Leaving soon - packing questions

[josee]

A few packing questions, and other

 

I have a teenager - she likes jeans (she dislikes capris but will wear sporty shorts and jean skirts). Are there acceptable during the day or evening (after dinner on nights other than formal night) Don't worry, she has formal and casual wear as well. What about at the teen pizza party or when with other kids?

I am leaving in 29 days on the Volendam and been dancing for awhile to the beat of the document dance. What is the weather like in the Carribeans in December (16-26) Is a spring jacket/raincoat/longsleeve vest needed, only at night? Is it just because of AC or can it also be cold outside too?

 

My youngest outgrew her dressy shoes- Simple dressy open toe sandals for that age is impossible to find at this time of the year. Will it be OK to be in sandals in a long dress?

 

Shamppoo/conditioner/skin lotion are provided - are there good quality?

 

Do they sell hats on the ship (first port - St Martin) I don't want to pack one/don't have one except baseball cap.

 

Regarding Christmas - do you know if they celebrate it on board (other than with decoration) ie Christmas meal, Santa, Christmas music. If any one has ever done a Christmas cruise before, I would like to know if Santa ever visited a ship (or HMC in my case) It would be nice for the kids.

 

Thank you,

 

I'll keep you all posted once I' m back - I know some of you have also asked about the kids program so I am planning on reviewing it for you.

 

Josée

[Esme]

Sorry, jeans, tank tops and shorts are not allowed in the dining room in the evening, but she will be fine in them during the day and after dinner...most of the kids change into their casual clothes.

 

The weather in the islands will be hot but Florida could be cool, so take a light jacket. It definitely will not be cold outside on the ship, if anything it could be humid. I always wear either a long sleeve blouse, jacket with a blouse or take a cardigan to the dining room as sometimes the AC makes it quite chilly. And, sometimes it is very warm if the AC is not working properly.

 

Shampoo with conditioner and body lotion are supplied. I can't say they are good quality, but we like them.

 

Baseball cap is fine - easy to pack - that's what I wear. Yes, they do sell hats on board the ship.

 

They go all out for Christmas dinner - turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes and or yams, - the whole works.

 

Santa arrives in the morning and every kid on board gets a gift. It's a fun time. We have done several Christmas cruises, but not with our children, they are grown and live far away, so we enjoy watching the children greet Santa and receive their gifts.

 

Hope you all have a great time and enjoy your cruise.

[sail7seas]

We've done a number of Christmas cruises and love them. The ships are decorated beautifully and HAL does such a nice job of celebrating.

 

 

The crew sings carols on Christmas Eve and it is beautiful. All the kids love when Santa arrives on Christmas morning.....the adults have fun as well. :)

 

Remember...if you are flying, you are not permitted to wrap any gifts you may be bringing with you. TSA will tear them open if they wish.

 

Hope you have a great time.

[Lokalona]

About the shoes you can't find. You can order her shoes from the internet, they should arrive before 29 days, or you can have express delivery. I bet there are some great specials for summer type dressy shoes this time of year...google it.

 

There weren't too many kids on our recent cruise but those that were on wore casual clothes all over the ship except the dinning room.

 

I have not been on a Christmas cruise, but have been on New Years ones and the ships are always beautifully decorated. New Years eve on the high seas is a lot of fun! The Eastern Caribbean was very hot, but Grand Cayman was very rainy and windy. Florida was about 75 degrees when we embarked.

[Sage]

We will be on the sailing before yours, and I will try to post from the ship, so if you have any questions, please let me know. We took my nephew with us last year, and the teens did change into more casual clothes. I hope that you have a great cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

On a couple of the ships that we have been on at Christmas, there was a special party for the children where each received a gift.

We always use the shampoo/conditioner provided by HAL. DH has a skin problem and has never had a problem with HAL's products - not even the soaps.

[josee]

Thank you.

Sage, I hope you will enjoy your trip and look forward to hearing about it.

As we come from Canada, we'll be leaving with our warm clothes (no winter jacket) and remove layers as we get near our destination. It will also take less room in the luggage.

I think I will forget about getting dressy shoes for my youngest - if she does like my oldest, who already is taller than me, she may not fit in the same size for more than a few months. Tweens and teens are such interesting time.

 

We will not be packing any gifts with us as the cruise is our gift to ourselves. We thought about just getting us a card or letter and maybe a few souvenirs, well maybe more than a few... Maybe a few surprises.

I also plan on creating a scrapbook for them as a souvenir.

Never have I been so excited about something in my entire life.

 

On a different note, they have booked each of my DD separately with either me or my DH. I hope they will not ne any difficulties in switching so that they will get a room to themselves and DH and I together. We have adjacent but not adjoining rooms. I trust them to be in the room alone as well as they have shown to be responsable.

Josée

[Kami's pal]

Twice did this, though not on HAL. I packed tiny gifts, silly, fun stocking stuffers. And I had a 'xmas tree' quilted that I taped to the mirror. We spent a couple of hours with coffee enjoying each other and the ritual of opening gifts. :D

[josee]

Of course, I guess I'll pack some wraping paper. Christmas day is also our last on the ship, and on HMC, so I will also have plenty of opportunity to find special items before.

I note also that our ship will be the only one there, at HMC on the 25th. It should be exciting.

[Lokalona]

Josee the reason they have booked you and daughter and hubby and daughter that way, is they are supposed to have someone over 18 in each room. You can't sail on some cruises unless you over 21 alone, I think it may still be or used to be if your were married they'd allow you to be under 21 over 18...I am sure if I have my facts messed up someone here will let me know ;)...just ask for extra keys to each cabin and give them to your girls.

[sail7seas]

Of course, I guess I'll pack some wraping paper. Christmas day is also our last on the ship, and on HMC, so I will also have plenty of opportunity to find special items before.

I note also that our ship will be the only one there, at HMC on the 25th. It should be exciting.

 

We have been at HMC on Christmas Day in the past and it was fabulous. The photographers (not always my favorite folks :) ) actually worked hard that day and made attempts to produce some great pics. I won't ruin the surprise for you but they donned 'special clothing' and took some wonderful pics that many pax were happy with.

 

They actually provided fun rather than being annoying as I sometimes find them to be.

[Cinder]

I was on the Westerdam one Christmas and Santa "came down" the ship's smoke stack. The Captain made announcements about where to look for him, so the kids had to search around before seeing him. There were 150 kids aboard, and they all met santa and got a gift.

I would pack conditioner if you are picky. I don't think the shampoo has any in it, and if it does, it isn't to my liking although the shampoo is fine.

Our travel agent ordered a tiny christmas tree instead of flowers for our cabin, so we put the few presents we brought with us under it. Happy Holidays! HMC should be a great day.