Cruising Thanksgiving week.

[OntarioTraveller]

Considering a cruise that happens to fall in US Thanksgiving week 2023
is there a downside to that?  
More children? (We like the largely adult population on HA)

thanks!

Edited May 3, 2023 by OntarioTraveller

[rafinmd]

Your Thanksgiving or ours?  A one-week cruise will likely have more (but I doubt still a huge number) while longer cruises are unlikely to be affected.

 

Roy

Edited May 3, 2023 by rafinmd

[FlaMariner]

We were on the Nieuw Statendam in the Caribbean this past Thanksgiving 2022...(7 night typical Caribbean "milk run" itinerary).

 

We took our adult kids and my Mother.....The ship was full of similar extended families and lots of kids.  My wife and I commented on how this was not our typical HAL experience.

 

We had a blast but prepare yourself for a full ship full of everybody going everywhere and doing everything!

 

If it were not for Thanksgiving and taking the fam, we would stay away if it was just us. 

 

(We said goodbye to the kids and stayed on for the next week and it was back to HAL normal/calm)

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by FlaMariner

[Florida_gal_50]

I did a 2 week cruise last November.  One of those weeks was thanksgiving and it was crawling with kids and packed to the nuts. It was over capacity.  It seemed more like a carnival cruise than Hal.  I'm going to try my best never to do 7 day cruises at any time but I've have limited holidays and limited times I can be gone during the month. Makes it a lot more difficult.

[Cruise Suzy]

56 minutes ago, OntarioTraveller said:

Considering a cruise that happens to fall in US Thanksgiving week 2023
is there a downside to that?  
More children?

 

If the cruise is longer than 7 days, there shouldn't be enough "extra" children to matter. DH and I have cruised over Thanksgiving for the past 3 years and did not notice that many children on our 10 and 11 day cruises. We have already booked 2023 and 2024 11-day cruises for Thanksgiving week.

 

On the US Thanksgiving Day, the MDR menu will feature a "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner. However, the dressing and cranberry sides will be VERY small (served in the little condiment containers). We now ask for additional portions. Of course, there are other entrees on the menu.

[vicd1969]

I came off a HAL cruise on the Nieuw Statendam that was right before the Thanksgiving one. The line to the check-in for the incoming Thanksgiving passengers stretched to way outside the Port Everglades cruise terminal. I would strongly advise against taking a US Thanksgiving cruise on a Pinnacle class ship if you don't plan on celebrating onboard with family.

[DaveOKC]

Almost certainly more families.  Also, flying home the weekend after Thanksgiving in the US can be a real challenge - crowded airports, full planes, etc.

 

[Cruise Suzy]

No matter the length of cruise, I would not want to fly anywhere the two days before Thanksgiving or the three days after. We live close enough to drive and avoid them as well.

[campbean41]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I did a 2 week cruise last November.  One of those weeks was thanksgiving and it was crawling with kids and packed to the nuts. It was over capacity.  It seemed more like a carnival cruise than Hal.  I'm going to try my best never to do 7 day cruises at any time but I've have limited holidays and limited times I can be gone during the month. Makes it a lot more difficult.

Was your second week after Thanksgiving?

[Greysandy]

Since we are teachers, we tend to sail over Thanksgiving almost every year because it's easy and we don't have to fly to do the California Coastal or Mexican Riviera. It has certainly become much busier with children in the last year or two, even being overbooked because there are so many children in rooms with 2 adults. So we just book a cabana to get some peace.

[SDARCH]

We were on the K-Dam for the Thanksgiving 2021 cruise.  Lots of multi-generational families.  It was still early in the return to cruising phase so I think there was an occupancy cap - because the ship did not feel crowded at all.  Whatever kids we saw - they were very well behaved

 

We’ll never do it again though because Thanksgiving Dinner is my favorite meal of the year and it was meh on the ship.

[FlaMariner]

16 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Also, flying home the weekend after Thanksgiving in the US can be a real challenge - crowded airports, full planes, etc.

 

and very $$$$ also. 

[POA1]

We were on a Collector's Cruise (East / West B2B) on the Nieuw Amsterdam a few years ago. The 7 day Thanksgiving portion of the cruise was teeming with kids by HAL standards. There were 54 children on board, nearly two and one half percent of the passengers!

 

In all seriousness, we never would have noticed if the CD hadn't mentioned it. We're a late, fixed dining kind of people. Unless there is a large European contingent, late seating is kiddie kryptonite.

 

You should be fine. (TIP: Off! Spray for kids is actually a bug repellent to use on children. It does not repel the wee little shavers.)

Edited May 4, 2023 by POA1

[ExArkie]

15 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

No matter the length of cruise, I would not want to fly anywhere the two days before Thanksgiving or the three days after. We live close enough to drive and avoid them as well.

Actually, the Friday after US Thanksgiving is a pretty decent time to fly. Most people take the whole weekend, so the busiest flyings days post-holiday are Sunday and Monday. I’ve always found Friday easier for travel. Usually, the Saturday after isn’t too bad, but that is inconsistent.

[Heartgrove]

We did an 18-day Circle Cruise to Hawaii in 2018 on the Eurodam over Thanksgiving. Really no increase in children but quite a few 4* and 5* passengers. The downside was we were in Lahaina on Thanksgiving and just about everything was closed for the day. We took the local bus to Kahului and the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center shopping center where only the Starbucks was open.

[BLH613]

We have also been on a US Thanksgiving week 7-day Caribbean cruise on HAL and found the ship to have many extended families and children onboard. "As you wish" dining had very long waits if you just showed up asking for a table. We understood when we booked that this was likely but did it anyway and thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. I think the longer cruises would be different. On Thanksgiving Day they did serve a traditional US Thanksgiving meal in the MDR which was very nice.

[PACD_JG]

Never again.

 

 

[Roz]

Take a 10+ day cruise. 

[DaveOKC]

37 minutes ago, Roz said:

Take a 10+ day cruise. 

True and 11 day is my favorite.  Not too long, not too short and some extras (like FCD OBC) come into play.

[Florida_gal_50]

23 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Almost certainly more families.  Also, flying home the weekend after Thanksgiving in the US can be a real challenge - crowded airports, full planes, etc.

 

I was very worried flying home last year on the Saturday right after the US thanksgiving.  They kept going on and on about how busy airports would be on TV.  It was the most dead I've ever seen it (San Diego).