Christmas and New Year's on board

[argyll1881]

I'm thinking of making my next cruise one that spans Christmas and New Year's.  Does anyone have any experience of what NCL does for those days ?

[KeithJenner]

10 minutes ago, argyll1881 said:

I'm thinking of making my next cruise one that spans Christmas and New Year's.  Does anyone have any experience of what NCL does for those days ?

We did a Christmas and New Year cruise in 2019/20. I don’t particularly remember Christmas itself. There was a Christmas Dinner served in the MDRs, but we went to Cagneys instead. It was a fairly normal day for us ( we were in Venice and had a nice walk round during the day).

 

The ship was obviously decorated.

 

For New Year (we were in Barcelona that day) there was a great atmosphere in all

the bars. We were still in port so saw the Barcelona fireworks at midnight. I’m not usually a big fan of New Years parties but that was a great night.

 

I’d certainly do one again. When the Sun was diverted to Europe for the winter we looked at options for doing that this year, but the dates don’t really work for us.

[julig22]

My guess that it somewhat depends on the cruise director and crew.  But I was on the Gem at Christmas last year and they had Santa/Mrs. Claus and presents for all the kids.  Traditional Christmas dinner.

In early December all the other ships I've been on just prior to Christmas have a large gingerbread village on display and decorations as it gets closer to Christmas.

Currently booked on a Christmas/New Year cruise this year.

[www3traveler]

Have done two Christmas's and one New Year's on the Getaway.  All werevere crowded with lots of large family groups.  The ship was beautifully decorated.  On Christmas Eve, the Senior Hotel Management went through the ship singing Christmas Carols ending with Sing Along in the Atrium.  Christmas morning Santa Claus arrived with gifts for all the kids.  Traditional Christmas dinner in the Main Dining Rooms.  Peopl dressed up for Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner.  New Year's Eve there were parties all over the ship with a Countdown toward midnight.  Very crowded and loud.  Some people dressed for New Year's but many others did not.

 

Would do another Christmas cruise in a heartbeat, not so sure about New Year's Eve.

[YVRteacher]

On one NCL New Year’s cruise, they had a celebration for each time zone.  That was a super fun night!  

Often they will drain the hot tubs, fill them with ice then cram as many champagne (aka cheap sparkling wine) bottles into the hot tubs as possible.  Free bubbly for everyone at the outdoor deck party at midnight.

For Christmas there is usually Christmas carolling as an afternoon or evening activity.

[Harratine]

19 hours ago, argyll1881 said:

I'm thinking of making my next cruise one that spans Christmas and New Year's.  Does anyone have any experience of what NCL does for those days ?

We did a Western Caribbean over Christmas in 2019.  It was really nice to tune out of Christmas for a month before hand.  NCL will decorate the ship everywhere so it feels different.  There are a lot of families with children and grandparents traveling together.  It is extremely popular and the ship will be full.  Watching the kids lining up to meet Santa was in the atrium was fun.  
 

Dinner on the eves and holiday evening will book out early (so book early).  Even the MDR will require reservations, so don’t be the one on Santa’s naughty list watching me eat my pudding.  Menu will holiday driven.

 

Port day on the holiday will be spotty.  Tourism isn’t the primary thing happening on the holiday, so plan excursions not to be a bucket list activity in case it gets cancelled.

 

These can be really fun trips with family.  It will not be a quiet cruise if that is what you are looking for.  You will be hitting the airports with your neighbors going to other places for the holidays, so plan flights, pre-hotels and reduce stress.  There will be few “deals”, book early if you want to go.

 

This Christmas we are going on our second Christmas cruise out of Miami.