Do You Like Christmas Cruises?

[LuCruise]

11 minutes ago, OACAggie said:

We are on the 12 night before Christmas. Get off on the 24th. We are taking kids out of school, but they will only miss the last week before the break, which they don't do anything anyways. My son's grade 8 class is doing pizza and playing XBOX today in school...I think we are ok to take them out of school next year.🤣

12 nights would be amazing!  Don't blame you for taking them our of school.  Our older one will be in grade 11 so we're no longer doing so, but it's great when you can.  And I hear you with the time leading up to xmas break...not missing much. 🙂

[NateUpNorth]

16 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

My first and only cruise out of NJ was this past March...you know how that went.  I was so looking forward to the 8 hour drive.

 

Back to the long trek to Florida.  Looking forward to the short drive next Christmas....only going as far as PC instead of Miami. 
 

Since the kids are now in University and I have a couple of airline credits to use up DW and I will be flying the next two March breaks...the kids were not amused.  I actually just booked flights for March 2022 last weekend...prices have already jumped from when I booked. 

 

Are you flying out of Toronto or Buffalo?

We're tracking flights but still a bit hesitant to book with all the issues right now.....

[Ourusualbeach]

38 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Are you flying out of Toronto or Buffalo?

We're tracking flights but still a bit hesitant to book with all the issues right now.....

Toronto.  Air Transat released their flights last week....15  months out.

[Iamcruzin]

On 12/16/2020 at 1:03 PM, grandgeezer said:

We are one and done. Did a Christmas through New Years Hawaii cruise many years ago on the Celebrity Mercury.

Normally kids don't bother us but this time there were many unsupervised kids running free through out the cruise. Elevator stopping at every floor  a good share of the times gets old pretty old in a hurry. Other than that everything else was wonderful.

This is the problem I have with Celebrity and Princess. There is nothing for them to do anytime of the year. We sailed on Anthem in June and while there were plenty of children I never experienced this behavior.  There were plenty of activities and the adult area and the children's area were at opposite ends of the ship. I was pleasantly surprised. 

[ROYAL CARIBBEAN DUDE]

My Christmas photo from Oasis Of The Seas 2019.

 

 

[Tree_skier]

We have cruised in December, just not over the actual 25th.  I think we'll do this every year if at all possible.  We loved the little bit of Christmas we got last December. We were in the first week of December this last year.  This year we're going almost two weeks later, Dec 12-19. We're hoping the Christmas stuff is ramped up even more.  We had some caroling in the promenade and the tree and a few other decorations.  Besides that it was like any other cruise.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Tree_skier

[firefly333]

40 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

We have cruised in December, just not over the actual 25th.  I think we'll do this every year if at all possible.  We loved the little bit of Christmas we got last December. We were in the first week of December this last year.  This year we're going almost two weeks later, Dec 12-19. We're hoping the Christmas stuff is ramped up even more.  We had some caroling in the promenade and the tree and a few other decorations.  Besides that it was like any other cruise.

Idk but I seem to remember the kids performing one afternoon by age groups. It was cute.

[Tree_skier]

I don't remember see anything like that.  Just some caroling in the prom.  Hopefully the one we are this coming year will have a little more Christmas stuff.

 

🎅🏻

[momofmab]

We cruised over Christmas in 2019 on a smaller ship and I enjoyed it!  We've done our share of Christmas destination trips (Disney several times, skiing, NYC) so it doesn't bother me to be away from home on the actual day, as long as my kids are with us wherever we are.

 

My FIL generously treated all of us to this trip and it was great to have a big group to celebrate with.  I've always been a little envious of family groups cruising together.  I loved the decorations, seeing the excitement of the kids, being in a tropical environment on Christmas and the overall festive mood of everyone on board.  I wouldn't hesitate to do it again as long as my kids come with us.

[Sail n Snow]

We did a cruise last Christmas and found it quite enjoyable. It was our first Christmas away from family and we couldn’t travel back to the US.  I would love to do one with our parents and kids.  I think it’s a great way to spend time together.

[MBMGWM]

We have been on two Christmas/New Years cruises and really enjoyed them.  The ships were decorated beautifully and the mood was very festive.  It also was lovely to be sailing through the beautiful islands in December. 

 

My DH and I don't have children, but we really enjoyed seeing the excitement from those that were onboard.  We watched Santa deliver all the presents one year and it was so much fun.  I actually just booked a Christmas cruise for Dec. 2021 last night.  Only 368 days to go!  

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by MBMGWM
Took out redundant word.

[Cruise a holic]

While the ships look beautiful, the cost is so much more.  Also I find that since the kids have a school break, the ships a very crowded.  If you can swing it- sail early december before the mad rush and price elevations. 

 

If it works for you, just after new years another time we enjoy sailing.

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by Cruise a holic

[Mapleleafforever]

Being as my wife and I have big families we would never even dream about being away for Christmas. We have however gone on a New Years Navigator cruise and it was great......and it was our first and absolutely last inside cabin. 

[travelhound]

On 12/16/2020 at 9:34 AM, ROYAL CARIBBEAN DUDE said:

What are your thoughts on cruising during the Christmas Holidays?

 

From a crew members point of view, it is by far the busiest time of the year. The ships are near enough full capacity every week, and there are a lot more activities to do onboard compared to the rest of the year.

 

I personally really enjoy being onboard for New Years Eve.

 

Do you think the ships are too busy, or does this contribute to the overall atmosphere?

 

 

Chris Wong

 

 

My family has done many New Year cruises and we have always had a good time.  We would like to try a Christmas cruise sometime 🙂

[Cruise a holic]

22 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Being as my wife and I have big families we would never even dream about being away for Christmas. We have however gone on a New Years Navigator cruise and it was great......and it was our first and absolutely last inside cabin. 

We would never consider an inside cabin.  While some people think-oh we only sleep and shower in the cabin, We do more- we enjoy breakfast on the balcony- sitting reading and enjoying the sea view from our peaceful private space.  It is worth the price difference for us.  Can you imagine being quarantined in an inside cabin for days?  Never previously a thought, but we know it can happen.  

 

I guess if you are a college student, on a very limited budget and that is the only way you can cruise- you must.

[2chiefs]

18 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

We would never consider an inside cabin.  While some people think-oh we only sleep and shower in the cabin, We do more- we enjoy breakfast on the balcony- sitting reading and enjoying the sea view from our peaceful private space.  It is worth the price difference for us.  Can you imagine being quarantined in an inside cabin for days?  Never previously a thought, but we know it can happen.  

 

I guess if you are a college student, on a very limited budget and that is the only way you can cruise- you must.

You don't have to be a college student to be on a limited budget! 🙂 

We've cruised inside cabins before when the price difference was quite high but due to Covid, we will no longer consider them.

 

[Mapleleafforever]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

We would never consider an inside cabin.  While some people think-oh we only sleep and shower in the cabin, We do more- we enjoy breakfast on the balcony- sitting reading and enjoying the sea view from our peaceful private space.  It is worth the price difference for us.  Can you imagine being quarantined in an inside cabin for days?  Never previously a thought, but we know it can happen.  

 

I guess if you are a college student, on a very limited budget and that is the only way you can cruise- you must.

We still laugh about it, not knowing what time of day it is....kinda messes with your circadian rhythem. 12pm, 3pm, 3am, 7am, always the same time in the cabin. We would never consider an inside cabin again pre-covid but after there's no way in heck. I can't even imagine being quarantined in there for any amount of time. 

[LuCruise]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We would never consider an inside cabin.  While some people think-oh we only sleep and shower in the cabin, We do more- we enjoy breakfast on the balcony- sitting reading and enjoying the sea view from our peaceful private space.  It is worth the price difference for us.  Can you imagine being quarantined in an inside cabin for days?  Never previously a thought, but we know it can happen.  

 

I guess if you are a college student, on a very limited budget and that is the only way you can cruise- you must.

In the past, we had no issue with an inside stateroom as long as there is a window or something (e.g. promenade, virtual balcony).  When travelling as a family of 4, it is quite a lot of savings and with kids, we don't use the balcony often.  But, I do love the balcony, just to sit out there, or having breakfast sounds lovely too. 

 

Having said that, going forward, until this coronavirus is behind us and zero chance of being quarantined, we will only book some form of a balcony (e.g. one of our bookings is a central park balcony).

[Cruise a holic]

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

In the past, we had no issue with an inside stateroom as long as there is a window or something (e.g. promenade, virtual balcony).  When travelling as a family of 4, it is quite a lot of savings and with kids, we don't use the balcony often.  But, I do love the balcony, just to sit out there, or having breakfast sounds lovely too. 

 

Having said that, going forward, until this coronavirus is behind us and zero chance of being quarantined, we will only book some form of a balcony (e.g. one of our bookings is a central park balcony).

Not a true inside stateroom. We had a window room in central park that give us a decent cost effective view

[2chiefs]

3 hours ago, LuCruise said:

<<SNIP>>

Having said that, going forward, until this coronavirus is behind us and zero chance of being quarantined, we will only book some form of a balcony (e.g. one of our bookings is a central park balcony).

The CP is almost as low as the inside with the Diamond discount. Great value!!

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, 2chiefs said:

The CP is almost as low as the inside with the Diamond discount. Great value!!

I often find that on our Oasis class cruises.

 

While I still find the New Years cruises priced very high I have found that over the past 5 years at least I have been able to get a Christmas cruise for less than what many pay to cruise during the summer.  The prices may not drop on all ships but I have found that booking a refundable deposit I have been able to find at least one Oasis class ship reasonably priced over Christmas.

[Tatka]

On 12/17/2020 at 5:38 PM, cruisequeen4ever said:

Christmas at sea are absolutely magical! That said, it does get frustrating dodging children and dealing with more crowds. I still like spending Christmas on a cruise more than anywhere else, though!

 

    We do not have young kids anymore, but to maximize number of cruises (last year it was 6 .. from 5 days to 14 with average 7-8)  we schedule them around holidays, and this automatically brings number of kids up... but I'd still rather cruise more. We learned how to avoid crowds pretty well. 🙂 When to exercise, when to attend pool, when to dine. Works pretty well.  I do like from time to time seeing lively crowd.

 

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/16/2020 at 10:34 AM, ROYAL CARIBBEAN DUDE said:

What are your thoughts on cruising during the Christmas Holidays?

 

From a crew members point of view, it is by far the busiest time of the year. The ships are near enough full capacity every week, and there are a lot more activities to do onboard compared to the rest of the year.

 

I personally really enjoy being onboard for New Years Eve.

 

Do you think the ships are too busy, or does this contribute to the overall atmosphere?

 

 

Chris Wong

 

 

The last time I was aboard a ship for New Year's was several years ago aboard Majesty. I wasn't too happy about how the Lido Deck part of the celebration was handled: several big tables full of people--the high-paying pax who paid big prices for bubbly, decorations, etc.--placed in the center of the Lido Deck but no food service provided unless I missed the location of where the food was furnished. What's a party w/o food? The only good part of the cruise was visiting Key West.

 

As for whether a ship is too busy, I could care less. Too busy with what? Xmas activities? Santa's on parade w/gifts for the kiddos? A special menu in the MDR for Xmas or NYE? Whoopie Doo! I've gone on two Xmas cruises, one in '05 and another in '04, each one on different lines, but they're the same: many kiddos onboard, choral groups singing carols, Santa on parade, a small lit menorah near Guest Services, etc. Frankly, though, I felt that the '05-'06 holiday cruise I did w/Mom aboard Celebrity Millennium was far better than the one I did w/Majesty: food, drink, and dancing for NYE. 

 

The real question is whether I would do another holiday cruise in the near future. Answer: not likely unless I can swing a good deal and if the sailing is aboard Celebrity rather than RCCL. 

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/16/2020 at 10:42 AM, DaniDanielle said:

The last few years we sailed the December cruises right before Christmas.  The festive atmosphere was contagious and the ships are decorated beautifully.🧑🏻‍🎄

Agreed. Meanwhile, both locals and tourists either wear shorts or Chinos, short-sleeved shirts, and they're walking around with drinks in their hand.  Drearmy!

[ROYAL CARIBBEAN DUDE]

Seasons Greetings everyone! I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas! Hopefully this time next year, we can be back at sea for the Holidays.