sept, I am not sure I would enjoy it as much but would like to for the decorations and spirit of the Holidays.

 

I’m just off the Navigator Christmas Sailing. The dynamic of guests onboard were large family groups with lots of kids (and a lot of tweens) and then couples. The ship was decorated beautifully and there was a great Christmas vibe with the crew and activities.

I think you might struggle if you travel solo to enjoy yourself at this time of year.

So sorry for your loss.

 

Joan

Dublin

[Desert Cruizers]

Joan, thank you, that is my concern. If I could talk the daughter and her husband into sailing that time I probably would consider it. Closest relative is my sister at 2 hours away. Spent Christmas with the daughter & family in COL this year. My husband had a heart attack near the end of our Copenhagen TA.

 

Gay.

[LMaxwell]

More expensive, more crowded, and they up the prices on specialty dining. I have cruised over holidays before and actually felt like service was worse due to the crowds. If your kids college schedule allows it try to go a week or two before; you will still have a decorated ship and probably some holiday events, but without the big crowds or prices.

[Slainte!]

More expensive, more crowded, and they up the prices on specialty dining. I have cruised over holidays before and actually felt like service was worse due to the crowds. If your kids college schedule allows it try to go a week or two before; you will still have a decorated ship and probably some holiday events, but without the big crowds or prices.

 

I had great service all the over the ship. I was also on the pre Christmas sailing and it was also excellent.

Navigator was looking great and the crew very happy.

Anywhere you go during the Christmas season is going to be expensive, even on land and it is your choice to pay the price for cruising at that time. I really enjoyed myself (and so did my Son who is 27 and met lots of people his age group), first time away for Christmas and I will definitely do it again.

Cheers!

Joan

Dublin Ireland

[Slainte!]

Joan, thank you, that is my concern. If I could talk the daughter and her husband into sailing that time I probably would consider it. Closest relative is my sister at 2 hours away. Spent Christmas with the daughter & family in COL this year. My husband had a heart attack near the end of our Copenhagen TA.

 

Gay.

 

That is so sad about your husband. RIP

 

As a solo traveler and someone so recently bereaved I would certainly avoid the nostalgia and sadness you may encounter on the Christmas & New Year sailings.

Time will heal and hopefully you can return to cruising with your family in the future.

I hope we meet sometime on the high seas.

Wishing you all the best for the future.

 

Joan

Dublin Ireland

[Desert Cruizers]

Joan, again thank you. As a matter of fact, our daughter & I will be cruising with our very dear friends to Hawaii & back out of San Pedro a year from this March. I thought what a better way to just relax and enjoy the ocean. We talked about it while she was in Newfoundland with me when we diverted there. She wasn't on the TA with us but we decided to take a cruise for us when we felt it was right. :)

[tiredmomof2]

We (my son and I) did the 2017 Christmas sailing on the Oasis. I'm honestly not sure I'd do it again -- prices were higher for the Xmas sailing, as were onboard specialty dining meals. Don't get me wrong - the ship was beautifully decorated and we had a lot of fun -- I don't think the value was there for the premium that RC was charging.

[frenchmeg]

Lov reading your review!!!

 

thks!!

 

newlu

We just came back from a 9 day Independence of the Seas Christmas sailing, started from 12/21 to 12/30. I just started to write my somewhat detailed trip report (link under my signature below) that you can take a look if you want to have an idea on what a holiday cruise looks like. But I don't think I will be able to finish within next 3 weeks but you can check out whatever info might influence your decision making.

 

Can't tell you if the premium price is worth it or if your family will like it. That's a personal decision.

 

In answering couple of your questions, yes, expect all pre Christmas week and Christmas week cruises to be full of capacity (last 2 years we have seen 116% range) and likely over 20% of the passengers will be 17 years or younger as that is what Royal define as a kid in the counting.

 

Lots of holiday decoration. But they are up from Thanksgiving onward so you don't have to wait until Christmas week itself to see these. But they did have special Christmas caroling if that is of interest.

 

MDR had ham and turkey as special menu on Christmas day or if you want to splurge, Royal is more than happy to charge you $79/pp for their specialty dinners on 12/24 & 12/25.

 

 

]

 

[JimAOk1945]

We have enjoyed several Christmas cruises and have another booked for this December. My wife takes pictures during all our cruises and makes slide shows for her website which you can view in my signature below.

 

For me, the highlight for each cruise is the Ice Skating Show which you might enjoy seeing at the link below. You may want to turn up your speakers to hear the background music as you view the slideshow.

 

Christmas Day Ice Skating Show

 

Cruising is a wonderful way tor travel. Enjoy every moment!

[cmmarch]

HI,

 

 

 

I have probably cruised 20 times, but never a Xmas Cruise.. With our kids (24-22-20) 2 still in College, we are thinking of giving it a try.. but.. so much more $$, I would like your input on the following:

 

 

 

Is it crazy crowded (but I think that most times, ships are full)

 

I presume more kids onboard,

 

Is the food, service, still the same,

 

 

 

It must be gorgeous (decorations), we once left January 2nd, and still had some decorations, but it was a quiet sailing..

 

 

 

We have only 2 good choices (well there's also the smaller ships, 4-5 nights)

 

Independence, 5 nighs

 

Oasis, 7 nights,

 

 

 

We need to fly back December 30th the latest to be back with family, so its really a xmas cruise...

 

 

 

Thanks everybody!!

 

 

 

PS Prices are reasonable right now for these 2 cruises, is there a better time to book?

 

I will be on Celebrity in less than 3 weeks, I know I can also book Royal (with our kids, Royal is better..)

 

Will I get more onboard credit? Inside cabins for them, we need 2 insides,

 

 

 

We just did Xmas 2017 Adventure sailing and loved it. Nice - our kids 21,19 and 16 and other family members joined the fun. We also never traveled at Xmas before - I recommend it. Ship did not feel crowded - nice flow and lots to do. Southern Caribbean great itinerary.

Have fun!

 

 

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