Caribbean Princess over Christmas

[pikwe012]

Hello Princess line experienced cruisers. 

   Am I likely to have a bad experience doing a  ten day Caribbean over Christmas. Wondering why inside cabins are so cheap? Lots of kids?

Students? We are Seventy five years and prefer a fairly  sedate experience but this cruise fits our budget. Have never taken a cruise over a big holiday before. Inside cabins. Thanks

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, pikwe012 said:

Hello Princess line experienced cruisers. 

   Am I likely to have a bad experience doing a  ten day Caribbean over Christmas. Wondering why inside cabins are so cheap? Lots of kids?

Students? We are Seventy five years and prefer a fairly  sedate experience but this cruise fits our budget. Have never taken a cruise over a big holiday before. Inside cabins. Thanks

Nothing to do with cabins. You will not have a fairly sedate experience on a holiday cruise. Book another time. There will be lots and lots of kids and teens. Everywhere. 

[memoak]

Lots of families sail during the holidays. Bad point lots of kids running around. Good point less crowded bars and casino

[katisdale]

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess last Christmas. We did not feel crowded nor "over run" with children. We enjoyed our Panama canal cruise and especially liked the Christmas decorations. We had a balcony cabin and our adult daughter had an inside one. She would suggest you chose an inside cabin that has other cabins above and below it. Her cabin had the sun deck above her and she was awakened every AM as the loungers were placed on the deck.

[beg3yrs]

Oh I don't know. We were on the Emerald in 2021 and on the Pacific Princess in 2019 for Christmas in the Caribbean. Yes there were kids and yes they have more energy than us old farts but hey, what's Christmas without kids? For us both cruises were fabulous.

 

In 2019 we brought two grandkids along with their mother. DW made around 100 tiny crocheted stockings, filled them with candy and had the grandkids deliver them to as many crew as they could find. It was gratifying to see them giving instead of just getting.

 

On the 2019 cruise many of the officers had their families on board too. That meant more kids and these kid's first language wasn't always English (think Italian) but they spoke passable English. Anyway they interacted with the US kids and it was really fun to watch.

 

2021 was more subdued as cruising was just getting restarted (think mandatory mask wearing) and there weren't any officer families but still, Christmas on board is more special than you would think. Consider how it feels to sing Christmas Carols led by the cruise staff with hundreds of other passengers.

 

I'd say book it!

Edited May 27, 2023 by beg3yrs

[pikwe012]

11 minutes ago, katisdale said:

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess last Christmas. We did not feel crowded nor "over run" with children.

this is exactly what I hoped to hear....may I ask for your opinion on the food and entertainment and anything else you remember ?

[pikwe012]

2 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Yes there were kids and yes they have more energy than us old farts but hey, what's Christmas without kids? For us both cruises were fabulous.

very upbeat response. I like your attitude. Thanks.

[katisdale]

We were pleased with both. We didn't attend the production shows but our daughter did and said she enjoyed them. The comedians and musicians were good for our tastes. We really enjoyed trivia. I took a fall in Cartagena and stayed in our cabin for a few days and even enjoyed the TV shows. We did miss two ports, one (Grand Cayman) due to weather, and one (Jamaica) due to stopping to pick up a boatload of refuges. That was interesting. Our port fees and excursion costs were fully refunded. 

[pikwe012]

Thank you katisdale!

[stoneharborlady]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Nothing to do with cabins. You will not have a fairly sedate experience on a holiday cruise. Book another time. There will be lots and lots of kids and teens. Everywhere. 

Sailed the CB twice in summer when there were lots of kids and teens.  We never experienced any problem whatsoever.  Most of the time we never even saw them.  

[amet beach]

We were on the Enchanted Princess over Christmas 2022 in an inside cabin. As childless retirees we did not mind the 500 children on board.  We try to select a cabin far forward thus making it dead end and limited traffic and noise outside our door. Noise was not an issue nor was finding a seat for activities or a quiet deck chair for reading.
 

The children enjoyed the pools and so they should but seeing large groups running around or screaming was not the case.  Santa arrived and activities were enjoyed by many generations. The kids seemed to always have an ice cream. 

 

We would not hesitate to cruise over the holidays again and found it quieter than a spring break cruise.

[bjkTX]

We were on an 11 day cruise over last Christmas.  I think we heard there were 600 "kids" on the Ruby - and I always said if the choice of a cruise was kids over Spring Break or cruising in Hurricane weather - always go with the Hurricane!  But I ignored my own rule and we had no issues.  Granted we didn't spend a lot of time by the pools, but as far as daily activities there weren't any problems and we commented a few times how well behaved everyone was (even the adults!)

[capriccio]

4 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

There will be lots and lots of kids and teens. Everywhere. 

Not in our experience sailing a 10 day Caribbean cruise over Christmas pre-Covid.  A 7 day cruise will have more kids because they depart/return on a Saturday or Sunday and that is easy to fit into school break. A 10 day cruise will either depart or return on a weekday which might conflict with school break.  Plus a 10 day cruise is obviously more expensive.

[pikwe012]

Thanks for all this great input. I definitely feel better about sailing over the Holidays.

[pikwe012]

On 5/26/2023 at 8:18 PM, beg3yrs said:

'd say book it!

Booked!!!

[ChutChut]

Sedate? No. Lots of kids excited for Christmas, etc. Fun and festive? Absolutely.

[skynight]

Some things to consider. Your sailing is 10 days, Dec 17th to Dec 27. Typically schools are in session until the 22nd or 23rd. This will limit families with school age children. Families tend to book one week cruises. That would be Sat or Sunday sailings over Christmas week. In my opinion I do not believe your trip would be overrun with youth. The Caribbean Princess has a very nice youth/family area on deck 17 which includes a pool, splash area with water features, hot tub and nice family lounging areas. This area should attract many of the families that might otherwise occupy the Lido pool area. The ship will be nicely decorated. Believe you would have a nice time.

As an alternative holiday cruise, and as a senior my choice, you might consider the Dec 27th 11 day New Year sailing. There would probably be a nice adult group of passengers. This sailing visits less frequently visited islands such as St. Vincent and Guadeloupe. The New Year's Eve parties should be enjoyable. Ship decorations should still be in place for the Dec 27th cruise. 

[Expat Cruise]

If you're booking an inside cabin, and you want quiet, book on Deck 10 or 11. Both Deck 10 & 11 have cabins above and below. Do not book Deck 5 forward or deck 12 both will have noise. Also, Deck 8& 9 are not good for inside cabins. The pool area will have lots of kids around it, but the adult areas like the small pool stern deck 14 will be more normal. Also, you can book Sanctuary, which will not be crowded as it is controlled 

[pikwe012]

On 5/29/2023 at 8:29 AM, Expat Cruise said:

If you're booking an inside cabin, and you want quiet, book on Deck 10 or 11. Both Deck 10 & 11 have cabins above and below. Do not book Deck 5 forward or deck 12 both will have noise. Also, Deck 8& 9 are not good for inside cabins. The pool area will have lots of kids around it, but the adult areas like the small pool stern deck 14 will be more normal. Also, you can book Sanctuary, which will not be crowded as it is controlled 

Thank you...we have booked insides on Deck 10. I did check location before booking!

[pikwe012]

On 5/29/2023 at 8:16 AM, skynight said:

Some things to consider. Your sailing is 10 days, Dec 17th to Dec 27. Typically schools are in session until the 22nd or 23rd. This will limit families with school age children. Families tend to book one week cruises. That would be Sat or Sunday sailings over Christmas week. In my opinion I do not believe your trip would be overrun with youth. The Caribbean Princess has a very nice youth/family area on deck 17 which includes a pool, splash area with water features, hot tub and nice family lounging areas. This area should attract many of the families that might otherwise occupy the Lido pool area. The ship will be nicely decorated. Believe you would have a nice time.

As an alternative holiday cruise, and as a senior my choice, you might consider the Dec 27th 11 day New Year sailing. There would probably be a nice adult group of passengers. This sailing visits less frequently visited islands such as St. Vincent and Guadeloupe. The New Year's Eve parties should be enjoyable. Ship decorations should still be in place for the Dec 27th cruise. 

Thank you, good suggestion for next year.