Christmas Cruise

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. My partner and I went on our first cruise last year. We expected that we may not like it that much, but gave it a try with a 7 night cruise on the Celebrity Century. Turned out we loved it and hope to become regular cruisers!

We want to cruise over Christmas 2014, either embarking or disembarking from Florida. I'd love to hear any recommendations for particular Christmas cruises and any thoughts and tips :)

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Do you want to be on the cruise on Christmas Day? If so, you will be paying more for that week than if you went the week before. For example the December 14th sailing of the Disney Fantasy is $3711 for two and the December 21st sailing is $7394 for the same category of cabin.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Do you want to be on the cruise on Christmas Day? If so, you will be paying more for that week than if you went the week before. For example the December 14th sailing of the Disney Fantasy is $3711 for two and the December 21st sailing is $7394 for the same category of cabin.

OUCH! One other point - I heard that these are VERY popular cruises, so they book up early

We've sailed at Christmas, and the ships are decorated beautifully (even a few weeks prior to the holiday). There are some Christmas sailings on Celebrity, depending on the length of cruise you prefer. The 14 nt. Exotic Southern Caribbean on Celebrity's Eclipse sounds wonderful. It departs on 12/21/14 (roundtrip from Miami) to Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten. Or a nice seven night cruise on Celebrity's Reflection, departs 12/20/14 (from Miami) to San Juan, PR; St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. The Celebrity Silhouette sails from Ft. Lauderdale on 12/21/14 to San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Kitts.

As Scrapnana mentioned, you can cruise for a lot less if you go just prior to the Christmas holiday. The first few weeks of December are typically a bargain, so you may want to compare the rates unless you prefer to be on board during Christmas week. Enjoy! :)

Plus, the ships are LOADED with kids at that time. I figured out that the cruises that are actually happening during Dec 25 are about 150% more than if I cruised the week before the holiday. Every major cruise line goes out of Fla during December. Just do a search on the computer to see your options.

For the past 5 years we have taken a RCCL cruise in December and loved it as the ships are beautifully decorated. Yes booking the cruise early in the month is more affordable. But we did take one over Christmas and it was very, very special. Many of the guests decorated their doors, rooms, and even a few balconies too. Special delights were served at meals, but what really was special was Christmas Eve when the cruise officers sang Christmas carols in the Atrium, then joined by us cruisers, all the while egg nog was served. And Christmas Day, Santa of course came by (via life boat) and he met with each child (baby to teen) giving them a gift......and really nice gifts too, not token junk. What a lovely family moment......and we're retirees who were getting away from holiday chaos. The cruise was out of Tampa on the Radiance of the Seas. Other trips were on the Freedom out of Port Canaveral and one trip out of Ft. Lauderdale (very chaotic port). Go for a December cruise and enjoy.

We have had three previous Christmas cruises and have another scheduled this December. Although they were not out of Florida, I just wanted to say how very much we enjoyed them.

It is a truly exceptional experience. Try it!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

The cruise ships are decorated lovely.

But prices for sailing over the 25th are high and some ships do tend to sell out quickly.

We used to enjoy sailing over Christmas. But suddenly families have now discovered these cruises. And there are just too many children on board to suit us.

Thank you for all for your comments. You have given us a lot to think about. We wanted to escape family Christmas. We are both divorced from previous partners an there are rifts with some of the Kids. The gaps they leave mean it will always be a difficult time even though we have the others around (my youngest would rather work because she feels it too).

We are not at all keen on lots of young children running around, so maybe taking the cruise in the weeks before Christmas and saving the money is a good idea.

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. My partner and I went on our first cruise last year. We expected that we may not like it that much, but gave it a try with a 7 night cruise on the Celebrity Century. Turned out we loved it and hope to become regular cruisers!

 

We want to cruise over Christmas 2014, either embarking or disembarking from Florida. I'd love to hear any recommendations for particular Christmas cruises and any thoughts and tips :)

Christmas Cruises are extremely expensive. Also it's a very active cruising time for families so there will be a large number of children on board if that makes a difference to you.

Personally, I have found the week before Christmas to be the better time. It's one of the slowest weeks in the year for cruises. Prices tend to be more favorable and less kids on aboard as most schools have not started Christmas Vacation. The bonus is that the ship is still all beautifully decorated for Christmas.

I've done three Christmas cruises on the QE2 and they were all marvelous and magical cruises. The ship is decorated to the hilt, a giant tree is usually in a prominent spot on the ship. The public rooms are festooned with colorful ornaments and wreaths, gingerbread villages and a genuine feeling of joy in the air. The British ships are particularly fun with the crackers and paper hats.

You could fly to New York and take the Queen Mary 2's Holiday voyage to the Caribbean. Or better yet travel transatlantic round trip. ;)

Jonathan

We have gone on five holiday cruises and have one booked this year. It may be our last one if it is anything like last year. Ships are beautiful and festive but there are so many large family reunions that dining rooms are so loud that the two of us could not communicate at all during our meal. I don't blame people and when we are in large groups and drinking, we get very loud. But it hasn't been fun for us. Maybe we should join larger tables and start drinking more. My dh is hard of hearing so he would just be sitting and having no fun.

Pools are crowded and people go down early to hold loungers for others in their groups. Book your excursions early - they go fast.

We also have had the worst service from our stewards on the holiday cruises since the ships are completely full and they have four people in more than half their cabins so they are very overworked.

And flights are so expensive. We are paying 5 times more than last winter.

Gee, why in the world did I book another one???? I guess I keep hoping things will change - I don't like being home for holidays anymore - they make me sad - guess that is why.

We're convinced. Clearly, Christmas holidays cruises are not for us. We will go in early December or in January.

Kittycat, I do hope you have a lovely time. Perhaps have more room service meals?

Thank you for all for your comments. You have given us a lot to think about. We wanted to escape family Christmas. We are both divorced from previous partners an there are rifts with some of the Kids. The gaps they leave mean it will always be a difficult time even though we have the others around (my youngest would rather work because she feels it too).

 

We are not at all keen on lots of young children running around, so maybe taking the cruise in the weeks before Christmas and saving the money is a good idea.

OP will get a much better $$$ cruising the sailings after Thanksgiving to just before Xmas . Fewer school age kids also.

Same itineraries , the same general weather at the best early booking rates of the year. These sailings are hard to fill being between major holidays ,so the cruise lines discount them early . They will sail full at those $$$$.

Like others have said, Xmas cruising is lovely but expensive and lots of kids. I would agree, a really good compromise might be to go the week before or week after, when the ship will still look lovely. We did Allure of the Seas December 2011, and in fact I think they did the NYE celebrations better than the Xmas ones. So maybe that's an option? (May not be any cheaper than Xmas though. As our cruise was both Xmas and New Year it was *major* expensive - exactly double the cost of the 2 week cruise on Allure that we are taking this Oct/Nov.

There were LOTS of kids at Christmas, ship was beautiful, Christmas carols, special dinner, egg nog etc.

Maybe stay in Florida in a lovely hotel the week of Christmas itself, to escape family stuff if that's what you want, and then cruise the week after. I have to say NYE was *amazing*.

I recommend looking at a sailing any time in December, that ends right before Christmas, or the first sailing of the new year, that starts in the new year. If you want the Christmas feeling, any time is December is probably good.

If you want to take a cruise that is over Christmas itself, the 14-night on the Eclipse is not outrageously priced, when compared with the 7-night cruises over the same period. I would expect fewer children and families on Eclipse than on the 7-night trips since there just are not the kids in the longer cruises. the 10-night on the Equinox that departs on Dec 12, 2014 has some great prices. Personally, I would choose the 12-night, the a few days in a resortin South Florida before returning home if you have the vacation time.

Interesting, kids are less likely to be on 14 night cruises! I like that, but is it definitely the case?

Interesting, kids are less likely to be on 14 night cruises! I like that, but is it definitely the case?

Yes, generally you will find less children on cruises longer than 7 days. Other sailings with less children would be those taking place during school time, and on itineraries outside of the Caribbean and Bermuda. On our Voyager cruise, which was the week prior to Christmas, there were 700 kids on board but you'd never know it. Royal Caribbean may cater more to families than Celebrity does, but with Adventure Ocean and other designated kid's areas on board, we were very surprised at the number of children sailing with us. They certainly were 'hidden away', having fun! The Solarium is for age 16 and up, and is a relaxing spot for adults- both on Royal Caribbean as well as Celebrity.

We used to enjoy sailing over Christmas. But suddenly families have now discovered these cruises. And there are just too many children on board to suit us.

yeap. we did a (for us) last minute cruise out of Baltimore last year. it was controlled chaos and waaaaay too many kids. while instances of annoying behavior by kids was relatively mild and infrequent, the sheer numbers of them was at times, very overwhelming. I prefer sedate, staid vacations, not mass chaos and high energy 24/7.

we found that many of the family centric activities made it less enjoyable for us..the large family groups( several generations) took over the public spaces frequently. just not our idea of a good time.

Interesting, kids are less likely to be on 14 night cruises! I like that, but is it definitely the case?

Oh yes, that's definitely the case. The general rules for smaller numbers of kids on ships are: Take a cruise of 14 days or longer. Cruise when school is in session. Cruise to more exotic destinations. Cruise a line like Seabourn or Silversea as they don't encourage families.

Ever notice how many threads in this forum have posts that repeat things already been said?

Like how many times does this thread really need to have it said that there will be more kids on board the week of Christmas? Or that that particular week is more expensive?

We have had three previous Christmas cruises and have another scheduled this December. Although they were not out of Florida, I just wanted to say how very much we enjoyed them.

 

It is a truly exceptional experience. Try it!

Jim: Just wanted to say how much I like your user name. :D

Ever notice how many threads in this forum have posts that repeat things already been said?

 

Like how many times does this thread really need to have it said that there will be more kids on board the week of Christmas? Or that that particular week is more expensive?

The thread wasn't about that though. That information came up in the context of the discussion. I did find it interesting that there are fewer children on longer cruises! I have really been appreciating everyones input. Is it a problem that some of the things said in a discussion have be said before? It would be difficult for posters to always avoid that without lots of cross checking after all!

Jim: Just wanted to say how much I like your user name. :D

I like yours, too! LOL :D:p:D

We have done 2 Christmas cruises so far and loved them. So much that we are doing another one this Christmas. We have been on Royal Caribbean and NCL for both. Our upcoming cruise is NCL again. Granted we aren't cruising the actual day of Christmas (usually the week before), but it's still almost the same. They still have all of the decorations up, Christmas trees everywhere and even some picture opportunities with characters like (for us) the Grinch.

The ONLY thing I don't like about Christmas cruising is the hectic day (or few days) after you return. It's like a mad dash to get everything done before Christmas is here (or a mad dash right before the cruise to get the tree up and all the gifts wrapped). It kind of puts a strain on you, but the cruise makes it all better.