10 Nite Holiday Cruise Schedule Questions

[CruisinFinsUp]

Hi,

We were wondering if, based on past experience, anyone can predict what the schedule for Formal Nights would be on this cruise please?

 

10 nite - Emerald Princess

Sat Dec 18 - Ft Lauderdale

Sun Dec 19 - Princess Cays

Mon Dec 20 - Sea

Tues Dec 21 - St Thomas

Wed Dec 22 - Antigua

Thurs Dec 23 - St. Kitts

Fri Dec 24 - Barbados

Sat Dec 25 - St. Lucia

Sun Dec 26 - Sea

Mon Dec 27 - Sea

Tues Dec 28 - Ft. Lauderdale

 

Will the formal nights be 20th & 26th, with Dec 25th smart casual?

 

Will the ports be open on Dec 24 - Barbados & 25 - St. Lucia? Will there be shore excursions, taxi's, shopping (perhaps somewhat limited), or can we expect that most things will be closed and the locals will be celebrating and not working!!?

 

Thanks much!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hi,

We were wondering if, based on past experience, anyone can predict what the schedule for Formal Nights would be on this cruise please?

 

10 nite - Emerald Princess

Sat Dec 18 - Ft Lauderdale

Sun Dec 19 - Princess Cays

Mon Dec 20 - Sea

Tues Dec 21 - St Thomas

Wed Dec 22 - Antigua

Thurs Dec 23 - St. Kitts

Fri Dec 24 - Barbados

Sat Dec 25 - St. Lucia

Sun Dec 26 - Sea

Mon Dec 27 - Sea

Tues Dec 28 - Ft. Lauderdale

 

Will the formal nights be 20th & 26th, with Dec 25th smart casual?

 

Will the ports be open on Dec 24 - Barbados & 25 - St. Lucia? Will there be shore excursions, taxi's, shopping (perhaps somewhat limited), or can we expect that most things will be closed and the locals will be celebrating and not working!!?

 

Thanks much!

 

Is the 12/24 or 12/25 ports only til about 4pm? A few years ago on a holiday cruise, our formal days included 12/24 and 12/31 (we had 3 formal nights), but 12/24 was a sea day and 12/31 was scheduled to be a port day (til 4pm) but ended up being a sea day because we had to skip that port due to high winds.

 

You may want to ask your port question in the board for that particular port or area. Also check the website for that port and see if there's any info about holiday closures. You may have to wait for that info til later in the year. Or if there's some stores and attractions listed and they have websites, you can always email some and ask what their holiday hours are.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Hi,

Yes, the 25th is only til 4 pm. 24th is 6 pm.

I will check the port boards later in the year -- "just booked" excitement getting the better of me !! ;):D

 

Thanks!

[Hulagirl]

We have done the last two years on the Ruby and the Emerald Princess over Christmas, like you are doing.

 

The 20th and the 26th will be your formal nights. We also dressed a bit nicer for Christmas too, but it wasn't a formal night. You will see quite a few people dressed more formally that night, and it just seemed to feel more festive, but it isn't an actual formal night.

 

The Emerald Princess was our actual first, over Christmas, cruise and we loved it. Usually we have cruised the week before and been home for Christmas, but this is such a nice way to go.

 

Have a great time!

[Infi]

We have done the same Christmas cruises as HulaGirl (Hi Susan, hope you're doing well :)), and she's exactly right on the formal nights. As for the ports, we found Barbados to be crowded in the downtown area with locals doing last minute shopping on Christmas eve, but the shopping near the pier was limited that day. Tours and excursions were as normal. St. Lucia was very empty on Christmas day - very limited shopping at the pier, and Castries was like a ghost town. There were plenty of tours available on the dock, which surprised me. Once you're out on a tour, it doesn't matter much what day it is. Hope that helps!

Enjoy your cruise - the Christmas cruises have been some of our favorites.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Thanks very much! The info gives us an idea of what to plan to do!

Only 275 days to go! :rolleyes::D

[Hulagirl]

HI Infi:

 

Yes, we are doing well. I see you leave very soon on a cruise. Have a wonderful time. Lindsay and I are headed to Disney World this weekend for her spring break. Denise is driving up to see us for a few days, so it should be fun. Hope everything is well with you also.

 

Cruisintoddler:

 

We were actually booked on this Emerald cruise over Christmas, but decided to cancel and stay on the west coast instead. With the islands being the exact same stops as this past Christmas, that sort of pushed us in a different direction. I love the Emerald and what it offers, so I know you will have a great time. For us it will be nice to not have to fly across country in the winter for a change. I do love the Caribbean at Christmas though. Have a great cruise!

[Tak8]

I would guess the 20th and 26th. On the Ruby Christmas last year, the first formal night was the second night which I thought was a little early, but the itinerary was reversed. We started with 2 seas days rather than at the end of the cruise. I like your ischedule better.

[caribill]

My guess is that the 25th will be a formal night. On some of the ships they want to make it a special day in the evening.