New Years Eve Cruise......Worth the Extra Money??

[isujim]

I have cruised a lot......but never a holiday cruise. Considering New Year's cruise not this year but next year........

 

Prices are 50% more and in some cases higher.........

 

Is it worth the money??

 

If anyone has been on a New Years Eve cruise......tell me about it and what made it special for you.

 

Thanks

[Nitemare]

NYE cruises cost more because more people are off of school/work and that's the only week they can go. So the premium price is due to demand, not due to extra features (although I'm sure there's a fun NYE party, I doubt it costs all the extra money).

 

So if you can only go on a cruise that week, then sure, it's probably worth the extra money. But if you're asking if it's 50% more fun than a regular week cruise, then the answer is "unlikely"

[isujim]

I tend to agree with you..........but was looking for justification:D Don't think I'm going to find it.:)

[NoDayButToday]

We went on one on Carnival. It wasn't really anything THAT special. They made NYE a formal night and had a party up on Lido deck. They tried to trick drunk people into buying REALLY expensive bottles of champagne if they weren't on the top deck to figure out that champagne was free at the party, people got extraordinarily drunk, and when we were walking around early the next morning (a port day) we found people passed out on random couches around the ship still in their formal clothes. :p

[lonig]

My sister and I took our college age daughters on a New Years eve cruise because it was the only time all of the kids were out of school. We went on Carnival Destiny out of San Juan and it was one of the best trips we have ever been on. Lots of activities, great weather, lots of other college kids for them to have fun with, and yes it did cost more but was worth every penny we spent! I would do it again tomorrow.

[PhoenixCruiser]

I tend to agree with you..........but was looking for justification:D Don't think I'm going to find it.:)

 

Too many kids if you ask me Jim :D

 

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[cruise0505]

we're on the Dream this NY's and didn't pay a lot....$599 for an ocean view..... and we booked this month

[isujim]

You know I even forgot about the kid factor...........and I'm not against kids..........but mine are grown:) and my grandchildren are just wonderful......

 

I think nitemare is right.......probably the only time many can go.........

 

and Phoenix is right too................hhhmmmmm

 

maybe this isn't such a great idea:confused:

[michmike]

sounds like 2 good reasons for me to avoid it

 

1) lots more kids than usual as school christmas break is likely still in effect

 

2) lots of folks over doing it with the alcohol due to the "festive" occasion

 

Neither sounds like the recipe for a relaxing cruise to me. I'd be willing to bet that the week right after new years might be even cheaper than normal weeks as there is so much demand for Christmas and New Years that a slump in demand after the holidays likely takes place and pricing needs to address that. You might check and see..

 

AND you'd reduce the number of kids onboard as well as folks who can't handle their liquor

[spongerob]

Jim, we really enjoyed a NYE cruise we took a couple years ago. It was a longer cruise (11 days) so there weren't huge numbers of kids on board. Unfortunately, the bunch that was on board were hell-raisers.

 

In many ways it was one of our most enjoyable cruises. In other ways, it taught us a huge lesson about holiday cruises, and it will take a great deal of contemplation on our part before we book another one.

[isujim]

Appreciate your reply Rob.............not sure what we will do.........I guess it is one of those things that eventually we will probably try........you know, been there, done that.........we also if we do this will probably look at 10 days plus........but boy those really get up there in price.

 

Get ready for the cold Thursday:)

[cruisinbuddy]

I'd love to do a new Years Eve cruise. Someday I'll do it. DW doesn't want to try a Christmas cruise, so I lose on that one, but I will do at least one NYs cruise.

[chasetf]

I have cruised a lot......but never a holiday cruise. Considering New Year's cruise not this year but next year........

 

Prices are 50% more and in some cases higher......... Is it worth the money?? If anyone has been on a New Years Eve cruise......tell me about it and what made it special for you. Thanks

We did one for the 91/92 NYE. We had a great time (without the "disadvantages" mentioned above). Guess more families (with kids) are doing them.... I donot remember any on our cruise.

 

As far as the extra cost, it is a personal decision. We paid it at the time, do not know if we would again. We usually have other "non-cruise" NYE plans with our "land-locked" friends. :)

[SPARKLE10]

Hi:

 

If you're looking for someone who loves NY Eve cruise and has taken six or seven (kind of lost count) and 40 cruises overall, then you've found me. My DH and myself, we love New Years Eve cruises. We've been on Princess, RCCL, and the American Hawaill Line (no longer around for New Years Eve.) We were on a RCCL ship for the millineuim cruise and and a couple more with RCCL. We were on the Dawn Princess last New Years Eve. We will be on the Freedom of the Seas next month, and for 2007, we will be on the Jewel of the Seas, for New Years Eve. I just remembered, we were on a Carnival ship one time for New Years. I remember it now because it was the only one we found free champagne. Yes, it's expensive. We haven't found, in our experience, any more people drinking than a normal cruise. Also, we haven't found a lot of children on our NY Eve cruises. We're in our late 50's and have kids and grandkids, and we enjoy the kids more than some of the adults we have encountered during the past 20 years we've cruised. One of the big reasons I like to cruise for New Years Eve, is that when we're home, I have a husband who works on New Years Eve and when he's not at work, doesn't like to go out driving that night, so we usually stay home. When he's at work (works midnight to 8AM), it's usually just me and my two dogs for New Years Eve. Although I love my dogs, it's nice to have my husband with me, and this is the only way I can guarantee that he will be with me. You have found one person who loves New Years Eve cruises and hasn't encountered the problem of "drunks" any more than usual; and we haven't found it to be filled with a lot of children. But as I've stated before, we don't mind the kids, we actually enjoy them, since our kids and grand kids can't cruise with us every time. I can only think of two times out of 40 cruises we've had problem with kids being out of control on our cruises and they've both been Carnival ships that have left from New York. Those were the only two cruises where we had wished the parents had more control of their kids.

 

Happy Cruising.....Sparkle 10;)

[florida cruiser girl]

Cruised last Christmas Eve through Jan 2 on the RCCL Mariner of the Seas. It was awesome! and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!!

It was a longer and special itinerary for the ship which was cool. I didn't encounter anyone drinking more than on any other cruises I've been on and it didn't seem like there were any more kids on board than normal either. With that many people on board it seemed a nice mix. Most everyone was in a very festive and happy mood throughout the cruise. A benefit definitely was that we could have a few drinks and like stated above, not have to worry about being out driving home from someplace!! At dinner, they had a special meal and gave everyone noisemakers, party hats, etc. and dinner was a blast!! Then they had a balloon drop in the promenade, which was conjested, but lots of fun!

Overall, I really enjoyed it and found it to be very relaxing without the stresses of being home cooking, traveling, etc. I cannot say enough how much fun it was!! :) I would recommend it and I very much feel it was worth the money!!

[geoherb]

We've only taken one New Year's Eve cruise--Celebrity's Century. It was great. We got on the ship on Christmas Eve and off on January 2.

 

We're coming up on our fourth Christmas cruise. Since my DH teaches at a community college, Christmas break is one of the few times we can take a longer cruise. And we like the longer ones because there are fewer children on them. I think many families tend to stick to the shorter holiday cruises.

 

If your heart is set on one particular ship and itinerary, then holiday cruises can be expensive. We've saved a ton of money by waiting until after final payment date. This year we booked the last week in September because our choice was down to two ships and it looked like prices weren't coming down any farther. Last year we booked the week of Thanksgiving and got a steal.

 

The cruiselines do some special things for passengers during the holidays, but it probably costs them less than $50 per person--decorations, party favors, special menus, cheap champagne.

[trish1c]

oops double post

[trish1c]

Is it worth the money??

 

Gosh, I hope so. I'm going on one this year. :D

I justified it this way -- everything is more expensive on NYE. If I stayed home, I'd probably plunk down $300 anyway just for one night so I shaved that off the price of the cuise & viola it didn't seem so bad. Plus no drunk drivers & at least for me, I'll wake up somewhere warm not to 2 feet of snow.

I will tell you book early & shop around. I started looking in May/June. Searched for about a month & finally found something I could live with in July. My cabin is now sold out but until it was, the price jumped to $600 pp more than I paid. :eek:

[on board]

We were cruising from 12-24-05 through 01-02-06 last year. Christmas was difficult for me as we did not have our Family with us. Our kids are grown so the many kids that were on the cruise it sort of made me blue! NYE on the other hand:p , We were cruising on the Splendour RCI and they really made that night special. There were 4 different places you could go to party. We chose the live band and then ended up at he disco. They served free champ. and finger foods then had a breakfast. WE did pay more for this cruise and for the money it was worth it, but I don't think I will ever do a Holiday cruise again. The Holidays are all about Family and even though we had our dear friends with us they still were not family!

Happy Cruising

[isujim]

I appreciate everyone that has posted........just the type of info I'm looking for........great job of posting the emotions both good and bad on sailing on a holiday...........decisions, decisions................

[Barbara Hornblower]

We're spending Xmas at home, and taking off for New Year's on the Veendam...I don't expect a lot of kids because (1) it's HAL, and (2) it's actually the week after Xmas (Dec 30-Jan 6). And the prices per person are $50 cheaper now than when we booked in late September (ouch), and we got bottom of the totem pole guarantees.

 

It will be a lot more exciting on the ship than our typical "Dick Clark" New Year's celebrations at home.

[WindinmySails]

Sounds festive, but a bit noisy for me--and I used to be one of the noisy ones:D

[Bonnie J.]

We've been on a number of New Year's cruises - favorite was TINY Dolphin IV, which is no more, for the Mellinium(sp). We always have a lot of fun but have a lot of fun on all our cruises (45+++). This year we said why pay more for free champaign? Yes, there's a party on deck but there's always a party on deck. So, we'll probably just stay home and still have fun then cruise in January or February for less $$.