Have you been on a xmas / nye cruise?

[mahdnc]

Countdown to Jan 1 2017 aboard Infinity.  The weather was too cold for any pool deck festivities.

 

 

[mahdnc]

Officers singing Christmas carols, Solstice Grand Foyer, Dec 24 2019, Tasman Sea

 

 

 

[mahdnc]

String music during lunch in Solstice's Murano, Christmas Day 2019

 

[mahdnc]

Christmas tree at Eclipse's library, Dec 2013

 

[mahdnc]

Cabin turndown on the evening of NYE (2013-14): chocolate on the pillow, party hats, and noisemakers (Eclipse)

 

 

Edited September 8, 2022 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

We were pleasantly surprised during cabin turndown on NYE (2019-20) with champagne from our Solstice cabin steward!

 

 

[mahdnc]

Couple having their photo taken, Solstice Grand Foyer, Jan 2018, Great Barrier Reef

Edited September 8, 2022 by mahdnc

[mahdnc]

You can also combine pre or post cruise activities to celebrate the holidays.  We rang in 2018 in Sydney right before our Great Barrier Reef cruise on Solstice.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2022 by mahdnc

[HskrCrsr]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

You can also combine pre or post cruise activities to celebrate the holidays.  We rang in 2018 in Sydney right before our Great Barrier Reef cruise on Solstice.

 

 

 

Great pictures, videos and suggestions. DW and I were on that same Solstice cruise. We were also on the water for the fireworks. Your pictures look a lot like ours. Were you on that boat in front of us? Something we'll never forget.

[stellarose]

we did CCL Mardi Gras this past NYE 22'

 

It was a blast. my two college kids loved it as well. so cool to say you were on the boat in the middle of the water when the "ball" drops. 

[weacat]

We were on the Millennium last year for a 4 day Christmas cruise.  There were a lot more kids on board than usual but nothing like other cruise lines.  Our DD - age 8 had a great time since there were a lot of activities for kids.  Santa came on board via a boat and gave out gifts to the kids.  

Edited September 8, 2022 by weacat

[d9704011]

We took a Princess cruise from Santiago, Chile to Rio over Xmas and NYE a few years ago and really enjoyed it.  That cruise actually stopped at ports on Xmas day (Ushaie sp?) and Montevideo (NYE) so probably different than Caribbean.

 

We are booked with Celebrity Equinox for this year in the Caribbean and lookjng forward to it.  Probably mainly adutls beacuse of price and cruise length.

[Cruise a holic]

We have done a couple of NYE cruises, about three years ago on the Edge.  They are great.  People in a holiday mood- dressed up to celebrate and it is great fun- hats and noise makers were supplied.  This year, we have another NYE cruise on the Apex however, with covid- maybe things have changed-  But I am sure will be fun!

[asnaleah]

Please consider a small Christmas gift for your cabin steward. It will be much appreciated.

[mahdnc]

11 hours ago, HskrCrsr said:

 

Great pictures, videos and suggestions. DW and I were on that same Solstice cruise. We were also on the water for the fireworks. Your pictures look a lot like ours. Were you on that boat in front of us? Something we'll never forget.

 

We were on the Galene and I had to look at a photo of the boat to answer your question.  The answer is "yes", we were on the boat in the foreground of your photo.  What a remarkable coincidence!  You are correct, it was a memorable evening.  Did you remember seeing the gigantic bats flying overhead!!

[Mcgeneseo]

8 hours ago, asnaleah said:

Please consider a small Christmas gift for your cabin steward. It will be much appreciated.

Since I won't know if I have a male or female steward, what would you suggest?  I hope to go on a holiday cruise in coming years to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary (a few days before Christmas....what was I thinking when I picked that date????) and I think that's a great idea.

[asnaleah]

Perhaps an Amazon gift card? Of course, cash is always appreciated, but a small gift as well would be lovely at Christmas time. Or, if you are stopping at a lot of ports, you could get some local snack or personal care item. Add some festive wrapping/ribbon too. Or a holiday card with cash works too and takes no space in your suitcase.

[WeBcruisingMN]

@mahdnc Hi David, hope you and the family are well! Thanks for all of the fun and festive Christmas-NYE pics. So much fun has been had and will be had 🎄

 

Question: I was thinking in a past post you had access to the decorating schedule for the ships? If I am remembering correctly, could you please post the link to that? While we won’t be on a ship over the actual holidays, we recently booked the December 4 Beyond cruise, so I am hoping the decorations will be complete before we begin our sailing. Thanks, if you have any info on that.

 

By the way, Theresa and Chris recently got engaged (on a Juneau glacier excursion while the four of us sailed the Solstice in Alaska, the ship where they met in 2018), and Theresa has moved to Australia to live with him. We are so happy for them, but already miss her (them) greatly. Wedding in Hawaii in late 2023. 🇦🇺🇺🇸A wonderful Celebrity love story, for sure ❤️
 

Take care and happy sailings, Sharon

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I would stick with cash. Anytime someone has given me a personal care item as a gift it has either gone to Goodwill or into the trash. I imagine the crew is just as picky as I am. With cash they can buy what they need or want, or send it home to their family. 

[miched]

No

 

Not interested as the cruises are overpriced and booked to the max.  There are many  cabins with 3 to 4 passengers because families take their children on the Christmas break.   Not complaining.  Great to be able to cruise with family.  
 

I don’t need to cruise during that time and will leave it to others that need to.   I have heard it can be a nice experience  but many crew members told me to stay away during that time.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[mahdnc]

3 hours ago, WeBcruisingMN said:

@mahdnc Hi David, hope you and the family are well! Thanks for all of the fun and festive Christmas-NYE pics. So much fun has been had and will be had 🎄

 

Question: I was thinking in a past post you had access to the decorating schedule for the ships? If I am remembering correctly, could you please post the link to that? While we won’t be on a ship over the actual holidays, we recently booked the December 4 Beyond cruise, so I am hoping the decorations will be complete before we begin our sailing. Thanks, if you have any info on that.

 

By the way, Theresa and Chris recently got engaged (on a Juneau glacier excursion while the four of us sailed the Solstice in Alaska, the ship where they met in 2018), and Theresa has moved to Australia to live with him. We are so happy for them, but already miss her (them) greatly. Wedding in Hawaii in late 2023. 🇦🇺🇺🇸A wonderful Celebrity love story, for sure ❤️
 

Take care and happy sailings, Sharon

 

Sharon,

 

Hi, it's always good to hear from you.  Congratulations on your daughter's engagement!  And Hawaii, too!  Very exciting.  Their story should be published in a Captains Club newsletter.  Did John and you know ahead of time about Chris's plan for the glacier excursion or were you simply surprised as you watched it unfold?

 

As far as your question is concerned, here is the link to the 2021 Holiday Experience brochure that you were referring to.  I pasted a screenshot of the decorating schedule below.  2021 Thanksgiving was on Nov 25.  So it looks like Celebrity scheduled each ship to be decorated on their first visit to their home port after Thanksgiving (or on Thanksgiving in the case of Summit).

 

 

Celebrity did publish a 2022 Holiday Experience brochure but it does not show a decorating schedule.

 

I hope John and you enjoy your Beyond cruise.  Take care!

 

David

 

[HskrCrsr]

11 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

We were on the Galene and I had to look at a photo of the boat to answer your question.  The answer is "yes", we were on the boat in the foreground of your photo.  What a remarkable coincidence!  You are correct, it was a memorable evening.  Did you remember seeing the gigantic bats flying overhead!!

 

We were staying at a hotel just at the base of the bridge and saw those bats every night. And to reinforce the topic of this thread, we were there for extra days specifically because it was so close to NYE. We're going back (different cruise line) to kick off 2024 in Sydney.

[WeBcruisingMN]

@mahdncThanks for the info, I am thinking it bodes well for the Beyond to be decorated by the time we board on Sunday, December 4th. I would think with it being a new ship, that they would want to have it decorated well too…I will report back and post some pics in a few months ✅

 

Looks like you have a nice TA cruise coming in October; hope you all have a lot of fun and smooth seas 🚢 

 

We kind of assumed an engagement would take place sometime during our week on the Solstice (8/19 to 8/26), especially since it was Theresa and Chris’ first time back on the ship since they met there and fell in love in April 2018. We just didn’t know when….We did an incredible hike on Deer Mountain in Ketchikan, but it didn’t happen there. The next day in Juneau, Theresa and Chris had booked the Helicopter/ Glacier / Dog sledding excursion, while John and I did the (more affordable) Bike and Brew. Chris asked her to marry him atop the glacier and the pics were beautiful! So we weren’t present, but found out quickly thereafter when we met-up in the theatre for the evening show and the two of them were beaming with smiles. 😁 They have been a great example of a faithful International couple, and I think- a good promo for a Celebrity love story. ❤️❤️

[GORDONCHICK]

We've done one Christmas, one New Year's, and several Thanksgivings on ships - though none on X.  I was fine with NYE on a ship.  At midnight, they pushed the 2 of the 2012 ice sculpture into the pool and put out the 3, then at least a hundred fully clothed people jumped into the pool.  I was a spectator for that.  I discovered for Christmas of 2013, I didn't really care for Christmas on a ship.  I prefer to be at home.  It's just me.  It had nothing to do with the ship or anything.  The food was good, the decorations were beautiful.  I would just rather be home.  But I'm perfectly fine with Thanksgiving on a ship!

[mahdnc]

On 9/9/2022 at 8:20 AM, WeBcruisingMN said:

@mahdncThanks for the info, I am thinking it bodes well for the Beyond to be decorated by the time we board on Sunday, December 4th. I would think with it being a new ship, that they would want to have it decorated well too…I will report back and post some pics in a few months ✅

 

Looks like you have a nice TA cruise coming in October; hope you all have a lot of fun and smooth seas 🚢 

 

We kind of assumed an engagement would take place sometime during our week on the Solstice (8/19 to 8/26), especially since it was Theresa and Chris’ first time back on the ship since they met there and fell in love in April 2018. We just didn’t know when….We did an incredible hike on Deer Mountain in Ketchikan, but it didn’t happen there. The next day in Juneau, Theresa and Chris had booked the Helicopter/ Glacier / Dog sledding excursion, while John and I did the (more affordable) Bike and Brew. Chris asked her to marry him atop the glacier and the pics were beautiful! So we weren’t present, but found out quickly thereafter when we met-up in the theatre for the evening show and the two of them were beaming with smiles. 😁 They have been a great example of a faithful International couple, and I think- a good promo for a Celebrity love story. ❤️❤️

 

Obviously you are very happy and proud parents.  The photos are as beautiful as they are remarkable.  If I were Chris, I would have also given Theresa a nice pair of stylish gloves with a hole properly positioned on the ring finger for that beautiful diamond to protrude.