looking for opinions christmas.new years cruise

[ladyduarte]

i am going on my first cruise with my husband for our 1st anniversary in november, (Hoping we love it ) on princess,

well my family is talking a family cruise type thing december 2005 about 30 of us mix of adults and kids, which line would you use, and what are your thought on crusing the week after christmas

when do they typically leave the day after christmas i am unsure of how that works,

am i asking for trouble price and passenger wise??

any thoughts of opinions greatly appreciated

 

looking forward to chatting with you all as my cruise gets closer

 

 

 

carribean princess nove 13, 2004

1st cruise for us

 

 

 

Lesa

[usavvy2]

RE -

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> ...well my family is talking a family cruise type thing december 2005 about 30 of us mix of adults and kids, which line would you use, and what are your thought on crusing the week after christmas; when do they typically leave the day after christmas i am unsure of how that works, am i asking for trouble price and passenger wise?? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

IMHO, with kids, I'd favor Royal Caribbean and Princess. We - I mean EYE was rushed trying to squeeze in all my social holiday commitments AND pack and leave for a 12/28/03 departure. (DH didn't feel that level of stress. ) But, we wanted to experience a New Years at sea and understood we'd be paying more for that privilege. It WAS nice, but now we can check it off our list and go back to booking in January after the holidays are over... and when the prices are a tad lower as well!

 

Last December, I did an analysis of 2005 New Years sailings for my friend (who wanted to run away from Christmas due to a recent death in the family). I found that Disney was priced higher than Royal Caribbean and all of the Disney cruises were longer in duration than the standard 7 night cruise. (The longer the cruise the more revenue generated from the same client base.) When I pulled info, RCI had a 10 ni. holiday western caribbean cruise from New Orleans, a 9 night w. carib. from Miami, a 10 night e. carib from Miami, a 7 night w. carib from Ft. Lauderdale, and a 9 night w. carib. from Tampa. The 7 night was scheduled to depart on 12/20; the rest on 12/24! I can't imagine starting a cruise on 12/24. (Keep in mind this is old data so you'll want to confirm this is still true and they didn't change schedules since my research last December for this coming December!)

 

I think these links might shed some additional light on the subject - one is my review of the New Years cruise (on Holland America).

 

Booking for New Years

 

My New Years Cruise Review

 

not taking vacations but collecting experiences!

 

usavvy2

 

Royal Princess 9/04/04 - "Europe or Bust!" 

[wwinfl91]

We did a Christmas cruise a couple of years ago with my wife's parents. While the decorations on the ship were nice, the cruise was crowded and so were all the ports we visited. If you have to take a cruise during the holiday season (because of time off etc.) then keep in mind this is when the ships will be running close to full and the prices are high. You won't find many specials then.

 

Have a good cruise.

 

HAL Noordam 3/97 West Carib

Hal Westerdam 12/97 East Carib

HAL Veendam 11/98 East Carib

Hal Zaandam 12/00 South Carib

HAL Veendam 10/01 Panama Canal

RCCL Enchantment 09/02 W.Carib

Costa Atlantica 12/02 E.Carib

HAL Noordam 03/03 S.Carib

Golden Princess 07/03 Med

Celebrity Zenith 12/03 W.Carib

HAL Maasdam 05/04 Canada

[CruiseFever]

Be careful: This can be addictive

 

We cruised for the first time during the December holidays three years ago and agreed we had to do it every year.

 

Regardless of the line you pick you'll find a lot of other families and a lot of kids. We enjoyed the Carnival Victory two times, the Carnival Legend once and will be going back on the Victory this year.

 

Or so is the plan

 

Last month we discovered Princess and between then and December will rack up three cruises which, to me, could put the holiday sailing up for grabs.

 

Maybe

 

We've met friends along the way who also enjoy holiday cruising, as you will, just swear by it and Carnival did a really good job on our sailings. From champagne as we boarded to the lighting of the Menorah ceremony in the Atrium to the crew roaming about caroling, it was quite festive.

 

One factor that is significant in your decision might be price. Holiday sailings, in general, are more expensive and the December holiday sailings are as expensive as it gets. Personally I think they're worth the extra charged because you get a richer, more memorable experience.

 

Here's more on that:

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/holiday_cruising

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Carnival Victory 12/19/04

Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

 

[sue d. miller]

I have never been on a cruise at Christmas. I can't even imagine how beautiful it must be. Beautifully decorated trees and decorations all over the ship. And the thought of being out on deck under the stars on Christmas eve Has to be the most glorious moments of a lifetime. Maybe someday for me.

 

Sue

7 days on Star Princess 10/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LouinMA]

My wife and I have been on two New Years cruises with the last one being 2000. Both were terribly exciting and a great way to bring in the New Year. We departed a day or two after Christmas and I must say this was a nice way to close out the Hoilday season. The ships were fully decorated for Christmas and we were still able to spend the Holiday with our families.

 

The past two years we have gone out to a big dinner dance locally and stay over in a hotel to recapture,in a very small way the cruise, the experience we had previously.

 

Lou

[cruisingfreak]

For the past 6 yrs, we've cruised at xmas time. 2 of those years were also new years cruises. I have to say, it's so much fun, especially new yrs. Everyone dresses more formally, during these times. In the summer, it's more casual. The ship is beautifully decorated.

 

We have another xmas/new yrs. cruise coming up this Dec., can't wait.

 

Minette

 

Caribbean Princess.....7/24/2004

 

Island Princess......12/20/2004

[Pam in CA]

This Christmas will be my 5th holiday cruise in a row. The others are right in that you pay a premium for going at Christmas or New Years. Not only are the cruise prices much higher but your airfare is also much higher.

 

That said, I hope to continue cruising at this time of the year for a long time to come. It's great to get away from the cold, snow and wind and just be able to sit back and relax.

 

We've done holiday cruises that were port-intensive and while they were great and interesting, we came back exhausted. Now, we look for a cruise that leaves the day we want to leave and has a minimum number of ports.

 

Song of Norway & Song of America, 1986-88; Royal Princess 2/99; Sun Princess 1/00; Ocean Princess 12/00; Royal Princess 4/01; Grand Princess 12/23/01; Sea Princess 2/9/02; Explorer of the Seas 12/21/02; Coral Princess 8/9/03; Nordic Empress 12/27/03.

 

-- Regal Princess (4/20/04) -- Roll Call

-- Caribbean Princess (12/26/04) -- Roll Call

-- Royal Princess (4/21/05)