Holiday preference?

Since we are right in the thick of the holiday season my wife and I have decided that next year we will plan a cruise. What we can't decide and are looking for some help with is whether to choose Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years.

Can those of you who have cruised during any of these time chime in and say why or why not that time would be a good choice?

The way I see it all three options have their merits.

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

The only holiday cruise we've taken is Halloween and it was a blast, we will probably do it again next year. The ship was decorated and every had so much fun, the whole atmosphere was different from a typical cruise, more light hearted and just fun but not drunken boozy fun for the most part, happy fun lol

I'd like to try a Christmas cruise but so many come to my house for Christmas and don't really have any where else to go, I hate to disappoint them by being away.

My choice is Christmas.

Thanksgiving is cheapest, I guess many do not choose to cruise then and you do usually have 4 days off, but it is kind of a non event on the boats except for the meal.

I am not a big drinker and New Years is an alcohol heavy event and usually a more expensive week to cruise, so no love there, but the countdown at midnight on the boat is pretty cool.

Christmas is pricey and a busy week for cruising, but I really love being on the ships during Christmas.

We take a cruise at Christmas each year (our family Christmas gift to each other), either week before or week after. We have a child and that requires we be at home on the actual Christmas day and we live within driving distance of several east coast ports. We just got off the Magic this past weekend (12/24/16) and drive the 8.5 hrs home from Port Canaveral to beat "Santa" to our house (we were home late afternoon).

The previous few years we left right after Christmas to go on our cruise, this all usually coincides with winter break for DS as well. Although we have done a cruise or 2 for New Years as well and DS missed that week of school. That entire holiday period is a great time to go and very festive. NYE on the ships is a blast so you really cannot go wrong with Christmas or NYE weeks.

New Year's Eve is a very FUN time to be on a cruise! :D

Did it once( Christmas)

Never again. And this was before the ships started charging premiums for specialty dining. Far too crowded with large family groups who think they are the only ones on vacation

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I did an 8 day and boarded on Christmas eve and returned on New Year's day. Christmas was fine but NYE was a blast. Free champagne and the balloon drop at midnight. Would love to do it again.

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A factor might also be if you do or don't need air to get to/from the cruise port. Airfares are a bit more pricey during holiday periods. Usually, there are more kids on cruises during holidays, too. For some folks, that's a deal breaker.

New Year's Eve is a very FUN time to be on a cruise! :D

I agree, NYE cruises are wonderful for the party atmosphere without being like a 3 day booze cruise.:D

We did a HAL cruise over Thanksgiving this year. Worse cruise I have ever been on. Wall-to-wall kids. Bad food. Poor restaurant service. Even the Thanksgiving dinner was bad - turkey roll, a dab of dressing, a bit of vegetables, took almost 3 hours to get through the meal because either the service or the kitchen was so bad. Bad shows. Never again.

DON

Compare a Holiday Cruise experience to going out to Nice Dinner on a Holiday .

High prices , waits , rushed service and so-so quality from what is usually a favorite restaurant .

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IMO Xmas is for spending with family, so if everyone (extended family included) is cruising, then fine, but otherwise best done at home. NYE on the other hand is for partying and therefore best done with friends and being on a cruise is a great way to do bring in the new year.:D

Our last three cruises were two-week holiday ones, with both Christmas and NYs to Hawaii out of our home port. very enjoyable for the three of us and no dealing with trying to circle a mall parking lot during the most popular time of year (and many of the restaurants we go to are in shopping centers).

One of those cruises included Hanukkah and we went to the lounge where the first night lighting occurred...and it was packed. We left our menorah at home but I did bring a foam sticky one that we "lit" every night.

On another of the cruises, we were in Maui on Christmas and a mall not too far from the port was open, and after we did some shopping, we went back to the ship and saw whales swimming near the ship.

Oops wrong thread!

Our absolute faviorite cruise was an 11 day cruise on the smallish NCL Sun from Miami to as far south as Cartegna, Columbia. We spent Christmas morning at home and went to my sisters for dinner and head the 45 minutes to the airport hotel that we had booked for the night. We flew out the next morning. To me it was a great way to spend Christmas as I normally am hostess it seems. The 31st was halfway through our cruise which meant that we had met and gotten to know a lot of people on the ship and we still had lots to look forward to. We have such great memories of that cruise and in particular NYE and we reminisce about it every NYE now.

Thanksgiving and Christmas both strike me as extended family holidays, so do not lend themselves to cruising. New Year's Eve, on the other hand is for amateurs - people who rarely "party", so many of them overdo it that one night. It is best spent at home, or with nearby neighbors - and, in fact, will happen whether or not we stay awake to see the ball drop. Still, it is a good time to be away from the chilly northeast - so we are thinking of doing it at sea next year.

None of the above.

Ships usually at 110% or more of double occupancy; stuffed with families and kids because they are out of school. Huge price premiums because those are family friendly times. Look at prices for the 2 or 3 weeks after Thanksgiving, probably 50% lower than Christmas and the kid count will be far less; mainly smaller kids who are with their parents.

I have cruised at New Years. Yes, fun. Big price premium. Not much else different about the cruise.

The week or two after new years, if you can go then, are among the cheapest of the year.

We usually cruise the first or second week of December.

Yes, lots of amateur party goers on NYE, which makes it more special.:D

I hate going to those parties where everyone is a professional and you feel out of place, because you do not know any of the choreographed dance moves or how to drink properly.:rolleyes: