Decorating for the Holidays

[leerathje]

Does anyone know when they start decorating the ships for Christmas?

 

L.

 

[Crew News]

15 minutes ago, leerathje said:

Does anyone know when they start decorating the ships for Christmas?

 

L.

My experience is seeing the holiday decorations start going up right after Thanksgiving dinner is finished.  I saw crew working at 11:00PM that evening and the ship was well decorated within just a few days after Thanksgiving..  Little additions were still being made when I left the ship the first week in December.

Edited June 9, 2021 by Crew News

[leerathje]

Really?  How exciting!  My fingers are crossed, as we are hoping to be on the Rotterdam from December 1 to December 12, 2021.

 

L.

 

[Crew News]

3 minutes ago, leerathje said:

Really?  How exciting!  My fingers are crossed, as we are hoping to be on the Rotterdam from December 1 to December 12, 2021.

 

L.

I board the Nieuw Statendam on Nov 28 and expect most of the decorations to already be in place.

[Sharon in AZ]

1 hour ago, leerathje said:

Really?  How exciting!  My fingers are crossed, as we are hoping to be on the Rotterdam from December 1 to December 12, 2021.

 

L.

 

There will be decorations while you on board but they really amp up decorations getting closer to Christmas. 
 

We have sailed many times in December and I love all the Christmas decorations. I am looking forward to our Holiday Cruise this December and all the decorations. 

I am even thinking of bringing my own mini tree!  🎄

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by Sharon in AZ

[erewhon]

1 hour ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I am even thinking of bringing my own mini tree!  🎄

 

 

Yes, we took a little Christmas Tree, and decorations which I decorated in the stateroom, the room stewards were amused by the little tree.   Still have the tree and decorations, which I thought we would use on the Maasdam Christmas 2020, but unfortunately that was not to be.!

[Donald]

You need to realize that most cruise ships do not have space to store Christmas Decorations. Some cruise lines employ seasonal decorators who come onboard in convenient ports to install decorations they brought with them.

Other cruise lines rent or buy Christmas Decorations and ship them to a convenient port, where they are loaded onboard and put up by onboard staff.

The timing of the decorations depends on many factors; shipping schedules, available cabins, convenient ports to receive shipped decorations, availability of decorators, and now COVID requirements.

[Hflors]

27 minutes ago, Donald said:

You need to realize that most cruise ships do not have space to store Christmas Decorations. Some cruise lines employ seasonal decorators who come onboard in convenient ports to install decorations they brought with them.

Other cruise lines rent or buy Christmas Decorations and ship them to a convenient port, where they are loaded onboard and put up by onboard staff.

The timing of the decorations depends on many factors; shipping schedules, available cabins, convenient ports to receive shipped decorations, availability of decorators, and now COVID requirements.

I hear you!  We did a Christmas cruise on Amsterdam about five years ago from San Diego to ft lauderdale.   I think it was 17 days.   A total disappointment.   When we boarded  on 12/15 the hall to the ship was  decorated and christmas music was playing.  Once inside the ship, NOTHING!  No decorations or music!  I went to the front desk to ask when the decorations would be put up and the person said sometime before Christmas.  About the 22nd they put up one tree in the atrium that was so small they actually put a table underneath it to make it look bigger!   They put up some fake greenery on the atrium railing and down the stairs.  In one of the lounges they errected a gingerbread house.  That is about it.  On the 23 they did a tree lighting and Christmas carols started to be played.

 

I saw pictures of the cruise after the Christmas cruise (the world cruise) and the entrance hall had more decorations for the world cruise than the whole ship had for the christmas cruise!   We will be on a ship this christmas, but only because we are celebrating our anniversary which is right before christmas.  Anyway I now know what to expect.

[Donald]

HAL is one of the cruise lines that hires an outside decorator with rental decorations.

Every year the decorator gets more expensive, and HAL's decorating budget gets smaller.

When I worked there, the Captain and I wanted to give Christmas Cards to all guests and crew.

HAL HQ said "No Way. Too expensive."

So the Captain and I agreed to pay for the cards ourselves. Seattle HQ found out and threatened to fire us if we paid for the cards. It would make the other ships who were not giving the cards look cheap.

So  - no Christmas Cards.

[Roz]

11 hours ago, erewhon said:

 

Yes, we took a little Christmas Tree, and decorations which I decorated in the stateroom, the room stewards were amused by the little tree.   Still have the tree and decorations, which I thought we would use on the Maasdam Christmas 2020, but unfortunately that was not to be.!

 

Do the tree and decorations have to be flame retardant?

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, Roz said:

 

Do the tree and decorations have to be flame retardant?

 

I purchased the smallest decorated Christmas tree from HAL before we sailed on the Prinsendam.  It was perfect for sitting on the table in our stateroom.  I took it home ad still is part of my Christmas decorations.  

 

13 hours ago, Donald said:

You need to realize that most cruise ships do not have space to store Christmas Decorations.

 

Correct.  And I can attest to what I am about to write.

 

At the end of a holiday cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam, there were boxes of Christmas decorations prepared for off loading in Port Everglades that had the ship's name on the box as well as the contents.  Our guide on the Behind the Scenes Tour told us that they would be stored in a warehouse and returned to the ship before the next holiday season.  

[rkacruiser]

I can't add any information as to the date when the holiday decor begins to appear.  But, I have had enough experience to make a comment about when the decor is removed.

 

It depends on the ship and, I suppose, the ship's Hotel Director.  I have experienced holiday cruises that ended a few days after New Year's and the decor was still in evidence until the morning of our port arrival.  On another cruise, arising on January 2nd, the decor was gone.  

[canadianbear]

I had always heard how beautiful the ships were decorated for Christmas.  We were on the Koningsdam from  November 27 to December 20th, 2017.  They didn’t start decorating until December 13.  I was worried I wouldn’t see any before we disembarked.    There weren’t a ton (I had expected more) but I loved the Christmas houses displayed and around the Dutch Cafe.  Crow’s Nest was pathetic but atrium was lovely.  

[Donald]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I can't add any information as to the date when the holiday decor begins to appear.  But, I have had enough experience to make a comment about when the decor is removed.

 

It depends on the ship and, I suppose, the ship's Hotel Director.  I have experienced holiday cruises that ended a few days after New Year's and the decor was still in evidence until the morning of our port arrival.  On another cruise, arising on January 2nd, the decor was gone.  

The ship and Hotel Director have nothing to do with it.

The HAL VP of Hotel Operations in Seattle decides everything.

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, Donald said:

The ship and Hotel Director have nothing to do with it.

The HAL VP of Hotel Operations in Seattle decides everything.

 

That may be true.  I can't prove that it isn't.  But, it has been my experience that the Senior Officers on the ships do have authority to override, at times, what dictates come from whomever the Vice-President of whatever is in Seattle.  

 

How have I learned this?  From the mouths of those Senior Officers during my Behind the Scenes Tours.

[Donald]

What you say is very rarely true.

Yes, we did occasionally get away with making our own decisions.

But when it comes to spending money at HAL, Seattle decides EVERYTHING.

[rkacruiser]

16 hours ago, Donald said:

What you say is very rarely true.

Yes, we did occasionally get away with making our own decisions.

But when it comes to spending money at HAL, Seattle decides EVERYTHING.

 

Micromanaging from Seattle has been the most frequent complaint of which I am aware from those senior officers who have spoken of such.

 

What more expense does it make if decorations are taken down on January 2nd or January 3rd when the ship is not due into port a day or two later?  

 

It's such micromanaging that has changed the HAL cruise experience for us experienced HAL cruisers.  

 

During my most recent HAL cruises, Volendam 2019-2020 and Eurodam 2020, at least some of those Executive Vice-President's responsible for such have either left the Company or a different thinking has taken hold.  

 

 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

During my most recent HAL cruises, Volendam 2019-2020 and Eurodam 2020, at least some of those Executive Vice-President's responsible for such have either left the Company or a different thinking has taken hold.  

 

 

One of the interesting things about the long pause in sailing is that not one actual sailing has taken place with the new HAL management in control. Between a new world and a new HAL President, no one knows what to expect next time we step aboard.

[rkacruiser]

21 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

One of the interesting things about the long pause in sailing is that not one actual sailing has taken place with the new HAL management in control. Between a new world and a new HAL President, no one knows what to expect next time we step aboard.

 

 

Well said and exactly correct!

[rucrazy]

The ships we have sailed during the holidays have all had outstanding crew..

The decorations seem to appear and disappear by magic ...so efficiently.. 

[madera1]

We were on the ship from Dec 11-18, 2019 ( our last sailing before canceled cruises). The ship was decorated throughout the week and by the last few days there was a village with train and numerous Christmas trees throughout the ship,

Edited June 13, 2021 by madera1