Have you ever cruised over Christmas?

[dexter]

We cruised the southern Caribbean the week before Christmas and I'll never forget listening to a steel band in Barbados playing jingle bells and then there was a choir in St Marten singing oh come all ye faithful. Those are memories you'll never forget.

[lgt]

We were on the Volendam last Christmas with our 2 kids (23 & 16) and we had a wonderful, stress free holiday cruise. We ordered a tree from Ship's Services and it was in our room when we arrived. We opened the few gifts we had (the cruise was a gift) before we left and picked up a few thinkgs for each other in each port to open (also the ships shops). Jewelry in Cozumel, t-shirts & music in Key West, etc. I baked a little before we left and took a couple of tims with us. A few of which we gave to our cabin attendant. Our best memories are of Christmas Eve in Roatan. We took a bunch of boxes of little league baseball equipment for the small island. The faces of the kids receiving this on Christmas Eve was priceless. Only drawback was embarkation in FLL. It was truly crazy. Traffic was incredibly horrid. Would do it again in a heartbeat.

[bethd]

Thank you all for posting your memories of past Christmas cruises. Just reading these posts and hearing your memories from the past, has gotten my whole family excited. I know it'll be a Christmas to remember. I love the suggestion of taking a small light up tree for our cabin. My 11 year old son was happy to hear Santa will stop by. (even though he's too old for Santa).

 

THanks again everyone. Keep the memories coming.

 

 

Beth

[Arubalisa]

I don't have any Christmas sailing memories personally, but my family cruised on the Grandeur of the Seas Christmas 2001. Here are just a couple of pictures of the ship in it's holiday finery. My favorite are the Gingerbread Houses...:)

 

BTW, DH & I decided we would spend that Christmas with his family in NJ rather than the sunny Caribbean. :( NEVER AGAIN will we miss the chance of a Caribbean Christmas!

[Arubalisa]

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.

Does HAL do this with all their ships at Christmas?

 

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.

Yes, how true indeed. We personally learned that lesson the hard way. :(

 

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.

We are purposely challenging all members of our family to find "small" but NOT necessarily cheap, ;) Christmas presents. Some of our gifts are being purchased through Ship's Gift Services. Our new foster-to-adopt 8 year old daughter- who still believes in Santa Claus- is fourtunate to be celebrating Christmas THREE times. Christmas at Thanksgiving at my in laws, Christmas on the ship (think compact gifts like jewelry) with a Christmas stocking and few other goodies, and when we return home...Santa has arrainged it so that some of the larger gifts like her first bicycle, will be awaiting her :D

 

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. -dave

What a beautiful ship she was!!!

 

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.

Like REAL Christmas cookies?

 

Do all cabins have CD player's or just the suites?

[elmorejj]

No Lisa, the cabins on the Zaandam do not have CD players. The veranda suites and mini-suites have VCRs but the only music is from the PA system....jean :cool:

[kryos]

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.

Oh, man. You are all making me soooooooo jealous. :)

 

I would love to cruise for the holidays at some point. Sadly, I doubt I'll ever get the chance due to work schedules. That's a tough time to get off, and even with my 27 years seniority, there are still others with more than me.

 

But, at least this gives me something to make retirement worth looking forward too. :)

 

Blue skies and have an awesome holiday cruise!

 

--rita

[longtimecruiser]

Took my first Christmas Cruise when I was ten and took one every year till I was 21. I have some wonderful memories. My mother always took a tree and mini stockings for the cabin. She even found brick tissue paper and covered a suitcase with the paper. Put our tree on top of the decorated suitcase and hung the stockings. This was on the old Rotterdam and old Nieuw Amsterdam. We had gifts in our cabin, had Santa come to the lounge and give gifts. This was every year on Hal for Christmas. Have taken another Christmas Cruise several years ago when my daughter was in high School. We are going again this year and I know that Hal will do a great job and I'll have more wonderful memories to add . Christmas on a ship is the best!!!!!!!!