Thanksgiving Cruises

[tulok]

I know this is a holiday based in the US, but anyone that has cruised during the week of Thanksgiving, is it usually crowded, with a lot of families? If you did, which itinerary did you travel? We are looking at ones closer to the Americas for a shorter flight. But open to anything at this point. 

[Lady Arwen]

We actually celebrate Thanksgiving Day in Canada in October.  We did sail during your Thanksgiving a few years ago.  Many families with lots of children.  Full Thanksgiving dinner was served in both the MDR and buffet.  We sailed in the Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale.  It was nice, but not one I’d do again.

[Rick&Jeannie]

We did a TA that included US Thanksgiving.  Being from the US we did not know what to expect but since it was a TA there were very few kids. Any other itinerary and it very likely would have been a different story. We ate at The Catch for our Thanksgiving dinner...very nice meal but really strange when you feel like you should be seeing turkey!

[mtnesterz]

We did one cruise over Thanksgiving. Would not do it again.

Thanksgiving dinner is the center of it all and the chefs have no idea what a Thanksgiving meal is supposed to taste like. What came to the table was heavily salted turkey and salty sides cooked to mush. The only time we've walked out on a cruise dinner as did several others. Had a hamburger on deck for dinner. 

Not many families, but it was before the 3rd and 4th guest promotions Princess does now. A very high percentage of men dressed for dinner given the holiday, if that matters to you. Go if your schedule works and the price is right, but don't go for the food.

Edited March 17 by mtnesterz

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, tulok said:

I know this is a holiday based in the US, but anyone that has cruised during the week of Thanksgiving, is it usually crowded, with a lot of families? If you did, which itinerary did you travel? We are looking at ones closer to the Americas for a shorter flight. But open to anything at this point. 

We have cruised many times over Thanksgiving and yes there will be a turkey meal.  This past holiday, the MDR meal was very good on the Sapphire, 32 night South Pacific. They scheduled it as a formal night.  
 

In the past, the food has been just okay on Thanksgiving.  

 

If you’re doing a short cruise, then you will have more kids OB over the break.  
 

Longer cruises… not so many kids on Thanksgiving break.  

[karatemom2]

We have sailed over Thanksgiving three times and all were 7 day or less cruises - so yes, lots of kids and families. That was ok with us as we were a family with those pesky younger children then. So for us it was great. We did a Mexican Riviera itinerary each time. 
 

if you prefer to avoid as many kids, I would suggest a longer cruise, or one that starts prior to Thanksgiving and runs into the following week when the kidlets are back in school. 
 

As has been noted, the Thanksgiving meal served is not your mama’s cooking. It’s just ok. It’s probably one of those rare exceptions that is actually better in the buffet where they are carving the turkey fresh, and the sides are warm and you can choose what you want - more like at home. 
 

In terms of activities - nothing all that special like Christmas. The atrium is decorated with a horn of plenty display and other Fall snd Thanksgiving related decor, and there is usually.a Thanksgiving trivia.
 

It’s fun for a vacation experience, but in general I prefer Thanksgiving at home these days. 

Edited March 17 by karatemom2

[tulok]

2 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

lots of kids and families. That was ok with us as we were a family with those pesky younger children then

Thank you. And we always sail in the summer so families aren’t a negative, but this year both DD are spending Thanksgiving with in-laws so we thought it would be a great time to getaway.  More was wondering for social reasons as families usually stick together and we are very social passengers. Plus the first Thanksgiving without the grandkids so a little melancholy.  

Just trying to put together options before Thanksgiving airfare prices start showing. Thank you again for the information. 

[karatemom2]

12 minutes ago, tulok said:

Thank you. And we always sail in the summer so families aren’t a negative, but this year both DD are spending Thanksgiving with in-laws so we thought it would be a great time to getaway.  More was wondering for social reasons as families usually stick together and we are very social passengers. Plus the first Thanksgiving without the grandkids so a little melancholy.  

Just trying to put together options before Thanksgiving airfare prices start showing. Thank you again for the information. 

I totally sympathize! A couple of years ago our daughter spent the holiday with her fiancé’s family and our son who was in law school on the East coast opted to go to DC with friends so we were at loose ends. By the time we found out it was too late to book a cruise, but we sure wished we would have because it would have been much more fun then sitting home with our sad little tiny turkey. 
 

Although there are lots of families, there are also a lot of people just looking to get away and have a fun holiday - there will be plenty of people with whom you can socialize. If you go, be sure to join your roll call!

[tulok]

@karatemom2 Thank you. You have helped me make the decision. My dh said it was up to me what we will do and I think a getaway cruise is the answer. 

[disneyochem]

We have cruised the Thanksgiving week for the past seven years—Mexican Riviera and CA Coastal—(except for the shutdown) ever since our kids stopped making the trek home from college/work due to other commitments.  And, we use both Princess and HAL depending on which line has the better itinerary.
 

The 7 day (or shorter) cruises are very family-centered—so much so that hubby and I swore we would not go on another holiday cruise without family.  The following year, we gave each kid (and their SO/fiancé) the Thanksgiving cruise as a gift.  It has now become our family tradition to cruise over the holiday week—other family members have joined in as well.  These cruises are generally full but we spent most of the time playing cards/games and visiting with family.  Last year we didn’t even get off the ship in Cabo!  This year we are on HAL out of San Diego for Thanksgiving.

 

Princess does not make a good traditional American Turkey dinner in the MDR.  Ditto the recommendation to eat at the buffet for better food.  We just eat at the Crown Grill or Pinnacle Grill for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Just a little bit nicer to celebrate family and the day.

[Bemidji Ty]

We found ourselves in a similar situation last year.  We were to be without our kids, their spouses and our grandkids at Thanksgiving.  So, we went on a cruise.  We've done about 65 cruises, mostly on Princess.  This time, we chose a HAL California Coastal out of San Diego, our home port.  It was a full ship.  There were a lot of children and young adults.  They were mostly well-behaved.  A lot of noise and energy by the pools.  There was always a place to be found that afforded peace and quiet.  The food was very good.  They offered a very good traditional turkey dinner with all the sides.  We enjoy the bands in the BB King Lounge.  Some of their shows and other entertainment were very good.  We'd do it again.  Cheers.

[ChutChut]

My daughter and I have done several Thanksgiving cruises. Always lots of kids (no problem at all) and pretty full ships. We've thoroughly enjoyed each one (all went to Caribbean). 

[KLM3164]

2 hours ago, tulok said:

More was wondering for social reasons as families usually stick together and we are very social passengers.

If you are social people I think you would love a Thanksgiving cruise! We’ve done 3 of them over the past 3 years and we really enjoy being on a full ship with lots of people to meet and talk to. There is a lot of energy on the ship which we enjoy but we also enjoy some quiet time so we book a balcony to get away when we want to. Although there are a lot of families with kids on the cruise you’ll also find a lot of couples who are sailing without their families so you’ll make some new friends. 

 

We don’t have kids/grandkids so we are always sailing by ourselves or with another couple who don’t mind being away from their kids/grandkids for the holiday.

Edited March 17 by KLM3164

[tulok]

I am looking now at all the options. I am sure we will be glad we made this decision. I was not looking forward to a week of to-do’s since we are off. 

[voljeep]

5 day over Thanksgiving out of PE/FLL on the CB - NOPE, N.E.V.E.R. AGAIN

 

short staffed as usual and over 100% capacity

[tulok]

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

5 day over Thanksgiving out of PE/FLL on the CB - NOPE, N.E.V.E.R. AGAIN

 

short staffed as usual and over 100% capacity

😬. I will stay away from 5day. 

[memoak]

One year on a Thanksgiving cruise we got what we called the pumpkin menu. Every course featured pumpkin 

[PacnGoNow]

50 minutes ago, memoak said:

One year on a Thanksgiving cruise we got what we called the pumpkin menu. Every course featured pumpkin 

And pumpkin carving in the piazza!!

🤣

[startedwithamouse]

We spend each Thanksgiving on Princess with family. 

 

Last year there were about 1k kids onboard. Expect the same this year with the KSF promotion. 

[PacnGoNow]

2 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

We spend each Thanksgiving on Princess with family. 

 

Last year there were about 1k kids onboard. Expect the same this year with the KSF promotion. 

Wow!  What ship? Short voyage?

[startedwithamouse]

2 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Wow!  What ship? Short voyage?

Discovery seven night. 

 

We grabbed a cabin before they took off the KSF promotion for this year. 

Edited March 17 by startedwithamouse

[Thrak]

We have sailed on Princess over Thanksgiving twice. I don't understand how one can totally muck up Pumpkin Pie! It is, by far, the easiest pie in the universe to make. (Heck, it's nothing more that Squash Pie and the flavor is determined by the spicing. I've made it from banana squash and, aside from the color, it was indistinguishable from Pumpkin Pie. How Princess manages to ruin it is a mystery.

 

We find that we get a "better" Thanksgiving dinner in the buffet where we can choose what we want. They have the same items available but you choose how much turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, etc. that you want. You also get to see what the sides look like before they arrive on your plate.

[capriccio]

We always spend Thanksgiving week with family but if you wait until the following week to cruise you can score good deals and share the ship with many fewer fellow passengers.  We've gotten great prices on cruises departing between the week after Thanksgiving and mid-December. 

[Incognito1]

We did one awhile back out of San Francisco.  Never again.  Not enough people had signed up for it, so Princess ran a "local special" discounted for Bay Area folks.  Ended up super crowded and full of rude, pushy people determined to get their money's worth by clearing out anything good at the buffet, hogging spaces, and just generally being nasty and entitled.  YMMV.

[donaldsc]

 

We did a Thanksgiving cruise with the family a few years back because that was when the grandkids were off school.  Awful. My comment on the Thanksgiving turkey dinner that they served is that if you remember Swanson frozen TV dinners - they were better than what we got on the ship.

 

DON