Have you been on a xmas / nye cruise?

[Diane Rose]

So happy to read this thread.  We were supposed to be on a TA in October, but had to cancel unexpectedly.  I would really like something to look forward to this year and a NYE cruise would be perfect!  Great information and photos!  Thank you!

 

Diane

[Casualcruisers]

Great information and pics!
My wife and I are booked on Edge over Xmas and NYE down in New Zealand for Dec 2023 into 2024.

Question we have is, can anyone give us an idea of how many kids will be on the cruise?
 

 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Casualcruisers said:

Great information and pics!
My wife and I are booked on Edge over Xmas and NYE down in New Zealand for Dec 2023 into 2024.

Question we have is, can anyone give us an idea of how many kids will be on the cruise?
 

 

 

300 kids.  That's the number we had on our Solstice Christmas 2019 & NYE sailing which was a 12 night round trip from Sydney visiting  New Zealand.  Similar to your Edge itinerary.  Our cruise was the last holiday New Zealand sailing by Celebrity so you won't find any more recent data for that itinerary for now.

 

According to the Fun Factory counselor there were 150 3-12 yr old children and 150 13-17 yr old kids.  These were pre-pandemic statistics, of course.  It didn't feel like we had very many kids on board during the cruise.  

Edited September 17, 2022 by mahdnc

[IslaSarah]

A few pictures from the Reflection Dec 26th New Years sailing last year. Some of the Christmas decorations came down through the week, but it was still plenty festive! There was also a big party on the pool deck on NYE, including two ball drops since we changed time zones that night. 

 

[lakegirl16]

I see a list of Caribbean cruises where the ships will be decorated, we're on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Solistice over Christmas.  Will it be decorated as well? 

[GORDONCHICK]

8 minutes ago, lakegirl16 said:

I see a list of Caribbean cruises where the ships will be decorated, we're on a Mexican Riviera cruise on the Solistice over Christmas.  Will it be decorated as well? 

Yes.  Usually, the crew starts decorating before the Thanksgiving cruises.  At least that's been my experience.

[aggiejd2000]

We did a NYE one in South America in 2017-2018.  It was fun... until the ship got Norovirus.  There were a number of children on board and let's just say that hygiene was not on the top of their list, esp. in the buffet.  So we weren't that surprised when the ship announced the outbreak.  The crew did their best, constantly wiping everything down.  But they took away everything, all the books in the library, every salt and pepper shaker.    

 

We have cruises upcoming over Thanksgiving in the Mexican Riviera and Christmas in the Caribbean.  We're crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.  Two of our friends got Covid from their last two sailings. 

[go.without.you]

I'm doing a 10 nt over Christmas and am hoping not many kids. Something I wasn't thinking about when I booked my 1st Xmas cruise.

[GORDONCHICK]

2 hours ago, go.without.you said:

I'm doing a 10 nt over Christmas and am hoping not many kids. Something I wasn't thinking about when I booked my 1st Xmas cruise.

Yeah, that's not going to happen.  It might have fewer than others that are 7 nights, but there will still be hundreds on board.

Edited October 7, 2022 by GORDONCHICK

[bruzin_for_a_cruizin]

I did a Christmas cruise on Freedom in the Before Times with my wife and kids (teens at the time). I think all I need to say about a Christmas cruise is that I will never do one again.

 

It cost twice as much and aside from some halfhearted decorations and a "traditional turkey dinner" there was nothing to warrant the extra expense. 

 

My kids are post-secondary now, so I don't have to worry about keeping them out of school, but it absolutely isn't worth the premium IMO.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 minutes ago, bruzin_for_a_cruizin said:

"traditional turkey dinner"

 

And that is not even traditional for everyone - even in America.

[bruzin_for_a_cruizin]

8 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

And that is not even traditional for everyone - even in America.

Which is why I put it in quotes! 😄

[go.without.you]

3 hours ago, GORDONCHICK said:

Yeah, that's not going to happen.  It might have fewer than others that are 7 nights, but there will still be hundreds on board.

This one sails on the 19th and most schools don't break until the 22nd. We'll see. 

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, bruzin_for_a_cruizin said:

It cost twice as much and aside from some halfhearted decorations and a "traditional turkey dinner" there was nothing to warrant the extra expense. 

 

As you know, the higher pricing is because of higher demand and not due to a higher operating cost.

[rmalbers]

We did a Christmas/NY cruise around south america.   There were a lot of people and kids from Spain, I wasn't expecting it.  They were all great kids and had a really good time from what I could tell.   That was really a great cruise. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

 

1 hour ago, go.without.you said:

This one sails on the 19th and most schools don't break until the 22nd. We'll see. 

I would expect a couple hundred kids.   Schools here finish on either the 16th or 17th.

[Stockjock]

We did a NYE cruise this past New Year out of Miami on Summit with the CEO Lisa, and had a terrific time.  There did not seem to be many kids on board, which was fine by us.  Follow the link to a video I took on NYE.

During the winter holidays this year, we're doing a Northern Europe sailing on MSC.  I suspect we will freeze our backsides off, but we hadn't done Europe over the holidays and wanted to give it a try.

Here's the video I mentioned.  Unfortunately, I had to edit some of it out because you could hear a song playing and that created copyright issues (don't you hate that?).
https://youtu.be/PGm60aGttmM

[GORDONCHICK]

1 hour ago, go.without.you said:

This one sails on the 19th and most schools don't break until the 22nd. We'll see. 

I think it's funny and misguided for you to think that parents will think twice about taking their children out of school early!

 

And I just double checked and the district I live in gets out 12/16 for Christmas break.  My son's college gets out the week before that.

Edited October 7, 2022 by GORDONCHICK

[rmalbers]

On 10/7/2022 at 5:03 PM, GORDONCHICK said:

I think it's funny and misguided for you to think that parents will think twice about taking their children out of school early!

 

And I just double checked and the district I live in gets out 12/16 for Christmas break.  My son's college gets out the week before that.

Ya, teachers say all the time that the kids will learn more on a trip than they will in school for that same period of time.

 

[woostergirl]

On 9/8/2022 at 4:23 AM, weacat said:

We were on the Millennium last year for a 4 day Christmas cruise.  There were a lot more kids on board than usual but nothing like other cruise lines.  Our DD - age 8 had a great time since there were a lot of activities for kids.  Santa came on board via a boat and gave out gifts to the kids.  

Thanks for your post! Excited to hear that! We are on the Beyond Xmas cruise in the Caribbean. My kids are 7 and 11.

[Redtravel]

It’s school vacation.  Expect lots of family groups with lots of kids.  We did it.  We brought our kids. Not the best time to travel as a couple.

[IslaSarah]

3 hours ago, Redtravel said:

It’s school vacation.  Expect lots of family groups with lots of kids.  We did it.  We brought our kids. Not the best time to travel as a couple.

... unless your couple includes a teacher! I feel like half the people we've met on Christmas/NY and Easter cruises are teachers like my spouse, traveling at their only breaks! I'm counting down until he retires and we can travel at cheaper times of year!

[Redtravel]

Teachers and kids cruise on school breaks. It’s popular, crowded, and expensive.  On mass market ships ,Christmas cruises often get big family groups.  If you are traveling as a couple and want a break from kids, avoid mass market ships during school breaks.  There are cruise lines that either don’t book kids.  Some cruise lines accept kids, but don’t have any kids activities. We just sailed on Windstar…no kids.  For a nice couples only vacation, try adult only resorts.  All inclusive resorts for adults are like a cruise ship on land.  While I like cruises, our best vacations were land based.  Pick a city and go.  There are many options.  Enjoy!