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Cruising During Christmas

Chef P

By Chef P,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Chef P

Chef P

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Just booked my first Christmas Cruise on the Destiny and we will be in Nassau Christmas Day and then Half Moon Cay,

can those of you who have sailed during this special holiday tell me what will be different on the ship other than Christmas Decorations, turkey and Pecan pie being servied?

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firefly333

firefly333

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A Holiday Party during the day with Santa. We did ours on a seaday, so I dont know what they would do if you are in a port on xmas. All the kids participated and they turned off the lights at the end and a lot of carnival employees came down the aisles giving out candy canes at the end.

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Chef P

Chef P

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A Holiday Party during the day with Santa. We did ours on a seaday, so I dont know what they would do if you are in a port on xmas. All the kids participated and they turned off the lights at the end and a lot of carnival employees came down the aisles giving out candy canes at the end.

 

 

Sounds like fun... THANKS

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firefly333

firefly333

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Sounds like fun... THANKS

 

I almost didnt go due to the politically correct name "holiday party" and it being during the day threw me off, but it was a real xmas party despite the name.

 

the kids rehersed all week and were dressed up, like I remember one age group wearing antlers .. each group had its own song... and some of the cast members sang.. a few odd choices of songs I never heard .. but some were traditional xmas carols. There was a story at santas knee etc.

 

I liked the xmas carols in the elevators.

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Dawgfan

Dawgfan

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Just booked my first Christmas Cruise on the Destiny and we will be in Nassau Christmas Day and then Half Moon Cay,

can those of you who have sailed during this special holiday tell me what will be different on the ship other than Christmas Decorations, turkey and Pecan pie being servied?

 

We will be getting on as you are coming off unless you are B2B. Really looking forward to ringing in the New Year on Destiny, should be a great party based on some of the posts I have seen on here.

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Chef P

Chef P

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We will be getting on as you are coming off unless you are B2B. Really looking forward to ringing in the New Year on Destiny, should be a great party based on some of the posts I have seen on here.

 

 

you will have an awesome time on her, this is my fourth time, and most recently in August,

 

 

 

Also Thanks Firefly333, I am even more excited now

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combatboots2jimmychoos

combatboots2jimmychoos

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Christmas Day was our last sea day but they had a lovely traditional Turkey dinner in the MDR back in 09 on the Triumph. We also had FREE champagne at Embarkation on the LIDO for lunch. The atmosphere was completely different than my last 2 cruises- but it made me fall in love with cruising. I remember christmas music throughout the ship. Camp carnival did something for Christmas and Santa was there for the Kids. I think there was a special show but I can't remember.....

 

Being in the Caribbean during the holidays was also different. I wish I could cruise every christmas!

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tiggerman101

tiggerman101

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I was in Nassau on Christmas Day once. They actually have a huge parade and party at night so the whole downtown was blocked off with bleachers set up on the sides of the streets. A lot was closed (all the shops in the port building), but Atlantis was up and running.

 

Christmas cruises are nice, but they are different then other times. It is a much quieter experience. I enjoyed it.

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pe4all

pe4all

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We will be on our 7th CCL Christmas/holiday week cruise this year on Breeze, and can't wait!! We love cruising then as it is the only time our family can really get quality family time, and sit with all 4 of us for dinner each night!:D Very festive time of year - some of the larger ships even have it "snow" in the atrium Christmas Eve, along with Santa giving out small gifts/candy canes to the kids. (and not so kids!) Free champagne all night, nice dinner, holiday music playing all week, ships look great, lots of families on board. (sometimes this is good, sometimes bad) Aside from the inflated cruise fare, we have never had a bad experience during this week. Even though we don't celebrate Christmas (btw- if Hanukah falls during that week they have really nice candle lightings each night, with latkes, fruit, wine, and singing) we can't think of another time we would rather cruise. And there is nothing like celebrating a holiday in 85 degree weather!

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Chef P

Chef P

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They did a revival of the old "Midnight Buffet" on our cruise. It wasn't quite as lavish as the old ones. but it was very nice. They had many ice sculptures of Santa, etc and a bunch of neat fruit carvings.

 

 

no way... was it Christmas Eve, Christmas night ?

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  • 4 weeks later...
pe4all

pe4all

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Gift cards may be hard for them to use, unless it is something like a Starbucks card. (seem to be those shops everywhere!!) Even when they are in a port with a gift-carded store, they may not have time to get there. Not all crew can get off ship at each port, and even when home-ported most are busy turning the ship over for the next group of passengers to get on. And beware - some international calling cards don't work in certain places. We find cash (even on top of an extra cash tip) goes over the best. Doesn't take up any room in their cabin, and it goes everywhere and can be used anytime!:D

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duhe98

duhe98

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Love to hear all of these positive comments about cruising during Christmas, please keep them coming...

 

 

We did a Christmas cruise (b2b) in 2009 on the Dream. The week before and week of Christmas. The week before they had a fake Santa, Just an employee in a suit, but the week of Christmas they had a real Santa with a real beard and everything. Like everyone is saying, we had a great time. I have just ONE word of caution. Expect a MASSIVE amount of children. For that reason alone I will never do another one. Enjoy!

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WishIwasOutThereNOW

WishIwasOutThereNOW

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Just booked my first Christmas Cruise on the Destiny and we will be in Nassau Christmas Day and then Half Moon Cay,

can those of you who have sailed during this special holiday tell me what will be different on the ship other than Christmas Decorations, turkey and Pecan pie being servied?

 

i was in nassau right before last christmas. looked like they were getting ready for a pretty big christmas parade. they sang carols and made it snow on the ship. the ship was decorated, mostly trees, but not over the top. it was nice.

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wisefamily4

wisefamily4

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we did an 8 day Christmas cruise on the Spirit in 2008... the ship was decorated great... We spent Christmas day relaxing on the beach... I don't remember what Christmas events they might have had going.. To be honest, it was our worst cruise ever... My dad had just been killed in an accident and I booked the cruise over Christmas in an attempt to get away... (fail)

The ship was great (as Allways) ... We just weren't ready to be on a cruise at the time... We've been talking about doing another Christmas cruise in the future tho... Hawaii would be great :)

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Prof Peg

Prof Peg

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We did a Christmas cruise last year on the Legend. It's posted at

 

maturecruisers.wordpress.com

 

Truly an experience we'll never forget. I'll always remember Christmas Eve because there was snow coming down from the top level of Atrium as people sang carols (not necessarily religious, just carols). I remember the silence out on deck late at night and the peaceful feeling looking at the water.

 

We gave all of our stewards and waiters a small bag of candies and chocolates in addition to some money. I agree with those who post on CC that they are of different religions and they have no room on board for "material" things. But chocolate is universal and money is greatly appreciated. We thanked them for helping make "our" Christmas that much happier. We also acknowledged that they gave up their time with their own families because of their work.

 

A little bit of kindness goes a very long way!

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