Cruising at Christmas !

[machotspur]

Oops - should have searched first - just found a recent thread on this very subject !! 

   

Edited March 18, 2019 by machotspur
Thread not required

[machotspur]

OK - try again !!

 

My wife and I have unexpectedly found ourselves booked on Regent Voyager for a Christmas/New Year cruise (South Africa coast). Not through choice, but hey - let's enjoy the 'experience' (hopefully).

 

I'd value any insight/experiences that anyone out there is willing to give, as cruising at this time of year is all very new for us - it's actually our first ever trip of any kind over the Christmas period. !  

 

- seasonal food & beverages ?

- entertainment ?

- is the ship dressed up in any way ?

- will we see many kids on an itinerary such as this (not too worried either way)

- how about large groups (greater than family size !).

- will Santa come down the funnel ?

- do they load enough supplies for the reindeers ? 

- do they have a snow machine onboard ? 

 

... and anything else of interest ...

 

I suspect this could be something that divides opinion, but 'hey ho' ! 

 

Thank you !

   

[Travelcat2]

You will hear different experiences about sailing at Christmas.  We did this once and chose not to do it again.  Yes - the ship is decorated beautifully - yes - there can be large families (including grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.).  Santa does appear (not sure how he gets there).  There can be many kids - or not.  I have heard of Caribbean cruises that have 60+ children onboard and other cruises where there are only a handful (likely depends upon whether the cruise coincides with the two weeks off that children get from school).

 

My two issues on our holiday cruise (Singapore to Sydney).

 

1.  There is nothing for children to do.  On our cruise (about 20 children between the ages of 10 and maybe 17).  At first they hung out with their families (guessing because they were quiet and not seen a lot).  By the 4th or 5th day they had met each other and formed what I can only call a "gang".  They hung out on stairs - sitting on them - blocking the way for others and became louder and louder in their play.  Note:  This is not their fault - there is no where for them to hang out and parents aren't paying attention -- especially to this age group).  Fortunately our suite was as far aft as you can go so we were not affected.  Others were not so lucky.  There was a line of passengers at Reception every day complaining about the noise, etc.  The pool was also taken over by the gang.

 

2.  While it is wonderful to gift relatives with a Regent cruise, some family members are not really into it and it shows.  While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it makes holiday cruises much different that other cruises where most of Regent passengers have a lot in common (travel, cruising, etc.). This families also take up most if not all of the larger tables (6 and above) in Compass Rose.  There can also be excessive drinking.

 

Others posters have had much better experiences.  We simply do not want to pay for a Regent cruise and then regret it as we did our one Christmas cruise.

 

Note:  Mariners Club is not open during Christmas (unless than has changed).  After all, families should be together during the holidays rather than sending the kids away for the day/evening to the Mariners Club.

 

Sorry - I know that this is harsh but it is our experience and our opinion.

[Focused1]

We were on the Explorer for the Christmas/New Year’s cruise Cape Town to Cape Town. There were a small number of extended families with children, all of whom were very well-behaved and occupied. It never caused any issues for us in the public areas, hallways, etc.  There seemed to be some organized activities and never did we see gangs of children hanging around anywhere including the pool or hallways. I think Santa made his way on one day with gifts for the children and there were beautiful decorations and Christmas trees throughout the ship including gingerbread houses.  I wouldn’t hesitate to book another holiday cruise whether I was accompanied by children or not. 

[golfgirls]

We love to sail on Regent at Christmas.  Think we have done this four times now and would do it every year as long as it is not in the. Caribbean. 

 

The ship will be decorated more beautifully than you can imagine.  There will be music and celebrations galore.  Just fabulous.  Have done Amazon, Asia and Africa and they were all fabulous, with very few children.  

 

We we did have one ‘awful’ experience having chosen a Caribbean cruise, which included several large families and the biggest kids being the parents.  Definitely will not do that again but it is a party if that is what you are looking for.  

 

Since you are doing South Africa, expect it to be great, with few kids.  And New Years is a not to be missed experience onboard!  

 

We are jealous, enjoy.  

[SWFLAOK]

4 hours ago, machotspur said:

OK - try again !!

 

My wife and I have unexpectedly found ourselves booked on Regent Voyager for a Christmas/New Year cruise (South Africa coast). Not through choice, but hey - let's enjoy the 'experience' (hopefully).

 

I'd value any insight/experiences that anyone out there is willing to give, as cruising at this time of year is all very new for us - it's actually our first ever trip of any kind over the Christmas period. !  

 

- seasonal food & beverages ?

- entertainment ?

- is the ship dressed up in any way ?

- will we see many kids on an itinerary such as this (not too worried either way)

- how about large groups (greater than family size !).

- will Santa come down the funnel ?

- do they load enough supplies for the reindeers ? 

- do they have a snow machine onboard ? 

 

... and anything else of interest ...

 

I suspect this could be something that divides opinion, but 'hey ho' ! 

 

Thank you !

   

How did you unexpectedly find yourself on a Regent Voyager cruise at Christmas/ New Year, and what year are you doing that along the South Africa Coast? Just wondering since we are booked on the Regent Voyager for Christmas/New Years  in December of 2019 and we'll be on the Singapore to Sydney cruise.

Having been on other cruise lines at this time, I would expect there to be decorations and seasonal celebration, but no reindeer  or snow. There might be a santa visit, but it's easy to ignore if you don't have kids. The bigger the ship, the more kids and large family groups, so Voyager shouldn't have too many. And larger groups tend to be business related, and not done over the holidays when employees would rather stay home with family than take an incentive cruise.

[flossie009]

 

 

@machotspur,

Intrigued as to how you unexpectedly came to be booked on a Holiday Cruise 🤔

 

We have cruised on a couple of Regent cruises over Christmas & the New Year and thoroughly enjoyed them.

 

Taking your questions in turn:

- seasonal food & beverages ? Some but not OTT

- entertainment ? Depends on the CD but there is usually a Christmas show in addition to the normal Production Shows & visiting entertainers

- is the ship dressed up in any way ? Yes, Christmas decorations throughout the public areas, plus the galley usually excels in a display of gingerbread houses

- will we see many kids on an itinerary such as this (not too worried either way) Probably not on your itinerary, but all the children we have encountered during Regent cruises have been delightful and very well behaved

- how about large groups (greater than family size !). Probably some extended family groups, that is all

- will Santa come down the funnel ? Santa arrives but Health & Safety have discouraged use of the funnel 😉

- do they load enough supplies for the reindeers ? Unless guests eat too many carrots

- do they have a snow machine onboard ? No

 

Other items: The New Year’s Eve party is not to be missed. Many guests choose to be a bit dressier than normal even though it may not be a Formal Optional night. Regent supplies hats, streamers etc.

 

 

It may be unexpected but I am sure you will enjoy the festivities on board

[Travelcat2]

Agree that the New Year's celebration is wonderful.  Also agree that it is very festive...... now, if we could only predict what the children were going to do ............

[machotspur]

18 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

How did you unexpectedly find yourself on a Regent Voyager cruise at Christmas/ New Year, and what year are you doing that along the South Africa Coast?

 

12 hours ago, flossie009 said:

 

 

Intrigued as to how you unexpectedly came to be booked on a Holiday Cruise 🤔

 

 

The full story is on another thread (Large groups onboard) however the abbreviated version is :-

 

- we were originally booked on a Cape Town - Cape Town cruise commencing December 8th 2020

- Mrs machotspur identified - with some luck I might add - that there was a large organised group on this cruise.

- I asked my TA to approach Regent UK to see if they would be willing to swap us to another cruise.

- the relationship the TA has with Regent UK resulted in a senior person becoming involved and agreeing to my request, irrespective on the T&C's applying to us in the UK  (loud applause for Regent !).

- we chose a subsequent Cape Town - Cape Town cruise that was not materially different from the original one (but over Christmas/New Year). It departs on December 22nd 2020.

 

We had to make a judgement call on the whole thing of who our fellow guests would be on a Christmas cruise. We reasoned that, with a large proportion of Regent clients being from North America, it would be unlikely for families to travel en masse to South Africa for a Christmas vacation. Of course if it was in the Caribbean then things would probably be different (the huge extended family in the Home Alone films spring to mind ).

 

The posts so far appear to endorse the above judgement as being reasonably accurate. 

 

So - we are now booked on a Christmas/New Year cruise of the first time, and seeking to find out what we have let ourselves in for !!  (Looking good so far though ).          

 

   

[SWFLAOK]

I think you made the right choice. We did a HAL cruise over Christmas/New Years since we got a really good price for a Neptune Suite with Explore 4, and could just drive to the port and back. After we booked well in advance, it turned out to be the last holiday cruise for the Prinsendam and attracted many elderly people who wanted one last cruise from Fort Lauderdale. This was a Caribbean cruise for 2 weeks, and the Florida schools were closed the whole time. But we didn't have tons of kids on board, and we had no incentive or business groups at all.  There was Christmas entertainment for the kids onboard, but we didn't attend that, and the kids didn't make themselves noticable at the New Year's Eve celebrations.

We liked the Prinsendam better than we expected since we had low expectations, but if we didn't have a Neptune Suite, it would not have been as enjoyable. Since HAL is moving to larger ships, we didn't expect to book another cruise, and we won't be doing that.

Despite our Alaska experience last August, where there weren't a lot of kids, but they did form an unsupervised gang, we have 2 more Regent cruises booked, with the Singapore to Sydney 32 night cruise over the holidays starting in December 2019. The large organized groups are not going to be there over the holidays, and they're much worse to deal with than families.

[ronrick1943]

Golfgirls & Flossie009,

Well we've always wanted to do a Christmas cruise, but just not sure it would be Christmas enough for me.  I really love Christmas.  Now you guy's made it sound pretty good-so since we're going to be on Regent this April think we'll take a look and see.  Kids don't bother us, they have a life also - it's just not a problem when they are on a ship we've been on. thank you for the tip.

[golfgirls]

Ronrick, we would highly recommend sailing at Christmas.  Pat absolutely loves Christmas and the ships provide all the decor and spirit that she loves and more.  I am a gingerbread fiend and the various gingerbread houses around the ship more than make up for the lack of gingerbread cookies available!  Better to look than to indulge I suppose.  

 

Have to confess that my birthday falls between Christmas and New Year’s, so we always have lots of excuses to celebrate over the holidays. 

 

In fact we we are hoping one or other sailings(not Caribbean) go on promotion soon  so that we can book something.  As Canadians, we are getting thumped with our dollar so any type of promotion makes a huge difference for us.  

 

Will see see if I can find some photos to post from previous holiday cruises.  

[golfgirls]

Here are some pictures, our door, the display in the atrium and my favourite cookies.  

 

Perhaps in in reverse order....

[JMARINER]

Christmas Cruise around South Africa; your not going to have children nor large family groups to deal with. I have done 4-5 Christmas cruise with Regent over the last 18 years. Rarely any children and then only it the cruise is close to USA like Caribbean or Mexico Rivera. There might be a few small family groups of parents and adult children. Lets face it few people are going to take there kids on a 15+ hour flight from US (Or 9 hours from Europe) down to Cape Town and spend the money for a Regent cruise.  Other comments about the ship decorations, food and activities are similar to what I have observed.

 

Best New year party  ever was on Mariner in Acapulco in 2005. Ship left dock  at 11:00 pm and moved to middle of Acapulco bay. Then at close to mid- night Captain (Jean Marie Guillou) spun the ship continuously so we could see the fireworks launched from the 8-10 bay-side hotels that encircled the bay. Great Deck Party with everyone in Formals and Tuxes and weather was only about 75ish. Holly and Marty Gast were the duo on stage. (Only one 12 yo kid onboard.)

 

J

[Travelcat2]

5 hours ago, machotspur said:

 

 

The full story is on another thread (Large groups onboard) however the abbreviated version is :-

 

- we were originally booked on a Cape Town - Cape Town cruise commencing December 8th 2020

- Mrs machotspur identified - with some luck I might add - that there was a large organised group on this cruise.

-

 

Do you happen to know how large the group will be onboard that cruise?  We are booked on another cruise but were looking at the Cape Town - Cape Town cruise on December because we love the itinerary and have done it previously.  Thank you for posting this information ...... we will likely stay with the cruise that we booked as we are not ready to do another holiday cruise.  Although Cape Town is really far from the U.S., it is not so far from Europe and if we saw rowdy children on a Singapore to Sydney cruise, they can certainly be onboard a cruise in South Africa.  We would rather not risk it.

[MalbecWine]

1 hour ago, JMARINER said:

Christmas Cruise around South Africa; your not going to have children nor large family groups to deal with. I have done 4-5 Christmas cruise with Regent over the last 18 years. Rarely any children and then only it the cruise is close to USA like Caribbean or Mexico Rivera. There might be a few small family groups of parents and adult children. Lets face it few people are going to take there kids on a 15+ hour flight from US (Or 9 hours from Europe) down to Cape Town and spend the money for a Regent cruise.  Other comments about the ship decorations, food and activities are similar to what I have observed.

 

Best New year party  ever was on Mariner in Acapulco in 2005. Ship left dock  at 11:00 pm and moved to middle of Acapulco bay. Then at close to mid- night Captain (Jean Marie Guillou) spun the ship continuously so we could see the fireworks launched from the 8-10 bay-side hotels that encircled the bay. Great Deck Party with everyone in Formals and Tuxes and weather was only about 75ish. Holly and Marty Gast were the duo on stage. (Only one 12 yo kid onboard.)

 

J

Fabulous recount of your cruise.  It’s a family holiday for God sakes.  We are so lucky that we have been on most not all cruises with well behaved children.  We always complement the parents for their good behavior.  Luxury’s cruises attract better behaved  children.  We were all one at one time.

[machotspur]

5 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Do you happen to know how large the group will be onboard that cruise?  

 

 

The group is currently showing as 70, which some might feel is not a huge impact. However, we had no way of telling if the size would increase if the bookings went well.

 

We were also concerned about the style of the group, having located the website for the organising operator, including videos etc, which concerned us greatly. Further enquiries revealed the following comment :-

 

The group will bring their own DJ and will have various events that do involve the public areas of the ship and some dining venues.

 

Of course they may be really  nice people who are totally considerate to others. We just weren't prepared to take the risk.   

 

We were relatively relaxed about the presence of children on the 22nd Dec cruise, in fact may see it as a slight positive to the seasonal atmosphere, hence we went with it. Time will tell if we made the right call.

 

 

 

 

[Travelcat2]

machotspur - thank you for the further information on the group.  We would not want to be with a group that is bringing their own DJ and who knows what else.  

 

Your holiday cruise will likely be wonderful and, you're right, children do add to the seasonal atmosphere (as long as they are well behaved).

[UUNetBill]

We've only done one Christmas/New Year cruise and it wasn't on Regent, unfortunately - but it was still pretty special.  We were on Cunard in 2010 for their Christmas cruise and it was very nice, as far as larger ships go.  Very festive, especially when everyone gathered on the main staircase for carols on Christmas Eve - a Formal Night, of course - but we enjoyed it quite a bit.  

 

Christmas cruises are out for us for the foreseeable future due to work commitments, but the other holidays we've been on Regent have been very, very nice - they do a great job at Easter, IMO.  I'd love to do a Christmas sailing on Regent, even taking into account the possibility of a kid-heavy cruise.

[ronrick1943]

On 3/19/2019 at 5:06 PM, golfgirls said:

Ronrick, we would highly recommend sailing at Christmas.  Pat absolutely loves Christmas and the ships provide all the decor and spirit that she loves and more.  I am a gingerbread fiend and the various gingerbread houses around the ship more than make up for the lack of gingerbread cookies available!  Better to look than to indulge I suppose.  

 

Have to confess that my birthday falls between Christmas and New Year’s, so we always have lots of excuses to celebrate over the holidays. 

 

In fact we we are hoping one or other sailings(not Caribbean) go on promotion soon  so that we can book something.  As Canadians, we are getting thumped with our dollar so any type of promotion makes a huge difference for us.  

 

Will see see if I can find some photos to post from previous holiday cruises.  

Thanks, we'll check it out-and the photos you posted look very like Christmas.