Tell me about Christmas cruises!

[mehitabel]

We're looking at a 7-day on the Voyager out of Galveston, either right before Christmas or during.

 

How jam-packed are these cruises?

 

How many kids/families are onboard?

 

What special activities, if any, are there?

 

Special holiday foods?

 

How's the weather in the Gulf that time of year?

 

And of course, we'd love to see pictures.

 

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

[TIMAS]

KIDS< KIDS< KIDS< KIDS and more Kids

[hollon]

I will try and remember our cruise on dec 20th-27th this past year. We were on the Voyager and I took my four kids w/ me and my husband. I didn't feel the ship was that crowded, I think RCCL does a good job. I believe there were 900 kids on board (I think) I did feel like RCCL did not watch the kids appropriately..... On Christmas morning all the kids got a present from santa, came in on a sleigh - the kids got a rccl beach towel wrapped up in christmas paper (nice I thought) The ship was decorated nicely but I actually thought it would be more decorated (maybe I expected too much). Still nice though. The weather leaving Galveston and returning was really cool.... Once you got closer to the caribbean, warmer weather. The hot tubs just weren't hot enough, we complained but got nothing..... I don't think the food was any different from any other cruise - we all had a wonderful time - my kids are ready to go again but on the Oasis, hummmmmmm... if you have any questions, just ask and i'll try to remember...

[silentbob007]

All Christmas cruises are full of kids ... they usually have a lot of activities for them, but they will definitely be noticeable. Santa will visit, there will be caroling, mass, and special menus in the dining room. I actually enjoy Christmas on a cruise ship.

[klingoncruiser]

Lots of kids....:rolleyes:

 

NO COOKING!:D

No Washing!:)

No making beds.:)

Someone else makes sure everyone is entertained.:)

A new port to visit and sea days just to relax....

We have been doing this for years and love it!:D

[maxs mom]

We'll be doing our fifth in a row this year. Absolutely love them! We don't have kids......there are plenty of them on board, but we don't frequent the places that they do, so it doesn't bother us much. I can't imagine Christmas without doing a cruise now. Takes the stress right out of it. No cooking, cleaning, buying tons of gifts, and visiting with relatives that you'd rather not see. We especially like to book the cruises that encompass Christmas AND New Year's! Tons of fun!

[Shelbyjane56]

We did an xmas cruise and also an easter cruise when our kids were younger...we learned it was fine if you have your kids and want to be around a buttload of kids, but we wont be doing it again!! The week before xmas and the week after new years seem to be the best...the week before xmas you will still see all the xmas decorations! I love kids, but not hundreds of them at the same time :D

[BillOh]

We did an xmas cruise and also an easter cruise when our kids were younger...we learned it was fine if you have your kids and want to be around a buttload of kids, but we wont be doing it again!! The week before xmas and the week after new years seem to be the best...the week before xmas you will still see all the xmas decorations! I love kids, but not hundreds of them at the same time :D

 

I like that idea. I've also heard this is the least crowded days for Disney as well.

[Puffinater]

We have done the Christmas cruise a couple times. The decorations are great throughout the ship. As for kids...well there are tons of them.

[Gracie115]

all this is true....and it's also nearly twice as costly as the cruises just before and just after the holidays.....:eek:

[hollon]

Yes - remember it is almost double the price a christmas cruise - we paid about 1000.00 each for inside cabins on our voyager cruise this past christmas - hope you have better luck

[PhoenixDawgCruising]

I've done Thanksgiving and New Years, never Christmas. I would love to try Christmas, but the prices are so high, and I always need 2 JSs, so the prices are just silly.

 

During our Thanksgiving cruise a few years back, a record was set for the most ever kids on the Vision at one time.:eek:

[seaofwonder]

This past year we did a 7 day leaving 12/13....but in 2010 we're trying a 12/19 out of Puerto Rico.

On the 12/13 we didn't notice a lot of kids and it was cheaper. However, my work shuts down for 2 weeks at Christmas and the extra money is worth the boss not noticing I'm out of town :-) And I don't have to use up vacation days (we get paid during the shut down and it's not vacation days).

[CruisinNole]

We've cruised the past 3 Christmases. Love it and have already booked this Christmas on the Radiance. We take the shorter cruises but they are still pretty pricey. There are lots of kids and families. We don't have kids at home any longer and prefer to cruise during the more adult times but didn't feel overwhelmed at all the children on board. In fact, I found it more pleasureable than cruising during Spring Break.