Have you ever cruised over Christmas?

[bethd]

We have recently booked the Zaandam 10 day Christmas cruise. I have never cruised over the holidays and would like to know what to expect. I'm sure the ship is decorated but does Santa make an appearance? Is there a special menu for Christmas dinner? Any info you can share would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Beth

[sail7seas]

Hi Beth. We have cruised a number of times on HAL ships over Christmas and New Years. We Love the holiday cruises and think HAL does a wonderful job.

The ships are beautifully decorated and there is always a festive holiday meal. On Christmas Eve the crew sings beautiful carols and the Captain lights the Christmas tree in the show lounge. On Amsterdam, when we came out from hearing the caroling, we were so surprised to find a gorgeous buffet set up around the railing at the atrium staircase. We were not expecting it but we sure did enjoy it.

 

Santa comes on Christmas morning. The last time we cruised Christmas was on Amsterdam two years ago and they went on the speaker system to announce there was an unidentified sleigh sighted in the sky near us....his progress was updated and the children (and adults) had a wonderful time when he arrived via the smokestacks. He had a sack full of gifts for the children.

 

I highly recommend an HAL Christmas cruise.

[imsulin]

Hi, Beth! I cruised on the Zaandam over Christmas 2002, and had a wonderful time! The ship was beautifully (and very tastefully) decorated, and all of the cabin doors had small wreaths on them. They had a Christmas Eve Catholic Mass (as well as morning Mass), and a non-denominational Christmas Eve service as well. We had plum pudding for dessert one night, and turkey et. al trimmings was offered on Christmas Day. I think Christmas was on a Wednesday or something that year, so it was right in the middle of the cruise, and we "cruised" the coast of Jamaica (v-e-r-y slowly...hotter than heck, too!) instead of stopping there. There were 13 ships in port at Cozumel on Christmas Eve, and many had to tender, but we didn't. "Sanata's" arrival was announced via intercom, and he made his appearance by the funnels on the top deck, and then did a "pied piper" thing with the kids, leading them down to the theater for gifts and goodies. I was doing my "lazy slob" thing, and hanging out by the aft pool, where the weather was absolutely beautiful - and very hot. I remember there weren't very many kids on that cruise - hardly ever saw any. The only negative thing was that we had to leave HMC at 2:00 pm, leaving the Zui passengers still enjoying it. It was unusually cold in Orlando and Port Canaveral that year, and it was absulutely freezing at Sailaway! So..since my hand was numb from holding my pina colada, I made my way to the Crow's Nest for some Bailey's and cream. (OK - more than some). All in all, it was one of my very BEST cruise experiences! The Zaandam is my favorite HAL ship - great-sized cabins and very easy to navigate. I still have my hand-painted Dutch hat with a cute Christmas scene on it. I know you'll have a great time!

[DFD1]

You're in for a special treat. The two postings before this one capture it beautifully. We've cruised at Christmas 3 or 4 times, most notably on the SS Norway in her heyday.

The ship was a fantasy land, decorated from stem to stern. More recently on the old Westerdam. HAL did a very elegant holiday theme. Wonderful special menus and lovely music everywhere. For those who can get away, Christmas is the perfec time of year to cruise.

[imsulin]

DFD1 - I've been on the Norway nine times, beginning in the heyday 80's, but - sadly - never over Christmas. I'm sure you have great memories of that!

[Esme]

We've cruised the last 3 years at Christmas and will do so again this year. As the other posters said the ships are beautifully decorated and a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings is served Christmas night.

 

Sail said "On Christmas Eve the crew sings beautiful carols and the Captain lights the Christmas tree in the show lounge. On Amsterdam, when we came out from hearing the caroling, we were so surprised to find a gorgeous buffet set up around the railing at the atrium staircase."

 

We have never seen the Captain light the Christmas tree or a buffet set up after the Christmas Eve concert on any of the ships we have been on at Xmas (Veendam & Volendam), so maybe it was something special on the Amsterdam - sounds very nice. The concert was lovely with the Indonesian and Filipino crew singing carols in their native tongue. Don't miss it.

 

We've had loads of kids on all our Xmas cruises and they were all well behaved and had a great time, especially when Santa arrived with a gift for each of them. :D

[mcduck]

We have spent Christmas on board in 2001, 2002 and are doing it again this year. HAL seems to put a lot of effort into their holiday sailings as the posters before me have indicated. You will not be disappointed.

[clopaw]

We will be on Rotterdam the week before Christmas. Will the ship be decorated for us, too?

[imsulin]

U-bet it will be decorated! They usually haul out the Christmas decorations right around Thanksgiving. (Wal-Mart hauls them out during their Back-to-School sales in August). Just kidding.....I think.

[sail7seas]

We have never seen the Captain light the Christmas tree or a buffet set up after the Christmas Eve concert on any of the ships we have been on at Xmas (Veendam & Volendam), so maybe it was something special on the Amsterdam .......

 

 

What a shame, Esme, that you have never seen the Captain light the tree in the show lounge. The festivity of it all and the lovely words from the Captain made it very special. They did it on the Rotterdam as well.

 

That buffet was about the best buffet we have ever seen on any ship. It was fabulous. Maybe you'll be luckier this year and you'll have one. :)

[Cruiseoften]

We've done several Holiday cruises celebrating both Christmas and New Year on board - it's a magic time! You see many family groups from the Great Grandparents all the way down to a month old baby - taken everywhere in his special basket, seldom awake but when he was he gave you that goofy smile! Stewards were almost lining up to offer baby sitting services.

 

The crew seem to work especially hard to ensure everyone is have a wonderful time - our steward told us he wanted additional cabins at that time of year, kept him busy and allowed less time to miss his family.

 

Can't say I recall the tree lighting cermony - I do recall, once, a small breakfast spread for the children before they received gifts from Santa.

 

The dawning of the New Year was greeted several years ago with streamers from the balcony forming a real curtain to the lounge below. Sadly, that too was discontinued over the last couple of years. Of course we all had balloons and noise makers - for many it was an all night party! It's a great time to cruise. :D

[Bill S]

We were on the Amsterdam this past Christmas and New Years and HAL really does a nice job with decorations and festivities. There were a number of Christmas trees on the public decks and Captain Harris illuminated all of them at one time (don't ask me how he did this, but he did). Anyway, there was the special buffet after the crew Christmas eve presentation which was truly special. Although there were only about 35 kids on board for our cruise, Santa made a visit on Christmas afternoon, while we were in port at Ushuaia. I think the number of kids was small due to the 21-day duration of the cruise-it spanned a week before Christmas and a week after New Years.

 

HAL also had a priest, a protestant minister and a rabbi on board, so they tried to accomodate those guests who wished not to miss their religious celebration of the holiday time.

 

The decorations remained up until a few days after New Years. Each cabin door had a small hanging wreath. On the outside of the ship along both sides, HAL had large decals or painted on in large red letters "Happy Holidays" and in large blue or black letters, the same greeting across the large white superstructure on the front of the ship. Also they had a large illuminated star hanging between the funnels. The holidays are indeed, a special time to cruise.

 

Of course, there was a big party on New Years Eve both in the main showroom and in the Crow's Nest.

[ekerr19]

We LOVE cruising over the Holidays! No hassles at home, makes the holidays so much easier! Our kids first cruise was on the Amsterdam's Maiden Holiday voyage through the Panama Canal - it was fantastic!

 

We always let our kids pick out a gift, usually in St. Thomas, to bring home. Last time they both got really nice cameras.

 

I highly recommend Holiday cruising! :)

[jhannah]

They usually haul out the Christmas decorations right around Thanksgiving. (Wal-Mart hauls them out during their Back-to-School sales in August). Just kidding.....I think.

I don't think you're wrong here! It amazes me each year how early they put the holiday stuff on display for sale. :(

We haven't sailed over the holidays, but I'd love to. The DW likes to be around the grandkids on Christmas day. Maybe when they're a little more grown I can convince her to sail during this time period. It sounds fabulous.

[bethd]

Thanks everybody for the great information. I am truly looking forward to this cruise. It sounds like it'll be a very relaxed and special Christmas for my family on the Zaandam.

[stanjj111]

We are on the Volendam over new years and we are looking forward to celebrating on board and avoid holiday planning and false levity at home in the cold.

[arzz]

Have done MANY Christmas cruises -- it is always a great time -- some of our best memories -- like the year that Santa was arriving out on deck and just as everyone and all the kids got outside we were hit by a HUGE, unexpected squall -- instantly drenched to the skin but all smiles and laughter as we ran inside and enjoyed our egg nog as the kids got their gifts from Santa -- on that ship Santa was no other than the captain -- have only done Christmas on Holland America once and as I recall it was well done -- be aware that on the Holidays some people travel to do the holidays with a change of venue because last year they lost a loved one at holiday time -- others travel to get away from the great pressures imposed by the constant empasis on the holiday -- we found Holland America very low key -- all the holiday that you wanted was there if you looked for it, but we were also able to avoid much of the holiday when we wished. The crew show and carolling were great and the HAL staff, as usual were wonderful. And, of course, who can complain about an incredible holiday dinner that you do not have to cook yourself?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have done several Christmas cruises - will never so them again - too many children.

But - in your case - Santa does make an appearance and there will be a time when all the children are to report at a certain place for "gifts".

Some of the ships do decorate more than others.

We never had a special menu - sliced Tom Turkey - which is offered on other cruises.

 

[gliles]

Do you haul all your gifts and stockings? I can't imagine not being home for Christmas. I do so much baking and such, it would seem odd not to be home. I have so many rituals with the stockings, Christmas dinner on Christmas eve, family all around, etc. It is also the only time of the year that I take a full 2 weeks off together.

 

If I weren't going to be home, I can't imagine a place I would rather be than on a ship though.

[elmorejj]

I always decorate my cabin with an 18 inch fold up tree, I take all of the Xmas cards I have rec`d up till the day I leave and stick them around the vanity mirror. I decorate my cabin door also. Love the holidays on board....jean :cool:

[Customcruiser]

We were on the Sea Princess in the Fiji Islands at Christmas. If you can find one, and you also have a windowseal to put it in, bring a little tree that is lit by batteries. You can't imagine when you come into a port that the ship is along side the dock, and all of the wonderful island people can see that tree all lit up. If you do this, make sure you take extra batteries. We had our wonderfull crew running around that ship looking for batteries for us. Happy Sailing and a little early Merry Christmas. When your finished with your cruise, give it to your wonderful room butler. He or she will always remember you.:)

[DFD1]

Talking about Christmas.....I'll bet many of you have done this......We started collecting small items for the Christmas tree along the way on each trip many years ago. Now it takes two floor sized trees to hold them all. The ornaments number in the hundreds. These trees are towers of memories for us and they prompt a good deal of the holiday coversation when friends and family are about during the holidays. There are a dozen or so ship ornaments amoung the collection along with corn shuck dolls from Central America, crystal stars from Ireland and all sorts of exotic things from other parts of the world. Most cost less than five dollars,but they are precious now.

 

While they are of little material value, they are some of our prized possessions.

 

Happy Travels....especially during the Holidays.

[dakrewser]

Have done several Christmas cruises - will never so them again - too many children.

WE've done a couple of holiday cruises, but not on HAL. Both were on Renaissance (R.I.P.) which had a "no children" policy. There actually were 2 children on one of them (they had booked before the policy went into effect) but they certainly weren't a problem.

 

I have never cruised over the holidays and would like to know what to expect.

In '99 we did Christmas in the western Med, while in 2000 we did Christmas & New Year's in the eastern Med. Pictures of the ship's decorations are here . There were special festivities on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

 

We're thinking of "cruisin' for Christmas" again next year, possibly on the Rotterdam's Antarctica sailing. Have a great time!

 

-dave

[sopa]

My Mom, sister and I loved our Christmas cruise on the Zaandam so much last year that we booked for this year, too. This will be our third Christmas cruise.

 

We don't take our gifts with us. Instead, we buy (no peeking, of course!) small gifts in the shops aboard the ship and in the ports that we visit. Our gifts have included things like small Caribbean crafts, rolls of nickels for the slot machines, Zaandam magnets, tee shirts, etc. Nothing too big...our big gift is the cruise itself!

 

A little bit of ribbon and some wrapping paper fold nicely into the bottom of our suitcases...ditto small stockings. Of course, our packages are a little lumpy and bumpy, but that just makes them more interesting, and they look bright and inviting piled on our beds on Christmas morning. We sit in our p.j.'s and take turns opening, just like at home. Christmas cookies come later at the Java Bar!

 

And yes, take a little tree for your stateroom. Mine folds up into the size of a pair of shoes. We also pack our favorite Christmas CD's.

 

As others have said, the Zaandam is decorated from bow to stern. I loved the cabin door wreaths, the Santa caps on the Lido deck crew, the Christmas trees that seemed to be everywhere, and the main staircase festooned with boughs and ribbon.

 

I hope that you will enjoy the Christmas Zaandam as much as we did...and will!

[mhshapiro]

We did one holiday cruise (Christmas and New Year's) on Crystal Symphony. It was a round-trip Mexican Riviera cruise out of Los Angeles.

 

It was a good cruise. The ship was completely full, but on Crystal that was not a big problem. However, the holiday cruises typically command premium prices.

 

If you can cruise a little bit later, January is the slowest month in the travel business and fares are discounted heavily at that time.