Xmas cruise ... what makes it different ?

[Lovely other]

Hi All, 

 

I’m considering treating ourselves to a Xmas break on Nieuw Statendam and just wondered what makes it different from a regular Caribbean cruise really ....

 

Any input greatly appreciated 

 

m x 

[Roz]

The ship will be crowded, as many 3rd and 4th berths in cabins are booked.  It will sail at, or close to, capacity.  There will be many families, including extended families.  Santa will drop by for the children and deliver gifts.  The ship will be decorated for Christmas, and there will be a special meal on Christmas day.

 

Roz 

[J&Dhighdesert]

Price.....the lines always raise their fee for holidays.   My family is booked for a holiday in December, so I can’t complain.  The decorations are always nice.  In January, we boarded on January 3.  The ship left up their Gingerbread village for several days.  It was quiet spectacular.  The smell of ginger was still strong.

[Alberta Quilter]

My DM and I did one Christmas cruise several years ago.  It was very Christmasy, even in the Caribbean!  There was carol singing in the Atrium.  The crew had cookies and carrots (enormous carrots!) for Santa and the reindeer for the kids to put out on Christmas Eve.  We watched 300 children of all ages get their gift from Santa.  We didn't realize there were 300 kids onboard until we saw them all; they were kept quite busy with Club Hal.  It was a lot of fun.  We haven't done one since mostly because of the pain of flying over the holidays and, in our neck of the woods, snowstorms.  I would do it again but I can't convince DM to fly during the holiday season.

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, Lovely other said:

Hi All, 

 

I’m considering treating ourselves to a Xmas break on Nieuw Statendam and just wondered what makes it different from a regular Caribbean cruise really ....

 

Any input greatly appreciated 

 

m x 

they charge more and the ship will be packed..... oh and you get turkey on Christmas

[Palm Bay Cruise Couple]

Hello...We did the Christmas cruise on the Nieuw Statendam last Christmas (2018) and did enjoy the experience immensely.  The ship will be decorated for the Holiday quite nicely.  Santa will visit the children on Christmas Morning with gifts, the crew and officers will do (or did) and Christmas Chorale at The World Stage on Christmas Eve followed by a Midnight Mass there.  At the Tree lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Center Stage  it snowed, paper of course but it looked like snow and served complimentary cocoa to go with the festivities and of course a performance by the Lincoln Center Stage musicians.  The atrium had a interning two level high Christmas Tree made from wrapped Christmas boxes.  The ship was totally decorated for the holiday and the Seaview (aft) had a large neon Santa.  This was our first Christmas cruise and the ship still had that new smell.   Yes, as some posters replied, there were a lot of children that you saw during the day but not in the evening.  The children were well mannered. It was not intrusive in any way at all.  We did join the Greenhouse Thermal Suite for the duration and were fine.  We would book another Christmas cruise without hesitation.

[oceanmom]

1 hour ago, Palm Bay Cruise Couple said:

Hello...We did the Christmas cruise on the Nieuw Statendam last Christmas (2018) and did enjoy the experience immensely.

 

Ditto Palm Bay Cruise Couple's experiences. The ship was crowded but manageable. Best gift we gave our family was two adjoining Retreat cabanas--well worth the price--for privacy, quiet, fantastic service, relaxing. Great cruise but wouldn't do it without the cabanas. We ended up staying on-board at Half Moon Cay since tendering was taking so long.

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, Palm Bay Cruise Couple said:

Hello...We did the Christmas cruise on the Nieuw Statendam last Christmas (2018) and did enjoy the experience immensely.  The ship will be decorated for the Holiday quite nicely.  Santa will visit the children on Christmas Morning with gifts, the crew and officers will do (or did) and Christmas Chorale at The World Stage on Christmas Eve followed by a Midnight Mass there.  At the Tree lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Center Stage  it snowed, paper of course but it looked like snow and served complimentary cocoa to go with the festivities and of course a performance by the Lincoln Center Stage musicians.  The atrium had a interning two level high Christmas Tree made from wrapped Christmas boxes.  The ship was totally decorated for the holiday and the Seaview (aft) had a large neon Santa.  This was our first Christmas cruise and the ship still had that new smell.   Yes, as some posters replied, there were a lot of children that you saw during the day but not in the evening.  The children were well mannered. It was not intrusive in any way at all.  We did join the Greenhouse Thermal Suite for the duration and were fine.  We would book another Christmas cruise without hesitation.

 

I have sailed on Christmas cruises on more than one HAL ship.  Each ship's crew put their own touches on the events, but the post above makes it clear as to what I have experienced.  I want to emphasize  that the Christmas morning program, which has been held on each ship, is a program NOT TO BE MISSED regardless of one's age or whether you have children or not.  If the memory of that program does not linger long after your Christmas cruise, I would be surprised.

 

Sometimes, the ship is in port on Christmas Day and opt to go ashore before the morning program.  They then miss something "special" in my opinion.  

[Djptcp]

Too many kids. Ships are decorated nicely for the holidays. Sometimes group Christmas Carol singing in the atrium. Have only done it a few times because the ships are much more crowded with 3rd and 4th passengers in cabins and we prefer to cruise when school is in session. Island stops on Christmas Day may find many fewer shops open. Cruise fares are much more expensive than at other times of the year. Not for us.

[torybruno]

Love Christmas cruising!  We sailed with 25 family and friends one Christmas.  No cooking, shopping, wrapping, entertaining!! We did have a small gift exchange within our group.  

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, Djptcp said:

Too many kids. Ships are decorated nicely for the holidays. Sometimes group Christmas Carol singing in the atrium. Have only done it a few times because the ships are much more crowded with 3rd and 4th passengers in cabins and we prefer to cruise when school is in session. Island stops on Christmas Day may find many fewer shops open. Cruise fares are much more expensive than at other times of the year. Not for us.

 

Too each his own.  Don't agree with some of your opinions.  Even the Prinsendam did not have too many children.  And, there are surely more special activities on Christmas Eve and Day--even when we sailed on 12/20 with the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in the Atrium on the late afternoon of sailing day--than you mentioned.

 

Cruise fares higher?  Yes.  Island stops on Christmas Day finding less shopping opportunities, maybe sightseeing tours?   Yes.

 

I am glad that you offered an opposing view.  That's what CC is all about:  providing information from diverse cruisers about their experiences!

 

 

[sevenseasnomad]

We have celebrated every Christmas with HA since 2011.  I enjoy not having to decorate, cook, clean, or worry about any hassles.  It's relaxing.  As a school teacher, I rarely have time off when school is in session, so if I want to cruise I'm stuck with going when everyone else is out of school, which naturally means cruising with children.  We rarely notice the extra children aboard because we aren't fans of the Lido Deck Pool where a lot of children congregate.  In our experience, the children aboard HA are well-behaved and supervised, so we've never witnessed kids running around without parents.  

 

If you're planning on cruising Christmas week aboard NS, come on over to our roll call and join us.  Hope to meet up with you there.