Carnival Over Christmas

[dchurchward]

My wife, teenage boys and I will sailing on the Carnival Magic from Port Canaveral over Christmas, with the holiday being a sea day. I am curious how Carnival ships handle the holiday? I am sure there will be Christmas decorations, but would like to know if there are special activities or events due to the holiday. I appreciate any thoughts you can share.

[mdsgu]

I've heard there is a chance of "snow" in the atrium along with caroling.  The Grinch is sure to make an appearance.  Decorations will definitely be bountiful!  Now that our kids are past the Santa stage, I want to do a Christmas cruise!

[csm5986142]

We were on the Horizon for Christmas, but it was a few years ago.  They were giving out champagne as we boarded the ship.  The decorations were pretty, and Christmas dinner is one of your formal nights.  There were Christmas songs and movies.  

For me, there were pros and cons to flying across the Country at the holidays (airfare and hotels are very booked up and very expensive).  Our kids liked it but decided they prefer to be home for the holidays.  It was fun to try once though.  

We just booked Jubilee for New Year's Eve 2023 (surprisingly good deals) and are very excited for our first New Year's Eve cruise.

 

There was a good discussion about Christmas cruising here (I will try to link it):

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2854355-finally-booked-a-christmas-cruise-pretty-excited-and-wondering-what-it-will-be-like/#comment-63259465

 

[ZoeyVictoria]

We were on the Conquest on Christmas 2021.  We were amazed by the number of families wearing matching Christmas pajamas - all day.  We don’t even wear that type of pajamas, but we still felt a little left out.  There was a show on Christmas afternoon, where they handed out Santa hats and wristbands with large (loud) jingle bells.  That was followed by Christmas carols around the tree in the atrium.  

[jetsfan58]

Very nice time of year to Carnival Cruise. We cruised several times during the week before Christmas. Many festivities and they gave away Christmas trinkets to all passengers. 

[Bulldogsoc]

We are on the Magic over Xmas as well.  Will be fun!

 

[aggie182]

We're going to be on the Vista over Christmas.  We're really looking forward to it.  I'll be following this one for info.

[siestakeys04]

We're going to be on the Mardi Grad over Christmas looking forward to it.

[havanadaydreaming]

sounds like fun, y'all.  

 

i have embarked on 12/26 and debarked on 12/23 and both of those were really fun holiday time cruises.  id do one again in a heartbeat.  

[mdsgu]

5 minutes ago, havanadaydreaming said:

sounds like fun, y'all.  

 

i have embarked on 12/26 and debarked on 12/23 and both of those were really fun holiday time cruises.  id do one again in a heartbeat.  

Man!  362 days on a cruise ship (12/26 to 12/23) and you still missed Christmas Day!  🤣

[mz-s]

Hopefully atrium parties will be back by then. They are on hold last I heard due to COVID.

[LHARTWICK]

We took our first true Christmas cruise DEC 2021.  We usually sail a week or two prior to Christmas, but the deal was way too good to pass up!  Of course, at that time the ships were still not sailing full, so that was nice.  And very few kids!! We absolutely loved it!  I wore my Snoopy Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve – lots of others doing the same. I also take along Santa hats that I’ve customized and wear them all week, such as one that I have decorated with our college football team’s logo on it.  Christmas Day fell on a sea day. A wonderful and very meaningful yet simple service was held that morning in the main theater – 100% Christian based with Christmas hymns and scripture readings.  We will always treasure that! That night (or maybe it was Christmas Eve?), another event was held in the theater with the Santa hats and jingle bell wristbands given out.  Fun!  They also held the Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest in the atrium one night.  We brought along a box of Christmas cards to be given to the crew since they are all away from their families during that time.  I bought a couple of boxes at the dollar store, signed them with thanks for their hard work, and placed them in the Santa Mailbox in the atrium. They are then distributed to the crew members.  I encourage others to do the same!!! We also left some with extra tips in them for our cabin attendants. I also decorated our cabin with Christmas decorations that were easily packable – same for our cabin door.  Depending on the ship, you’ll probably hear Christmas music being played throughout as well. Some will criticize you for wanting to be away from home on Christmas, but to each their own.  We absolutely love it!  Enjoy!