Is early December a popular time to sail?

[jules815]

Just noticed that our December 8, 2017 Reflection cruise has very few rooms left.

 

Is this a popular week? (December 8 - 18th) Price for our S1 has gone up over $1600 pp and there are only a few left.

[Dawniepoo]

Usually it is one of the cheapest times of the year to sail. It's not spring break or the holidays, so maybe the price as low for a while and they booked a bunch of rooms then raised the price?

[4cats4me]

It is the cheapest time to sail, yet equally as popular as any other week on board, and we fell into that trap a dozen years ago and sailed Dec 3. Not a particularly ebullient group onboard. We were in our early 40s and wanted a more uptempo vibe. It did not exist. [emoji19]

 

 

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[eandj]

Best rates will attract lots of seniors who might look for value and who aren't doing a whole lot of prep for the holidays. We have several friends that cruise then and then get ready to visit their kids/grandchildren for Christmas.

Our neighbor heads to FL for the winter and often takes advantage of the FL cruise departures while there.

[RedneckBob]

Been sailing past 40 years every late Nov/early Dec to Caribbean. At the beginning we liked sailing with a more mature crowd; now we are them :)

 

Always great pricing to go to great ports.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Right after Thanksgiving or the first week of December is one of our favorite times to cruise. It is often cooler and the prices are often, though not always, lower.

 

One year, however, on Independence of the Seas, we did actually experience the most mature group of passengers I have ever seen congregated on one ship. I'm certain the majority were over eighty and many much older. As well, due to their advanced age there were an unusually large number in wheel chairs or having other mobility challenges. I admired them for having the desire to go on a cruise in spite of the challenges they faced. I'm not sure I would be so willing to do so, myself in that situation.

 

Early December may be a popular time for seniors because there usually is far fewer children.

[bphman]

Lots of older cruisers like us that time of year but we have been known to be fun. Baby Boomers abound. Usually you can get some great bargains. Our favorite time to cruise is actually right after New Year's Day. Less expensive and not crowded.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Lots of older cruisers like us that time of year but we have been known to be fun. Baby Boomers abound. Usually you can get some great bargains. Our favorite time to cruise is actually right after New Year's Day. Less expensive and not crowded.

Thanks for the advice. We have never actually looked into a post New Years Eve cruise. I'm going to check that out. It might even be better than the early December cruise. Thanks again.

[jewliana]

We cruise ever year the first week of December. I have never noticed that it was an older crowd than usual. There are less kids though AND its decorated for Christmas so its lots of fun!

[rain_bowbrite]

First week of Dec. is my favorite time to cruise. Weather has always been great and like others have stated there are great values to be had.

[watchdiva]

We cruised once in January and HD said never again....absolutely the worse weather we've experiences in 25+ years of cruising. We are cruising in December this year....always wanted to sail on a ship decorated for the holidays.

 

 

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[Duanerice1]

Agree with a lot that's been said. Early December is cheaper than a lot of other times but it is usually older crowd, especially the over 7 day cruises.

 

We usually cruise at this time. The age of other passengers doesn't really bother us, as long as people are not idiots then we don't care. We make our own fun. We don't hang in bars so that might make a difference :)

 

But, this last 10 nigh Eclipse cruise (early December) had the oldest crowd I've ever seen on a ship. There were more wheelchairs, walkers and scooters than ever. Nothing wrong with it, just a much older cruise.

 

This time of the year most younger working people are at work. If they take vacations it's usually over Thanksgiving or Christmas.

 

enjoy!

[crusinthrough]

I usually sail the second week of Dec as well. The prices are lower and the ship is decorated for the holidays. The only negative I find is earlier sunsets than in the summer.

 

 

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[BuckeyeMan]

We are hoping to book that cruise shortly. Not good to hear of the limited availability. A1 cabins are gone. Not many A2 cabins left. Hope we don't get to the party too late.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Just have to say that the Christmas decor on Silhouette last December was spectacular. I was really glad to experience it.

[fielddreamer]

We sailed last Dec 3 on the Reflection and loved it. We are booked on the Dec 8 also this year on a A1 Aqua class for a A2 price . We booked it on board last year and got a great price plus a lot of extras. The price is about $1600 more right now. We have been sailing the first 2 weeks in Dec for the last 5 years and have never had bad weather and have had great times. Air travel is not bad at all at that time. I believe the 10 days southern is a big reason why this ship is selling so well ! I would not wait to much longer ! Hope to see you on board! Bob

[BuckeyeMan]

Prices just jumped again. Unfortunately I am being held hostage at our work not approving our time off. Wish I could have booked when I first looked a month ago.

[jules815]

We sailed last Dec 3 on the Reflection and loved it. We are booked on the Dec 8 also this year on a A1 Aqua class for a A2 price . We booked it on board last year and got a great price plus a lot of extras. The price is about $1600 more right now. We have been sailing the first 2 weeks in Dec for the last 5 years and have never had bad weather and have had great times. Air travel is not bad at all at that time. I believe the 10 days southern is a big reason why this ship is selling so well ! I would not wait to much longer ! Hope to see you on board! Bob

 

We also booked this cruise on board last year (Constellation) and I'm sure glad we did. We also received all the perks, and I think some extra obc either because it was a 10-day or because we're in an S1. (I think we have $500?)

 

We're in our mid/late 50's and both still work full time, but have lots of vacation days to use. When our youngest went away to college about 4 years ago, we started cruising right after Labor Day and taking 2 weeks. This will be our first December cruise, and really looking forward to this 10-day itinerary. I'm going to have to be more organized about my holiday shopping and decorating, so I don't come home to stress. :)

[KuffMUp]

We were on a B2B on Navigator leaving Sunday after Thanksgiving with the second week occurring on Dec 4. We didn't plan a B2B but when they were offering an inside for $197 we couldn't pass it up. It was way cheaper to change our airfare and go on a second cruise. Being from the West coast, it is $600 pp airfare.

 

OMG!!!!:o There definitely were a younger crowd and unruly. One person commented that there were a lot of "new" cruisers. They have a separate line for Gold status which you get on your first RCCL cruise. She said there was a fist fight in the line. We witnessed an almost fist fight in the Solarium when the pool police removed one couple's items and they showed back up approx 1 hour later. They told the elderly gentleman to get out of "their" loungers and other passengers started a shouting match. The kids were running rampant through the Solarium and one even planted his chewing gum firmly on the nose of one of the horse statues in the Solarium. Adults doing belly flops and playing leap frog in the Solarium. People bringing their children into the Solarium pool. Went out to see pier runners in Cozumel, there was a man watching that said there were a bunch of people in line to get onto the Disney Wonder docked next to us. Hello!! If you got off a white ship, chances are they didn't paint it black while in port. :rolleyes:

 

We had a great time. Who wouldn't? It was a cruise! It was just very interesting to see the difference in the overall clientele from one week to the other.