What is it like sailing on Carnival for Christmas (Fascination 12/22/12)

My name is LaToya and we are taking our first family cruise out of Jacksonville on Decebmer 22nd. My husband has cruised 2x's previously on Carnival but this will be the first for me and my kids (Malachi-9, Eden-20months at time of sailing).

Has anyone ever sailed on Carnival before during Christmas break? What can be expected?

I made a roll call because I did not see one and no one else has posted. I am starting to wonder if anyone else is even going :p

Can't wait to hear from everyone---just not sure what to expect on the ship for the Holiday.

Thanks!

I actually sailed on the Fascination over Christmas back in 2008. We were in Key West Christmas Eve and Nassau on Christmas Day. Of course the ship was decorated and piped in holiday music played everywhere. They had a special menu on Christmas night for dinner and a kids concert with all the staff on Christmas Day. They brought back the midnight buffet for the cruise and had a lot of ice sculptures and fruit carvings with holiday themes. It was nice.

It does feel a little odd, but you get used to it. The whole ship is basically families and expect A LOT of kids. We enjoyed it, but the atmosphere is a little different. The ports were fine and open for us as well. We actually spent Christmas Day at Atlantis.

We did a Xmas cruise on elation a few years back. Had a great time. My wife even brought an 18 inch tree for our room plus other decorations like a large bow she made for our door. Here's a some pix.

We did a Christmas cruise on the Triumph a few years ago. It was decorated beautifully. We spent Christmas eve at Paradise Beach on Cozumel. Christmas day was a sea day. We enjoyed the cruise, but all of us agreed that it didn't really feel like Christmas. We won't cruise over Christmas again. I did get a great photo of one of my DS with Santa. The funny thing was DS was 16 at the time and Santa picked him up. It's a great picture. :D

I sailed Fascination on Dec. 13, 2008. the ship was already decorated tastefully, and there was a kids program one night. It was quite nice. EM